Longest winning streak in college football history

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1970-01-01 08:00

With Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs having won 29 games in a row and setting an all-time mark for an SEC program, where do these Dawgs rank among the very best teams in the history of the sport?

Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs are 12-0 on the season, 8-0 in SEC play and heading back to the SEC Championship Game for the third year in a row. Over the last three seasons, the Dawgs have lost a grand total of one game. That was to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2021 SEC Championship. Fate would have it, that was the last time Georgia lost on the college football field, having won 29 in a row.

With their narrow road victory over in-state rival Georgia Tech in the latest rendition of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, that 29th victory in a row gave the Dawgs the all-time record for most consecutive wins by an SEC program in league history. However, they have a long, long way to go towards achieving the greatest winning streak ever put forth by the best college football programs all time.

Where things stand now, the Dawgs find themselves in a five-way tie for the ninth longest winning streak in college football history, alongside the 1901-03 Michigan Wolverines, the 1990-92 Miami Hurricanes, the 2012-14 Florida State Seminoles and the 2018-19 Clemson Tigers. A win over Alabama next week would have Georgia tied for eighth most at 30 with the 1968-70 Texas Longhorns.

Let's take a look at who all Georgia could catch if they were to run the table this season, and beyond...

Longest winning streaks in college football history

Here are the 13 longest winning streaks in the history of major college football as of Saturday night.

1. Oklahoma Sooners: 47 (1953-57)
2. Washington Huskies: 40 (1908-14)
3. Toledo Rockets: 35 (1969-71)
4. Miami Hurricanes: 34 (2000-02)
5. Nebraska Cornhuskers: 32 (1969-72)
6. Pittsburgh Panthers: 31 (1914-18)
6. Oklahoma Sooners: 31 (1948-50)
8. Texas Longhorns: 30: (1968-70)
9. Michigan Wolverines: 29 (1901-03)
9. Georgia Bulldogs: 29 (2021-present)
9. Miami Hurricanes: 29 (1990-92)
9. Florida State Seminoles: 29 (2012-14)
9. Clemson Tigers: 29 (2018-19)

If Georgia wins the SEC Championship Game over Alabama, that would get the Dawgs to 30, which would tie them with 1968-70 Texas for eighth all time. An SEC title and a national semifinals win would get them to 31, which would have the Dawgs tied for sixth place all time with he 1914-18 Pittsburgh Panthers and the 1948-50 Oklahoma Sooners. A 15-0 season will get them into fifth place all time.

If the Dawgs win their next three games to three-peat as national champions, that would extend their lengthy winning streak to 32 games, which would tie them with the 1969-72 Nebraska Cornhuskers. The craziest part in all this is Georgia would have to get to 15-0 next year to tie the all-time mark set by 1953-57 Oklahoma at 47 wins in a row. A 16-0 season and four-peat would get them the record.

No matter what happens between now and Georgia's next loss, what the Dawgs have done in this age of college football is nothing short of impressive. Winning is hard, especially in the SEC, which is why just getting to 29 is quite the accomplishment. It also signifies the relentless nature Smart possesses as a head coach and a program builder, getting all his guys to buy into something bigger every week.

The longer Georgia continues to rack up wins, the more greater company the Dawgs will be a part of.