Steve Sarkisian addresses College Football Playoff changes, difficulty: 'Don’t think we’ll ever see an undefeated national champion again'

Throughout his career, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has competed for national championships. Of course, over that time, just how teams compete has changed with the invention of the College Football Playoff and now the expansion of it.

Thanks to the size of the Playoff now, Sarkisian has seen enough change that he believes how we view national champions should change. In particular, there is going to be a lack of unbeaten national champions moving forward.

“Now, more than ever, the length of the season,” Steve Sarkisian said. “Last year, we played 16 games. That was just to get to the semifinals. We would’ve been 17 to win a championship. So, the idea, I think we’ve all got to wrap our brain around. I don’t know if we’ll ever see an undefeated national champion again. If we do, that’s a really good team.”

Assuming Texas had gone unbeaten last season, they would have played 16 games total. That includes the SEC Championship Game, before getting a bye week in the College Football Playoff. There, they’d need to win three more games to win the national championship. With a loss in the SEC Championship Game, their schedule jumped to 17 games needed to win it all.

“Because it’s just so difficult. It’s difficult, yes,” Sarkisian said. “Because of the quality of the opponents you play, but it’s so difficult to stay healthy that long. You’re going to have teams and years like we had last year where you lose your starting quarterback. How do you respond to your quarterback being down… I think you’re going to see teams more and more now, two losses, three losses, maybe even four losses that get in — not very different than the NCAA Baseball Tournament and what that looks like. Vanderbilt is the number one seed. There was a point this season where they were 11-10.”

Michigan in 2023, the final year of the four-team Playoff, was the most recent unbeaten national champion. In 2024, the immediate season after the expansion to a 12-team field, Ohio State won it all with two losses. That kind of champion could be the new norm if Steve Sarkisian is right.

“This idea of somebody is going to go 16-0 in college football. Man, put a statue up somewhere of that team because I just don’t know if that’s going to happen again,” Sarkisian said.

“So, the idea that I think the powers that be are trying to get it right is a good, healthy discussion. I understand not everybody’s on the same page right now. Hopefully, we can get to that point to where that is that we’re giving the best teams the opportunity to get into that Playoff. Because that’s really what it is. It’s a Playoff. You’ve got a committee that’s trying to say, ‘Who are the best teams that should deserve an opportunity to compete for a national championship?'”

The College Football Playoff format appears to be changing again in the future. That will likely include expansion and more games. That means, as Steve Sarkisian pointed out, more challenges for teams to mitigate and overcome. It means more chances to lose, even for a great team that goes on to become national champions.