Bad Take Tuesday: Texas should claim five additional national titles to become nine-time champions

Texas claims four national championships in football: 1963, 1969, 1970, and 2005. If the Longhorns really cared, they would claim nine titles.

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The NCAA has an official publication called “NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records,” where it logs winners, losers, big rushers, and champions for each season. The NCAA has never awarded a national championship in FBS or Division IA football, with its highest crown occurring at the FCS level. So the NCAA allows for “major selectors” to put together the list of national champions dating back to when the game first started in 1869, even with the College Football Playoff taking the primary role in conferring titles in modern college football.

Some of these are reputable media outlets such as the Associated Press or the United Press International, or they’re football-centric organizations like the American Football Coaches Association. Other selectors include the Dickinson system, the Colley Matrix, Massey College Football Ratings, and something called Wolfe to represent various mathematical formulas that have tried to quantify who the best team in the sport really is. From 1869, to the 1910s and 1920s, all the way to the 1970s and 1980s, and even into today, these publications or equations or whatever have figured out ways to award national championships.

Texas’ four national titles come from “mainstream” sources. 

The 1963 title was almost unanimous, with the AP, the Football Writers Association of America, the National Football Foundation, and the UPI awarding the 11-0 Longhorns the title. In 1969, Texas was named national champion by all those same outlets, but some NCAA recognized selectors decided to award its title to 11-0 Penn State or 8-1 Ohio State.

Texas’ 1970 claim has multiple competitors. The NFF and the UPI named Texas as champions prior to the bowl season, but the Longhorns eventually lost to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. Major recognized champions in 1970 include Nebraska and Ohio State, with some selectors putting Arizona State and Notre Dame as No. 1. 

By the time Texas won in 2005, there was a two-team playoff system in the BCS that made the process much easier. Plus, the greatness of that team helped the Longhorns surge to the top of every single poll, putting one over on the supposed greatest team of all time.

But what of other years? Texas could claim titles from 1914, 1941, 1968, 1977, and 1981. 

Bad Take Tuesday: They should.

It’s not like Texas would be out on a limb in doing this. USC didn’t play for the 2003 national championship yet they were named national champions by the AP and the FWAA, and you can find banners celebrating the 12-1 Trojans in Heritage Hall even though it was Nick Saban lifting the crystal ball at the end of the year. Even in recent years, UCF has claimed the 2017 national championship because the Colley Matrix labeled the Knights as the top team from that year even though Scott Frost‘s squad didn’t compete in the College Football Playoff.

Even from this past season, Oregon could claim a national championship thanks to Wolfe and Anderson & Hester.

It’s not like Texas’ peers are above this. Alabama claims a national title from 1941 via the Houlgate system. Alabama finished that season 9-2 overall, 5-2 in the SEC, and No. 20 in the AP Poll. Texas’ claims have more merit than that monstrosity, and one of them is in 1941 no less.

1914

Texas was 8-0 and outscored opponents 358-21. Texas defeated Oklahoma 32-7 and obliterated Austin-area rival Southwestern 70-0. National championships from this era are retroactive, and Army is the most popular choice thanks to a 9-0 campaign. But the Billingsley Report, which has been retroactively and actively awarding national championships as a major selector since 1970, has Texas and Illinois atop its rankings. Claim it.

1941

Texas’ claim has far more merit than the one belonging to the Crimson Tide. Minnesota is the consensus pick for the 1941 season with an 8-0 record under Bernie Bierman. Texas, led by legendary coach Dana Bible, went 8-1-1 with a 7-7 tie at Baylor and a 14-7 loss at home against TCU. The Longhorns were ranked No. 1 for several weeks, but dropped from No. 2 to No. 10 after the loss to the Horned Frogs. With Texas A&M ranked No. 2 ahead of their annual tilt, Texas traveled to College Station and whooped the Aggies 23-0 before smashing Oregon 71-7 in a non-conference non-bowl game. The Longhorns ended the season ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll, but Berryman and Williamson System has Texas as champions. Claim it.

1968

A 20-20 tie with Houston followed by a 31-22 loss to Texas Tech were parts of the process that helped the Longhorns make the adjustment that changed football for the next 40 years. Texas started running the Wishbone in 1968 and used it to start a 30-game winning streak that helped the Longhorns win national titles in 1969 and 1970. But their efforts from 1968 deserve a title, too. Texas defeated Oklahoma, Arkansas, SMU, and Texas A&M in the regular season before taking care of Tennessee in the Cotton Bowl to finish 9-1-1. Ohio State’s 1968 claim comes via a 10-0 record, but the DeVold System, Matthews Grid Ratings, and Sagarin think of Texas as No. 1. Claim it. 

1977

Notre Dame’s defeat of Texas in the 1978 Cotton Bowl earned the Irish a title under Dan Devine, but there are three other 11-1 teams that can claim a championship that season. Bear Bryant’s Alabama, Lou Holtz’s Arkansas, and Fred Akers’ Texas were all 11-1. The Berryman System, Sagarin, Litkenhous Ratings, and Rothman (FACT) all had Texas as champions. Anyone who disagrees can talk to Earl Campbell. Claim it.

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1981

There’s no reason to feel shame in claiming a title here as five other teams can say they were national champions this season. Clemson’s 12-0 season under Danny Ford is the consensus pick but for some reason the National Championship Foundation recognized 9-3 Nebraska, 10-2 Penn State, 11-1 Pitt, 10-1 SMU, and 10-1-1 Texas as national champions. The Longhorns’ argument is a decent one, as Texas finished No. 2 in the AP Poll.

Next time you talk to your friends, go ahead and tell them you cheer for the nine-time national champion Texas Longhorns. Bad Take Tuesday told you to.