The Undefeated - Week 14

[SWC75]

It’s time I got going with my annual fall series on undefeated teams in contention for the very real four team playoff for the national championship and the fictional Pesci Bowl and Ty-Dee Bowl. The latter two are my inventions. The national championship playoff will likely again be between Power Five level teams, (Notre Dame included). The Pesci Bowl is named after the vertically challenged but feisty actor Joe Pesci and is a single game between the two best non-Power Five conference teams. The Ty-dee bowl, named after a toilet cleaning product, is a battle between the two worst FBS teams in the country.

I’ll start with the undefeated, (and for the Ty-dee Bowl, winless) teams and when there are no longer enough of them to fill out the above fields, I’ll include the one loss, (or one win), teams.

National Playoff Contenders

ALABAMA 13-0 (623-193) #1 in the playoff committee’s, the writer’s and coaches’ poll (?/1/1) against ranked teams (ART): +141 points

Comments: Alabama may seem invincible but they’ve been ‘vinced’ in every season of this decade. The last time they ran the table to the national title was Saban’s first there in 2009. They’ve twice won all their regular season games but lost in the SEC title game on the “kick six” to Auburn in 2013 and lost to Clemson in the 2016 title game. Their rematch with Georgia was as epic as last year’s game a 26-23 OT win for the national championship. And they could conceivably meet again in the playoff.

CLEMSON 13-0 (590-178) ranked 2/2/2 ART: +73

Comments: Clemson got the job done and ran the table in a weak conference.

NOTRE DAME 12-0 (405-207) ranked 3/3/3 ART: +130

Comments: They have will be no conference title game so that will be the Irish record when the decisions are made. It’s really a question of where they will be ranked and who they will play, not if they will be in the playoff. They could even be #1 if Bama or Clemson slip up.


The one-loss teams:


OKLAHOMA 12-1 (643-421) ranked ?/4/4 ART: +44

Comments: They avenged their only loss against Texas, which puts them in a strong position. They aren’t undefeated but beat the team that had beaten them, which is the next best thing. They are Gene Tunney or Lennox Lewis vs. the three undefeated teams being Rocky Marciano. But the Big 12 is hurt by the perception they don’t play defense and we still tend to believe that really good teams do.

OHIO STATE 12-1 (565-334) ranked ?/5/5 ART: +140

Comments: The Buckeyes have had a roller coaster season for a 12-1 team. They appear to have righted the ship after the Purdue disaster and the close call against Maryland. I think it hurt them that they didn’t get another shot at Purdue in the Big Ten title game as Oklahoma got a second shot vs. Texas.

And don’t forget:

GEORGIA 11-2 (509-241) ranked ?/6/6 ART: +126

Comments: The Bulldogs had a 28-14 lead and missed a chip-shot field goal that would have made it 31-28. If they’d hit that, Kirby Smart would likely not have taken the gamble to fake that punt that set the Tide up at midfield, (he probably shouldn’t anyway). Do they deserve another chance over the one-loss teams?

The only other two loss power conference team is Michigan but I think can agree that they took themselves out of it when they got crushed by the Buckeyes.


I got my wish that we have 6 pegs to put into 4 holes which will hopefully bring us a bit closer to the day when we will have an 8 team playoff. I think the committee will prefer a new mix of teams in the playoff rather than setting up another shot for Georgia. That leaves it to Oklahoma and Ohio State. The Buckeyes actually have the better resume (+140 ART vs. +44) despite some shaky performances. Is the Big 10 better than the Big 12? Beats me. The fact that the Sooners erased their lone loss impresses me. The committee already had them ranked ahead of the Buckeyes and I didn’t see anything yesterday that would change that. They beat a #14 Texas team by 12, +24 ART) while Ohio State beat a #21 ranked team by 21 points (+26 ART).

My prediction: Oklahoma will play Alabama and Notre Dame will play Clemson.

ALABAMA 13-0 (623-193) (?/1/1) (ART): +141 vs. OKLAHOMA 12-1 (643-421) ranked ?/4/4 ART: +44

And

CLEMSON 13-0 (590-178) ranked 2/2/2 ART: +73 vs. NOTRE DAME 12-0 (405-207) ranked 3/3/3 ART: +130


Pesci Bowl Contenders

CENTRAL FLORIDA 12-0 (530-255) ranked ?/7/7 ART: +27

Comments: The Knights have passed all tests for two years, winning 25 straight games, the last two without their star quarterback. They overcame a 17 point halftime deficit to win the ACC title over Memphis by 15. They are what those who favor an 8 team playoff have in mind when they say there should be auto bids for the power conference champions and the best mid-major. The Golden Knights are perfect again but there’s no way they could get into the 4 team playoff. But can still be in the mythical Pesci Bowl.

Every other non-power conference team, (I’m counting Notre Dame as an ACC team here) has at least two losses so the other team in the Pesci Bowl will come from this pool of 2 loss teams:

APPALACHIAN STATE 10-2 (440-188) unranked ART +9

Comments: State has dominated most of its opponents and almost beat Penn State at Penn State but they haven’t been able to crack the Top 25 and three of the 2 loss teams they are competing with are in it.
ARMY 9-2 (339-206) ranked ?/22/25 ART +14
12/8 vs. Navy 3-9 (315-419) unranked ART +4

Comment: Army isn’t done yet. The question is where will they be when they are done? Navy dominated this series for years but suddenly army has the upper hand. However there have been many upsets in the past. If the Cadets get past the Middies their ranking will put them right in the middle of the battle for the fictional Pesci Bowl.

CINCINNATI 10-2 (419-193) unranked ART -10

Comment: Cincinnati is probably better than most of these teams but they got crushed by Central Florida, are unranked and have no one else to play until the actual bowl games so unless everybody else gets knocked off, they won’t be in the Pesci Bowl.

FRESNO STATE 11-2 (454-178) ranked ?/19/21 ART +7

Comment: The Bulldogs are a very strong team and will have a very strong case for the Pesci Bowl Not that they have avenged their previous loss to Boise State on the bronco’s home field.

UTAH STATE 10-2 (566-276) ranked ?/UR/23 ART: +2

Comments: The Aggies were a top mid-major in the 60’s and 70’s, (a combined 132-75-4). Then they declined sharply, (from 1980-2010 they were 125-222-2). In this decade they had a revival under coaches Gary Anderson and Matt Wells, going 37-17 from 2011-14. They’ve fallen back again since then (15-23 from 2015-17) but are having a strong year this year due to a very productive offense that’s averaging 49 points per game. Their only loss prior to Boise State was 31-38 at Michigan State in which the Spartans, down 30-31, scored with 2 minutes left to win it. But they are not going to win their conference and won’t get in over the team that does.

Obviously one team in the Pesci Bowl will be UCF. Looking at the others, Army, Fresno State and Utah State are all ranked. Fresno State has the highest ranking of those teams. By point differential they rank: Utah State +290, Fresno State +276, Cincinnati +266, App State +252, Army +133. I think the strongest of the lower 5 conferences are the AC and the Mountain West. I would rank the Sun Belt last. Fresno won the MWC. Utah State, as strong as they were, were beaten out for their Mountain divisional title by Boise State who then lost the title game to Fresno. So my choice for the Pesci Bowl is:

CENTRAL FLORIDA 12-0 (530-255) ranked ?/7/7 ART: +27
vs. FRESNO STATE 11-2 (454-178) ranked ?/19/21 ART +7

Since teams not in the Power Five conference, (except Notre dame) have no chance to get into the 4 team playoff, (a team with a 25 game winning streak couldn’t crack it), unless we expand to 8 with an auto big for the best non-power conference team, I’d like to see the non-power conference team join the FCS schools in that division, which is where most of them came from. They could still play power conference teams but they’d have a national championship they could win. I think Central Florida-North Dakota State would be a heck of a game.


Ty-Dee Bowl Contenders (none, of course, are ranked)

TEXAS-EL PASO 1-11 (212-393) ART: none

Comments: UTEP is so bad they lost to New Mexico State. Both used to be good and exciting teams back in the 60’s but since 1970, they have been the two worst programs in the country, (save for Buffalo, who didn’t even have a team most of that time): I-A Winning Percentage 1970-2017

CENTRAL MICHIGAN 1-11 (180-328) ART: -6

Comments: Again, couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys, (and yes, they’ve got the same coach).

CONNECTICUT 1-11 (266-605) ART: -86

Comment: Another team and coach I’m not sad to see down here. The Huskies have the worst defense ever, setting records for yards, (7,409: 617 per game) and points (605: 50).

RUTGERS 1-11 (162-377) ART: -41

Comment: And what SU fan’s heart doesn’t warm up when he looks at Rutgers record? Professor Dowling likes it, too: Why Can't Rutgers Ever Win?

SAN JOSE STATE 1-11 (255-439) ART: -7

Comments: The Spartans were not Spartan this year.

These team’s seasons have ended so it’s time to make a choice. It’s tough to choose between lousy teams so I’ll just use the numbers: the 1-11 teams that got outscored by the most will be the Ty-Dee Bowl teams:

Connecticut -399
Rutgers -215
San Jose State -185
Texas-El Paso -181
Central Michigan -185

Thus we have a dream Ty-Dee bowl match-up between:

CONNECTICUT 1-11 (266-605) ART: -86 and RUTGERS 1-11 (162-377) ART: -41

Enjoy thinking about that!

 

[SWC75]

The History of the Pesci Bowl (updated):

After doing the Ty-D-Bowl, I came up with the idea of a bowl game between the top two Mid or Lower Majors teams. I would define those teams as teams listed as a major college here:
Historical Scores - Alphabetically by Team
but which, had they won all their games, would not have been considered a legitimate contender for the national championship. This bowl is to see which team is the best of them. (I also used the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. As well as this website: College Football National Champions and Seasons | College Football at Sports-Reference.com )

I decided to name the game after Joe Pesci, a vertically challenged but feisty character actor. Thus, it’s the “Pesci Bowl”. As with the Ty-D-Bowl, I decided to start with the post-war era, largely because the distinctions between levels of competition among major colleges were less apparent in the pre-war era, when college football was more like college basketball today when many schools can have good teams because you don’t need so many players to be good, (pre-war ball was exclusively one platoon football).

The first thing I’ll look at is numerical record, which is the number of losses and ties. It’s not the number of wins because teams don’t always play the same number of games. A 9-1 game is a 10-1 team that just played 10 games instead of 11. It’s better than a 10-2 team because they have only one loss instead of 2. I there is a tie, the next thing I will look at is head-head confrontations. I don’t want rematches if there is a team with a similar record who hasn’t played the winner yet. If I still need a tie-breaker, it’s going to be point differential. I’m not going to try to determine if the MAC was better than the WAC in a particular year. The first team listed is the team with the best record or, if that’s tie, the greatest average point differential. (They will get to wear their dark jerseys.) Again, I’m using the current names of the teams. Texas Western is now Texas-El Paso, for example.

1946 Hardin-Simmons 10-0-0 (30-5) vs. Yale 7-1-1 (30-8)
1947 Pennsylvania 7-0-1 (27-4) vs. Rutgers 8-1 (29-11)
1948 Cornell 8-1-0 (25-12) vs. Utah 8-1-1 (22-10)
1949 Cornell 8-1-0 (32-12) vs. Wyoming 9-1-0 (38-6)
(The Cowboys squeaked by Northern Colorado 103-0)
1950 Wyoming 9-0-0 (38-7) vs. Princeton 9-0-0 (39-10)
1951 Princeton 9-0-0 (34-9) vs. San Francisco 9-0-0 (32-8)
(Princeton had Heisman Trophy winner Dick Kazmaier but USF had future Pro Football Hall of Famers Ollie Matson, Gino Marchetti and Bob St. Clair. The school gave up football- on a high note- after 1951)
1952 Princeton 8-1-0 (33-8) vs. Tulsa 8-1-1 (33-18)
1953 Texas Tech 11-1-0 (39-14) vs. West Virginia 8-1-0 (32-12)
1954 Virginia Tech 8-0-1 (23-8) vs. Denver 9-1-0 (30-10)
(The Denver Bears had a respectable program until they gave up football in 1960)
1955 Miami University 9-0-0 (25-5) vs. West Virginia 8-2-0 (28.5-10)
(Miami- of Ohio- was actually not listed on the website above as major college until 1962. But they were ranked: #15 by the writers and #20 by the coaches so I included them. Their coach: Ara Parseghian)
1956 Wyoming 10-0-0 (25-11) vs. Texas-El Paso 9-1-0 (30.5-6.5)
(Wyoming’s coach was Bob Devaney, who later turned Nebraska into a superpower.)
1957 Arizona State 10-0-0 (40-7) vs. Virginia Military 9-0-1 (20-10)
(The Sun Devils were coached by Dan Devine, who then took the job at Missouri, leaving assistant Frank Kush in charge in Tempe, a job he kept for the next 22 years)
1958 Air Force 9-0-1 (22.5-9) vs. Rutgers 8-1-0 (33-9)
1959 Wyoming 9-1-0 (29-6) vs. North Texas State 9-1-0 (29.5-7.5)
1960 New Mexico St. 10-0-0 (37-10) vs. Yale 9-0-0 (28-8)
1961 Rutgers 9-0-0 (27-11) vs. Utah State 9-0-1 (39-8)
1962 Dartmouth 9-0-0 (26-6) vs. Memphis 8-1-0 (29-7)
1963 Memphis 9-0-1 (20-5) vs. Arizona State 8-1-0 (28-14)
1964 Princeton 9-0-0 (24-6) vs. Bowling Green 9-1-0 (27.5-9)
1965 Dartmouth 9-0-0 (30-8) vs. East Carolina 8-1-0 (30-9)
1966 Wyoming 9-1-0 (33-7) vs. Harvard 8-1-0 (26-7)
1967 Wyoming 10-0-0 (28-10) vs. Toledo 9-1-0 (27-8)
(The Cowboys were actually invited to the Sugar Bowl were they almost beat LSU)
1968 Ohio U. 10-0-0 (38-18) vs. Yale 8-0-1 (35-16)
(The Bobcats went 10-0 in 1960, 0-10 in 1965 and 10-0 in 1968.)
1969 San Diego State 10-0-0 (46-19) vs. Toledo 10-0-0 (33-13)
1970 Dartmouth 9-0-0 (35-5) vs. Toledo 11-0-0 (31-7)
1971 Toledo 11-0-0 (32-8) vs. Arizona State 10-1-0 (38-15)
1972 Louisville 9-1-0 (31-9) vs. San Diego State 10-1-0 (24-13)
1973 Miami University 10-0-0 (21-7) vs. Arizona State 10-1-0 (45-15)
1974 Miami University 9-0-1 (28-8) vs. Yale 8-1-0 (25-7)
1975 Arkansas State 11-0-0 (32-7) vs. Arizona State 11-0-0 (30-10)
1976 Rutgers 11-0-0 (26-7) vs. Yale 8-1-0 (22-9)
1977 Grambling 10-1-0 (42-16) vs. San Diego State 10-1-0 (32-15)
1978 Ball State 10-1-0 (23-7) vs. North Texas State 9-2-0 (25-14)
1979 Brigham Young 11-0-0 (41-15) vs. McNeese State 11-0-0 (21-9)
1980 Brigham Young 11-1-0 (47-11) vs. Furman 9-1-1 (26-16)
1981 Yale 9-1-0 (28.5-15) vs. Drake 10-1-0 (22-18)
(After 1981, the Ivy league and the Southern Conference dropped down to Division 1AA-FCS- and their schools thus dropped out of contention for the Pesci Bowl.)
1982 Fresno State 11-1-0 (32-18) vs. New Mexico 10-1-0 (34-20)
1983 Brigham Young 10-1-0 (44-21) vs. Virginia Tech 9-2-0 (27-8)
(These are the pre-Beamer, pre-Big East Hokies who played mostly former Southern Conference foes. Howell lists Southern Illinois, 13-1 as a major college but they won the FCS championship that year so I can’t include them in the Pesci Bowl.)
1984 Brigham Young 12-0-0 (36-14) vs. Fullerton State 11-1-0 (28-18)
1985 Bowling Green 11-0-0 (32-16) vs. Fresno State 10-0-1 (39-18)
(This game actually took place in the California Bowl and Fresno State won big, 51-7.)
1986 San Jose State 9-2-0 (33-20) vs. Fresno State 9-2-0 (27-14)
(This is a rematch of a 45-41 regular season game.)
1987 San Jose State 10-1-0 (35-18) vs. Wyoming 10-2-0 (34-21)
1988 Wyoming 11-1-0 (41-18) vs. Fresno State 9-2-0 (33-13)
1989 Fresno State 11-1-0 (38-19) vs. Northern Illinois 9-2-0 (31-24)
1990 Louisville 9-1-1 (28-13) vs. Brigham Young 10-2-0 (42.5-24)
1991 Fresno State 10-1-0 (44-19) vs. East Carolina 10-1-0 (34-22)
1992 Hawaii 10-2 (33-25) vs. Bowling Green 9-2 (26-18)
1993 Ball State 8-2-1 (24-20) vs. Fresno State 8-3 (40-28)
1994 Colorado State 10-1 (35-22) vs. Bowling Green 9-2- (36-16)
1995 Toledo 10-0-1 (34-19) vs. Nevada-Reno 9-2 (40-31)
(This game actually took place in the Las Vegas Bowl and Toledo, coached by Gary Pinkel, won 40-37)
1996 Brigham Young 13-1 (41-19) vs. Army 10-1 (32-17)
1997 Colorado State 10-2 (37-15) vs. Marshall 10-2 (38-19)
1998 Tulane 11-0 (45-24) vs. Air Force 11-1 (35-13)
1999 Marshall 12-0 (37-11) vs. East Carolina 9-2 (29-18)
2000 Texas Christian 10-1 (37-10) vs. Toledo 10-1 (36-11)
2001 Brigham Young 11-2 (47-30) vs. Fresno State 11-2 (40-23)
2002 Boise State 11-1 (47-19) vs. South Florida 9-2 (31-19)
2003 Boise State 12-1 (44-16) vs. Miami University 12-1 (43-19)
2004 Boise State 11-0 (50-24) vs. Utah 11-0 (46-21)
2005 Texas Christian 10-1 (34-18) vs. Toledo 8-3 (35-23)
2006 Boise State 12-0 (39-16) vs. Brigham Young 10-2 (37-15)
2007 Hawaii 12-0 (46-24) vs. Brigham Young 10-2 (31-19)
2008 Boise State 12-0 (39-12) vs. Utah 12-0 (37-17)
2009 Texas Christian 12-0 (41-13) vs. Boise State 13-0 (44-18)
2010 Texas Christian 12-0 (43-11) vs. Nevada-Reno 12-1 (43-22)
2011 Houston 12-1 (51-23) vs. Boise State 11-1 (43-18)
2012 Northern Illinois 12-1 (41-19) vs. Utah State 10-2 (34-15)
2013 Northern Illinois 12-1 (42-25) vs. Fresno State 11-1 (45-29)
2014 Marshall 12-1 (45-21) vs. Boise State 11-2 (40-27)
2015 Houston 12-1 (41-20) vs. Western Kentucky 11-2 (44-25)
2016 Western Michigan 13-0 (44-19) vs. South Florida 10-2 (44-31)
2017 Central Florida 12-0 (49-25) vs. Toledo 11-2 (39-26)
2018 Central Florida 12-0 (44-21) vs. Fresno State 11-2 (35-14)

Participation:

Air Force 1958, 1998 (2)
Arizona State 1957, 1963, 1970, 1973, 1975 (5)
Arkansas State 1975 (1)
Army 1996 (1)
Ball State 1978, 1993 (2)
Boise State 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014 (8)
Bowling Green 1964, 1985, 1992, 1994 (4)
Brigham Young 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2007 (9)
Central Florida 2017, 2018 (2)
Colorado State 1994, 1997 (2)
Cornell 1948, 1949 (2)
Dartmouth 1962, 1965, 1970 (3)
Denver 1954 (1)
Drake 1981 (1)
East Carolina 1965, 1991, 1999 (3)
Fresno State 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2001, 2013, 2018 (10)
Fullerton State 1984 (1)
Furman 1980 (1)
Grambling 1977 (1)
Hardin-Simmons 1946 (1)
Harvard 1966 (1)
Hawaii 1992, 2007 (2)
Houston 2011, 2015 (2)
Louisville 1972, 1990 (2)
Marshall 1997, 1999, 2014 (3)
McNeese State 1979 (1)
Memphis 1962, 1963 (2)
Miami U. 1955, 1973, 1974, 2003 (4)
Nevada-Reno 1995, 2010 (2)
New Mexico 1982 (1)
New Mexico State 1960 (1)
Northern Illinois 1989, 2012, 2013 (3)
North Texas State 1959, 1978 (2)
Ohio U. 1968 (1)
Pennsylvania 1947 (1)
Princeton 1950, 1951, 1952, 1964 (4)
Rutgers 1947, 1958, 1961, 1976 (4)
San Diego State 1969, 1972, 1977 (3)
San Francisco 1951 (1)
San Jose State 1986, 1987 (2)
South Florida 2002, 2016 (2)
Texas Christian 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010 (4)
Texas-El Paso 1956 (1)
Texas Tech 1953 (1)
Toledo 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2017 (8)
Tulane 1998 (1)
Tulsa 1952 (1)
Utah 1948, 2004, 2008 (3)
Utah State 1961, 2012 (2)
Virginia Military 1957 (1)
Virginia Tech 1954, 1983 (2)
Western Kentucky 2015 (1)
Western Michigan 2016 (1)
West Virginia 1953, 1955 (2)
Wyoming 1949, 1950, 1956, 1959, 1966, 1967, 1987, 1988 (8)
Yale 1946, 1960, 1968, 1974, 1976, 1981 (6)

 

[SWC75]

The History of the Ty-Dee Bowl, (updated):

What if there was a sort of BCS for the lousy teams as well as the best ones and they chose the two worst teams in the country to play each other and the loser would be crowned the worst team in the country? Nobody would ever participate in something like this but, if they did, the result could be a hotly contested and probably entertaining game that would probably attract some public interest. My idea would be to call this the “Ty-D-Bowl” after the toilet cleanser which for years has advertised itself with goofy commercials featuring a man in a naval suit and a boat floating in the water tank and telling housewives about the product:
Johnny Carson used to make fun of the Ty-D-Bol man and even play him in skits. I remember, (but was unable to find a clip), that the Ty-D-Bol man originally was seen playing a ukulele. I figured if Ty-D-Bol would be willing to sponsor the Ty-D-Bowl, the Ty-D-Bol Man could be persuaded to entertain at halftime with his ukulele.

Anyway, remembering this, I wondered who would have been in the Ty-D-Bowl over the years had there been one. I decided to look at the post-war period, (1946 onward). I listed the teams that had the worst numerical records each year and then looked at point differentials to break any ties. Specifically, since teams don’t always play the same number of games I looked at wins and ties: who had the fewest of them? To me a 0-9-0 team is the same as a 0-10-0 team. They just haven’t played as many games. If the 0-9-0 team were to play another game, off of their previous results, I’d assume they would wind up 0-10-0, (unless the 10th game was in the Ty-D-Bowl, of course). The teams have to have been considered major colleges, or Division 1A at the time. Here are the teams I’ve chosen for the Ty-D-Bowl from 1946 onward, with the team with the worst record or point differential being listed to the left. The record is their wins, losses and ties and the average scores of their games. If there has been a name change, I’ve used the current name, (Texas Western became Texas El Paso, West Texas A&M was West Texas State, etc.)

1946 Fordham 0-7-0 (6-33) vs. Kansas State 0-9-0 (5-26)
1947 Kansas State 0-10-0 (7-28) vs. Stanford 0-9-0 (8-24)
1948 Virginia Tech 0-8-1 (3-23) vs. Tulsa 0-9-1 (14-33)
Tulsa had been 9-1-0 two years before and would be 9-1-1 two years later.
1949 Brigham Young 0-11-0 (10-34) vs. Mississippi St. 0-8-1 (4-25)
1950 Virginia Tech 0-10-0 (7-43) vs. Auburn 0-10-0 (3-26)
Tech’s Robert McNeish was 1-25-3 in three years in Blacksburg.
1951 New York U. 1-7-0 (10-41) vs. New Mexico St. 1-9-0 (12-34)
The Violets, a pre-war power, gave up the sport in 1952.
1952 Richmond 1-9-0 (12-30) vs. Kansas State 1-9-0 (8-26)
1953 Davidson 0-9-0 (6-33) vs. North Carolina St. 1-9-0 (8-27)
1954 Kansas 0-10-0 (9-38) vs. Pennsylvania 0-9-0 (8-34)
Steve Sebo was 0-9 his first two years at Penn, 7-1-1 in his last, (1959).
1955 Pennsylvania 0-9-0 (4-30) vs. Alabama 0-10-0 (5-26)
How bad a coach was JB “Ears” Whitworth? He went 0-10-0 at ‘Bama!
1956 Marquette 0-9-0 (8-34) vs. William & Mary 0-9-1 (8-25)
1957 Northwestern 0-9-0 (6-30) vs. Marquette 0-10-0 (7-24)
Northwestern’s coach was none other than Ara Parseghian.
1958 Montana 0-10-0 (9-30) vs. Columbia 1-8-0 (4-32)
1959 Virginia 0-10-0 (8-39) vs. Montana 1-8-0 (9-30)
Richard Voris won his second game at Virginia and then lost 28 in a row.
1960 Hardin-Simmons 0-10-0 (7-31) vs. Virginia 0-10-0 (10-33)
Howard McChesney replaced Sammy Baugh at H-S and went 0-20. Perfection!
1961 Hardin-Simmons 0-10-0 (4-38) vs. Illinois 0-9-0 (6-32)
The Illini won the Rose Bowl two years later. Sophomores become seniors.
1962 Kansas State 0-10-0 (4-28) vs. Tulane 0-10-0 (8-29)
1963 Wake Forest 1-9-0 (4-32) vs. Lehigh 1-8-0 (9-24)
1964 Texas El Paso 0-8-2 (6-22) vs. Pacific 1-9-0 (7-30)
Texas Western, (UTEP), hired Bobby Dobbs who went 8-3 the next year.
1965 Kansas State 0-10-0 (4-30) vs. Richmond 0-10-0 (5-29)
1966 Kansas State 0-9-1 (7-23) vs. Pittsburgh 1-9-0 (11-33)
Doug Weaver coached three winless teams on his way to a 8-60-1 record.
1967 Marshall 0-10-0 (7-31) vs. Maryland 0-9-0 (5-26)
Between 1966 and 1983 the Thundering Herd won 38 games. In the ‘90s they won 114.
1968 New Mexico 0-10-0 (17-40) vs. Wisconsin 0-10-0 (9-31)
The Badgers had been 0-9-1 the previous year.
1969 Virginia Military 0-10-0 (8-41) vs. Los Angeles St. 0-9-0 (7-37)
1970 Wichita State 0-9-0 (11-42) vs. Holy Cross 0-10-1 (11-31)
The Shockers lost 31 players in a plane crash, cancelled their next two games but finished out their schedule.
1971 Brown 0-9-0 (15-26) vs. Iowa 1-10-0 (11-34)
1972 Colorado State 1-10-0 (12-38) vs. North Texas St. 1-10-0 (13-32)
1973 Texas El Paso 0-11-0 (13-49) vs. Army 0-10-0 (7-38)
Florida State and Iowa were also winless. Yes, Florida State!
1974 Wake Forest 1-10-0 (7-32) vs. Texas Christian 1-10-0 (7-31)
1975 Virginia 1-10-0 (16-39) vs. Texas Christian 1-10-0 (9-30)
1976 Texas Christian 0-11-0 (12-39) vs. Northern Illinois 1-10-0 (5-33)
TCU was the only school to make the Little Dance three times in a row. Jim Shofner: 2-31.
1977 Texas El Paso 1-10-0 (14-42) vs. Rice 1-10-0 (14-42)
How can the great state of Texas produce so many lousy teams?
1978 Boston College 0-11-0 (14-27) vs. Northwestern 0-10-1 (8-40)
1979 Richmond 0-11-0 (7-25) vs. Pennsylvania 0-9-0 (11-28)
1980 Northwestern 0-11-0 (14-40) vs. Oregon State 0-11-0 (10-35)
1981 Colorado State 0-12-0 (14-42) vs. Northwestern 0-11-0 (7-46)
From 1976-1981, the Wildcats were 3-62-1. Three. Sixty-two. And one.
1982 Rice 0-11-0 (13-33) vs. Richmond 0-10-0 (10-27)
1983 West Texas A&M 0-10-1 (14-27) vs. Minnesota 1-10-0 (16-47)
Nebraska squeaked by the Golden Gophers 84-13.
1984 Indiana 0-11-0 (17-31) vs. Utah State 1-10-0 (18-35)
Bill Mallory went on to coach Indiana for the next 13 years.
1985 Kansas State 1-10-0 (9-27) vs. Texas El Paso 1-10-0 (18-34)
1986 New Mexico St. 1-10-0 (17-38) vs. Memphis 1-10-0 (9-27)
1987 New Mexico 0-11-0 (19-40) vs. Kansas State 0-10-1 (12-38)
New Mexico must be the worst football state in the union. The Lolos and the Aggies have each been in the Little Dance four times.
1988 Kansas State 0-11-0 (16-41) vs. Rice 0-11-0 (15-33)
Stan Parrish, Bill Snyder’s predecessor, was 2-30-1.
1989 New Mexico St. 0-11-0 (15-39) vs. Northwestern 0-11-0 (22-45)
Mike Knoll was a scintillating 4-40 in Las Cruces.
1990 Cincinnati 1-10-0 (16-42) vs. Fullerton St. 1-11-0 (19-40)
Fullerton gave up the sport two years later after setting an NCAA record for fumbles.
1991 Oklahoma St. 0-10-1 (10-28) vs. Tulane 1-10-0 (13-35)
1992 Temple 1-10-0 (12-35) vs. E. Michigan 1-10-0 (11-31)
1993 Kent State 0-11-0 (14-32) vs. Temple 1-10-0 (10-48)
1994 Ohio U. 0-11-0 (7-24) vs. Iowa State 0-10-1 (17-33)
1995 So. Methodist 1-10-0 (12-32) vs. Temple 1-10-0 (17-32)
The “death penalty” had been from 1987-88. From 1989-95 the Mustangs were 13-61-3.
1996 Duke 0-11-0 (15-34) vs. UNLV 1-11-0 (23-46)
1997 Rutgers 0-11-0 (17-45) vs. No. Illinois 0-11-0 (12-35)
From 1996-2002 Rutgers was 14-64.
1998 Kent State 0-11-0 (14-41) vs. Hawaii 0-12-0 (12-35)
The Fred What Happened? Era at Hawaii: 2-10, 3-9 and 0-12.
1999 Buffalo 0-11-0 (12-39) vs. Ball State 0-11-0 (14-33)
Buffalo went D1A in 1999 and went 10-69 the next seven years.
2000 Duke 0-11-0 (14-39) vs. La-Monroe 1-10-0 (9-38)
2001 Duke 0-11-0 (19-45) vs. Houston 0-11-0 (17-39)
The Blue Devils, once a great power, went 15-105 from ’96 to ’07.
2002 Army 1-11-0 (19-41) vs. Tulsa 1-11-0 (19-35)
2003 So. Methodist 0-12-0 (11-32) vs. Army 0-13-0 (16-37)
The 2003 Army team is the only 0-13 team in college football history.
2004 Central Florida 0-11-0 (16-33) vs. W. Michigan 1-10-0 (23-40)
2005 Temple 0-11-0 (10-45) vs. N. Mexico St. 0-12-0 (17-39)
2006 Duke 0-12-0 (15-34) vs. Florida International 0-12-0 (10-26)
2007 Florida International 1-11-0 (15-39) vs. Idaho 1-11-0 (22-37)
2008 Washington 0-12-0 (13-39) vs. North Texas St. 1-11-0 (20-48)
Washington had been 227-101-3 from 1975 to 2002
2009 Eastern Michigan 0-12-0 (16-38) vs. Western Kentucky 0-12-0 (20-40)
The Hilltoppers, 2002 FCS champs are one of those small colleges that made the leap to D1A for the money.
2010 New Mexico 1-11-0 (16-44) vs. Memphis 1-11-0 (16-40)
2011 New Mexico 1-11-0 (12-42) vs. Akron 1-11-0 (14-39)
2012 Southern Mississippi 0-12-0 (20-38) vs. Massachusetts 1-11-0 (13-40)
The Golden Eagles were 560-373-27 all-time and had won a bowl game in 2011.
2013 Miami University 0-12-0 (10-36) vs. Georgia State 0-12-0 (19-37)
2014 Southern Methodist 1-11-0 (11-41) vs. Georgia State 1-11-0 (23-43)
Those were Georgia State first two years as an FBS program. Welcome!
2015 Kansas 0-12-0 (15-46) vs. Central Florida 0-12-0 (14-39)
UCF had been 12-1 and beat Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl two seasons before. The Knights went winless and made the Ty-D-Bowl in George O’Leary’s first and last years there.
2016 Fresno State 1-11-0 (18-31) vs. Texas State 2-10 (19-41)
2017 Texas- El Paso 0-12-0 (12-37) vs. Kansas 1-11 (19-43)
2018 Connecticut 1-11-0 (22-50) vs. Rutgers 1-11 (13.5-31)

Participation:

Akron 2011 (1)
Alabama 1955 (1)
Army 1973, 2002, 2003 (3)
Auburn 1950 (1)
Ball State 1999 (1)
Boston College 1978 (1)
Brown 1971 (1)
Buffalo 1999 (1)
Central Florida 2004, 2015 (2)
Cincinnati 1990 (1)
Colorado State 1972, 1981 (2)
Columbia 1958 (1)
Connecticut 2018 (1)
Davidson 1953 (1)
Duke 1996, 2000, 2001, 2006 (4)
Eastern Michigan 1992, 2009 (2)
Florida International 2006, 2007 (2)
Fordham 1946 (1)
Fresno State 2016 (1)
Fullerton State 1990 (1)
Georgia State 2013, 2014 (2)
Hardin-Simmons 1960, 1961 (2)
Hawaii 1998 (1)
Holy Cross 1971 (1)
Idaho 2007 (1)
Indiana 1984 (1)
Iowa 1971 (1)
Iowa State 1994 (1)
Kansas 1954, 2015, 2017 (3)
Kansas State 1946, 1947, 1952, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1985, 1987, 1988 (9)
Kent State 1993, 1998 (2)
Lehigh 1963 (1)
Los Angeles State 1969 (1)
Louisiana-Monroe 2000 (1)
Marquette 1956, 1957 (1)
Marshall 1967 (1)
Maryland 1967 (1)
Massachusetts 2012 (1)
Memphis 1986, 2010 (2)
Miami University 2013 (1)
Minnesota 1983 (1)
Mississippi State 1949 (1)
Montana 1958, 1959 (2)
Nevada-Las Vegas 1996 (1)
New Mexico 1968, 1987, 2010, 2011 (4)
New Mexico State 1951, 1986, 1989, 2005 (4)
New York U. 1951 (1)
North Carolina State 1953 (1)
Northern Illinois 1976, 1997 (2)
North Texas State 1972, 2008 (2)
Northwestern 1957, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1989 (5)
Ohio U. 1994 (1)
Oklahoma State 1991 (1)
Oregon State 1980 (1)
Pacific 1964 (1)
Pennsylvania 1954, 1955, 1979 (3)
Pittsburgh 1966 (1)
Rice 1977, 1982, 1988 (3)
Richmond 1952, 1965, 1979, 1982 (4)
Rutgers 1997, 2018 (2)
Southern Methodist 1995, 2003, 2014 (3)
Southern Mississippi 2012 (1)
Stanford 1947 (1)
Temple 1992, 1993, 1995, 2005 (4)
Texas Christian 1974, 1975, 1976 (3)
Texas–El Paso 1964, 1973, 1977, 1985, 2017 (5)
Texas State 2016 (1)
Tulane 1962, 1991 (2)
Tulsa 1948, 2002 (2)
Utah State 1984 (1)
Virginia 1959, 1960, 1975 (3)
Virginia Military 1969 (1)
Virginia Tech 1948, 1950 (2)
Wake Forest 1963, 1974 (2)
Washington 2008 (1)
Western Kentucky 2009 (1)
Western Michigan 2004 (1)
West Texas A&M 1983 (1)
Wichita State 1970 (1)
William and Mary 1956 (1)
Wisconsin 1968 (1)