Patriots seek to join perfectionists

0 Comments | USA TODAY, December, 2007 | by Gary Mihoces

Conventional wisdom says nobody's perfect and that you can't win them all. But in sports, perfection is attainable, and history says you can win them all.

The New England Patriots can become the first NFL team ever to go 19-0. They were 11-0 going into Monday night's game at the Baltimore Ravens.

The 1972 Miami Dolphins (17-0 when the regular season was 14 games) are the only perfect team in NFL history. But there are examples elsewhere in sports that it can be done.

In college football, Oklahoma had three consecutive perfect seasons under coach Bud Wilkinson in the mid-1950s (10-0, 11-0, 10-0). Eleven of the past 15 national champions have been perfect, most recently 13-0 Texas in 2005.

In college basketball, coach John Wooden's UCLA...