This summer marks the 75th anniversary of one of the most cherished (and unbreakable) records in all of sports.
Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 straight games from May 15 to July 17, 1941, a record that hasn't really been challenged since. Ted Williams also ended that magical year for Major League Baseball hitting .406 and remains the last big leaguer to hit .400 for a season.
To truly appreciate DiMaggio's brilliance, consider that the closest anyone has come to the record was in 1978, when Pete Rose hit safely in 44 consecutive games. Nobody has reached the 40-game mark since Rose did so 38 years ago.
It's true that records are meant to be broken. But in the case of DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, don't hold your breath.
What does all this have to do with college football?
There are similarly untouchable records, and we've ranked the 10 most unbreakable ones in college football history and added 10 current teams, players or conferences that could maybe, possibly, but probably won't approach those marks. Can't imagine there will be any disagreement with our choices.
1. Tennessee's shutout streak: The game has changed dramatically over the past 30 years, so consider how much it's transformed over the past 70-plus years. The athletes, the parity, the rules, the strategy -- they've all changed. So it stands to reason that we'll never see a team go the entire regular season unbeaten, untied and unscored on again like Tennessee did in 1939 under then-Major Robert Neyland, who would go on to become Gen. Neyland. His Vols racked up 17 straight regular-season shutouts from Nov. 5, 1938 season through Oct. 12, 1940. That's a total of 68 straight quarters in which nobody scored on Tennessee.
It's hard to fathom such defensive dominance in this day and age, especially considering 30 FBS teams averaged more than 35 points per game last season.
As it was, the Vols were unable to achieve total perfection in 1939. They lost 14-0 to USC in the Rose Bowl after outscoring opponents 212-0 during the regular season. Neyland didn't make any excuses afterward. "We weren't stale or off form. We were outclassed," he said. "We were beaten badly by a superior team, and my hat is off to [then-USC coach] Howard Jones."
The year before, Duke also came agonizingly close to throwing up all zeros, going 9-0 during the regular season while not allowing a single point. Like the Vols, the "Iron Dukes" made the cross-country trek to the Rose Bowl in the postseason and led USC 3-0 early in the fourth quarter. But the Trojans' fourth-string quarterback, Doyle Nave, came off the bench late in the game to connect with "Antelope" Al Krueger on four straight passes. The final one was a 19-yard touchdown with 40 seconds remaining, lifting USC to a 7-3 win and spoiling Duke's perfect -- and unblemished -- season.
Current team that could come close: It's foolish to even suggest that this one would ever be broken, even if the 1985 Chicago Bears were allowed to come back and play a season in the collegiate ranks. But we'll go with Alabama. As long as Nick Saban is in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide are going to be a load on defense.
Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 straight games from May 15 to July 17, 1941, a record that hasn't really been challenged since. Ted Williams also ended that magical year for Major League Baseball hitting .406 and remains the last big leaguer to hit .400 for a season.
To truly appreciate DiMaggio's brilliance, consider that the closest anyone has come to the record was in 1978, when Pete Rose hit safely in 44 consecutive games. Nobody has reached the 40-game mark since Rose did so 38 years ago.
It's true that records are meant to be broken. But in the case of DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, don't hold your breath.
What does all this have to do with college football?
There are similarly untouchable records, and we've ranked the 10 most unbreakable ones in college football history and added 10 current teams, players or conferences that could maybe, possibly, but probably won't approach those marks. Can't imagine there will be any disagreement with our choices.
1. Tennessee's shutout streak: The game has changed dramatically over the past 30 years, so consider how much it's transformed over the past 70-plus years. The athletes, the parity, the rules, the strategy -- they've all changed. So it stands to reason that we'll never see a team go the entire regular season unbeaten, untied and unscored on again like Tennessee did in 1939 under then-Major Robert Neyland, who would go on to become Gen. Neyland. His Vols racked up 17 straight regular-season shutouts from Nov. 5, 1938 season through Oct. 12, 1940. That's a total of 68 straight quarters in which nobody scored on Tennessee.
It's hard to fathom such defensive dominance in this day and age, especially considering 30 FBS teams averaged more than 35 points per game last season.
As it was, the Vols were unable to achieve total perfection in 1939. They lost 14-0 to USC in the Rose Bowl after outscoring opponents 212-0 during the regular season. Neyland didn't make any excuses afterward. "We weren't stale or off form. We were outclassed," he said. "We were beaten badly by a superior team, and my hat is off to [then-USC coach] Howard Jones."
The year before, Duke also came agonizingly close to throwing up all zeros, going 9-0 during the regular season while not allowing a single point. Like the Vols, the "Iron Dukes" made the cross-country trek to the Rose Bowl in the postseason and led USC 3-0 early in the fourth quarter. But the Trojans' fourth-string quarterback, Doyle Nave, came off the bench late in the game to connect with "Antelope" Al Krueger on four straight passes. The final one was a 19-yard touchdown with 40 seconds remaining, lifting USC to a 7-3 win and spoiling Duke's perfect -- and unblemished -- season.
Current team that could come close: It's foolish to even suggest that this one would ever be broken, even if the 1985 Chicago Bears were allowed to come back and play a season in the collegiate ranks. But we'll go with Alabama. As long as Nick Saban is in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide are going to be a load on defense.
