There are 128 teams that play at the highest level of college football, and they all start the season undefeated.
But the harsh reality is that only 11 have a legitimate chance to win the 2016 College Football Playoff. In the fifth installment of an 11-part series, we take a look at another of the few teams that could actually win the CFP: the Houston Cougars.
Head coach Tom Herman's club plays in the American Athletic Conference, is tied for next to last in that conference in returning starters, and has an incredibly difficult early-season matchup against the Oklahoma Sooners.
Does that mean Houston can't make the CFP? No, far from it: The Cougars have the goods to win the national title.
Here's why.