Momentum in college football is a tricky thing: Coaches leave for greener pastures at season's end, players graduate or enter the NFL Draft early, and a fresh crop of talent is busy adjusting to new surroundings. Still, it's better to kick off the 2018 campaign on a roll versus the alternative.
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Appalachian State, Penn State, and Florida State all ended 2017 with impressive four-game winning streaks, but that's not nearly as eyebrow-raising as the five longest winning streaks entering the 2018 college football season.
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UCF — 13 Games
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AP Photo/John Bazemore[/credit]
Last Defeat: December 17, 2016, vs. Arkansas State, 31-13 (Cure Bowl).
Brief 2017 Recap: Let's see here: The Knights went a perfect 13-0 in 2017, haven't lost a contest since 2016, and claimed the "National Championship" last year. Not too shabby considering the program went winless in 2015.
Likely to Lose Next: September 15, 2018, at North Carolina.
RELATED: Top 100 Ranking: No. 26 UCF
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Florida Atlantic — 10 Games
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AP Photo/Morry Gash[/credit]
Last Defeat: September 23, 2017, 34-31 at Buffalo.
Brief 2017 Recap: Year number one of the Lane Train experiment couldn't have gone any better for the Owls. After a tough three-point loss to the Bulls, FAU rattled off ten straight wins, including a 41-17 route of North Texas in the C-USA championship game and a 50-3 thrashing of Akron in the Boca Raton Bowl.
Likely to Lose Next: September 1, 2018, at Oklahoma.
RELATED: Top 100 Ranking: No. 30 Florida Atlantic
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Northwestern — 8 Games
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AP Photo/Mark Humphrey[/credit]
Last Defeat: October 7, 2017, 31-7 vs. Penn State.
Brief 2017 Recap: After its loss to the Nittany Lions, the Wildcats found themselves sitting at 2-3. It would never lose again, including three straight overtime wins in the conference and a 24-23 Music City Bowl victory over Kentucky.
Likely to Lose Next: September 29, 2018, vs. Michigan.
RELATED: Top 100 Rankings: No. 41 Northwestern
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Troy — 7 Games
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AP Photo/Gerald Herbert[/credit]
Last Defeat: October 11, 2017, 19-8 vs. South Alabama.
Brief 2017 Recap: As fabulous as the Trojans' 2017 campaign was, it could've been epic. Turnovers killed them in a week one loss at Boise State it easily could've won. Then after notching its biggest win in program history by knocking off LSU in Death Valley, it followed up that victory with a Wednesday night home clunker to the Jaguars. It never looked back after that embarrassing loss and finished the season with an 11-2 record and New Orleans Bowl trophy.
Likely to Lose Next: September 1, 2018, vs. Boise State.
RELATED: Top 100 Rankings: No. 71 Troy
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Ohio State — 5 Games
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AP Photo/LM Otero[/credit]
Last Defeat: November 4, 2017, 55-24 at Iowa.
Brief 2017 Recap: When it lost, the Buckeyes didn't mess around: A 31-16 early in the season against Oklahoma and a devastating defeat in Iowa City that ended Ohio State's title dreams.
Likely to Lose Next: September 29, 2018, at Penn State.
RELATED: Ultimate College Football Road Trip
