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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/Pollaski on 2024-07-11 15:17:05+00:00.
The Tank Job of the Week is an award for the FBS team that did the best job of humiliating itself over the weekend. Whether they blew a large lead, choked away a spot in the limelight, lost a game they had absolutely no right losing, or completely screwed everything on a last second blunder, the TJOTW winner sets the gold standard in college football misery.
The 2024 season will be the TJOTW’s fourth year on Reddit, but it’s actually been twenty years since the award was created on a now-defunct messge board. While I haven’t ran TJOTW every week, or even every year in the meanwhile, I’ve seen more than my fair share of collapses, no-shows, upsets, meltdowns, and everything else that makes this award so much fun to put up every Monday morning. And now, I’m ready for a trip down memory lane with you all, as I revisit my favorite Top 100 over the last twenty years. I was going to do a top 50 and one per day right up to the start of week one, but there were so many good ones I decided to go double time.
Keep in mind that this is my personal opinion, and not all of these even won their weekly voting (in part because some of them actually happened on the same week). But I find them all memorable for one reason or another. Just be warned- there is a lot of pain ahead. Or schadenfreude. There’s also one rule I imposed- only one instance of a team beating another. So yes, only one of Kansas’ victories over Texas made this list. I’ll let you guess which one it was (spoiler alert, it’s gonna be a while before we get to it)
Before we begin, here’s some honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut:
- Troy 24, Missouri 14 (2004)
- Indiana 31, Missouri 27 (2014)
- Notre Dame 34, Virginia 27 (2015)
- Maryland 51, Texas 41 (2017)
- Miami-FL 28, Florida State 27 (2018)
- FIU 30, Miami-FL 24 (2019)
- Mississippi State 44, LSU 34 (2020)
And now, over the next seven weeks… the Top 100 Tank Jobs of the past 20 years. I’ll post links to videos in the comments.
100: BOISE STATE BRONCOS (lost to Washington State 47-44) [2017]
There was a time when I was tempted to call the TJOTW the Couging of the Week. After all, I’m a Washington fan and our rival/little brother has generated their own term for managing to trip over itself at the worst possible time. But I didn’t, and with the dissolution of the Pac-12 conference, I’m glad I didn’t, cause that just feels like kicking them when they’re down. I don’t want to do that. At least before the Apple Cup.
But it only feels right that we start this list a Couging. And do NOT let that final score fool you- this was a Couging. After starting quarterback Luke Falk (who broke the all-time school passing record in this game) got injured, he was replaced by the late Tyler Hilinski, and the Cougs fell apart, giving up two turnovers including a scoop and score and found themselves down 31-10 five minutes into the fourth quarter.
But Hilinski found his footing, and the Broncos gave up a pick six, and muffed a punt with just two minutes left to set up the tying score. Then in the third overtime, Boise could only manage a field goal while the Cougs went all twenty-five yards in one play for the winning touchdown. For once, the Cougs were out-couged, and it was the Broncos driving the tank back to Idaho.
It was late night west coast football at its most insane, and likely to become a cornerstone moment in a rivalry that should become more prolific in the future.
Oh, and don’t worry. We got a few proper Cougings on this list too. MWA-HA!
99: DUKE BLUE DEVILS (lost to Miami-FL 30-27) [2015]
“Lateral. They practice that on Wednesday. Time’s going to expire on the game so either this goes or it doesn’t”
Alright, I can see the pitchforks coming out already that this one should be higher, and I get it. Its not every year… or decade you have a team winning on a 49-second long, eight-lateral kickoff return. The highlight, of course, is Duke’s defense holding up for so long, and then collapsing the exact moment the color commentator points it out.
Its just… whenever I watch college football compilations and this video inevitably comes up, I almost find myself tuning out. I just find it overrated from a Tank Job standpoint. IN no small part to the fact that the play probably shouldn’t have counted. There was a flag for a block in the back- even announced as a penalty by the refs. Then there’s a video review to see if one of the laterals got off in time before the runner was down, and then they come back, announce the touchdown stands, and that’s that. The thing is- you can’t review a block in the back. And the ACC itself admitted in the aftermath that the officials got it wrong.
So I guess it comes down to the question- does an officiating screw up diminish a tank job or enhance it? Your mileage probably varies. But this is hardly the only time an officiating controversy contributed to an entry on this list.
By the way, 2015 was insane when it came to crazy finishes, and its one of the most prolific years on this whole list. Heck, look above and you can see another moment- UVA/Notre Dame, that didn’t make the cut. To say nothing about the ending of the Big Ten championship between Iowa and Michigan State (hardly a tank job, just a great finish). Buckle up: We’re in for a ride!
TOMORROW: MACtion’s only entry, and a DOUBLE hail mary.