College football\u2019s most legendary champions have an aura of invincibility associated with them. Texas fans know the feeling when they reminisce on the 1963, 1969, and 2005 teams. The 2001 Miami Hurricanes, 2004 USC Trojans and 2019 LSU Tigers are a part of the same mythos as well. Those teams are all remembered as perfect, even if that belief is clouded by nostalgia. The format of college football in the eras of those champions allowed the idea of an immortal champion to grow. But that\u2019s what fans do \u2013 we mythologize. And the fact all those teams were unblemished, with no zero in the loss column, allowed the belief to stay alive.<\/p>\n
[Sign up for Inside Texas TODAY and get the BEST Longhorns scoop!]<\/a><\/p>\n But, according to Steve Sarkisian<\/a>, those days are over. It\u2019s something we need to\u00a0\u201cwrap our brain around.\u201d\u00a0Sarkisian said yesterday at SEC spring meetings that he didn\u2019t\u00a0\u201cknow if we\u2019ll ever see an undefeated champion again. If we do, that\u2019s a really good team. Because it\u2019s just so difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n More than the quality of opponents Texas faces in the SEC, his reasoning was the sheer number of games a champion would need to go through. \u201cLast year we played 16 games and that was just to get to the semifinals. We would have been 17 to win a championship.\u201d<\/p>\n Those are NFL numbers. And the 1972 Miami Dolphins pop champagne bottles every year for a reason.<\/p>\n I think the amount of games the Longhorns played last year did a number on Sark. He saw in one year, with the transition to a 12-team playoff, the calendar go from one that still mostly looked like college football to one which resembles the NFL. And that calendar is one filled with rigors that test your depth. Now, having the best starters or simply the best player won\u2019t make a champion.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDo you have the depth to endure?\u201d\u00a0Sarkisian asked yesterday. His actions over the spring show he\u2019s tried to address that notion.<\/p>\n He made adjustments to the program\u2019s calendar to fall in line with the new realities: no spring game. He also brought in five defensive tackle transfers and bolstered the wide receiving corps with Emmett Mosley V<\/a> and Jack Endries<\/a> at tight end. Arch Manning<\/a> might have moments where he looks like Vince Young<\/a> in 2005, but Sarkisian knows that there will be attrition. Depth is just as important as heroism.<\/p>\n Now, fans will have to get used to the fact our champions will most likely have a blemish or two on their r\u00e9sum\u00e9. They may hoist the trophy in a season where they lost to an archrival in a game we want to forget. Just look at Ohio State and Michigan from last year. In a way, it\u2019s nice that perfection will no longer be required. It\u2019s who can endure the chaos, injuries and setbacks that such a long season will bring.<\/p>\n