This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/Pollaski on 2024-07-12 15:15:49+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. Over the next seven weeks, we are counting down my 100 greatest tank jobs over the last 20 years. WARNING: You will be hurt.
(video links and a link to the entire list in comments)
Thanks so much for the great response on the first installment of this! It was fun reading speculations about what’s going to appear, and I’m glad people are looking forward to it. I hope I can deliver!
98: NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES (lost to Bowling Green 47-27) [2013]
Headed up by quarterback Jordan Lynch and with the loveable high-fiving Diesel on the sideline, the NIU Huskies were one of the best stories of the early 2010s, catapulting themselves into the limelight with a win over Kent State in the 2012 MAC Championship game, earning themselves a berth in the Orange Bowl (and the ire of one Kirk Herbstreit in response). Despite coach Dave Doeren’s departure for NC State in the aftermath, the now Rod Carey led Huskies would pick up right where they left off in 2013 by avenging their sole regular season loss from the previous year against Iowa, and then flattening Purdue 55-24 in West Lafayette less than a month later. NIU would go on to win all eight regular season conference games by an average of nearly 23 points, putting them in prime position to make their second straight BCS appearance.
Bowling Green, however, had other ideas, and the Falcons raced out to a 17-7 lead in the first quarter. While NIU did chip the lead down to 4 with a couple of field goals, BGSU took over from there. While Lynch was kept comparatively in check, Falcon QB Matt Quinn Johnson threw for five touchdowns with nearly 400 yards of passing to go with 181 rushing yards, and the Falcons dominated, going up 47-20. NIU did close the gap to twenty with a touchdown in the closing seconds, but their hopes of a second straight BCS berth were left shattered on Ford Field. NIU would go on to lose the Poinsettia Bowl to Utah State, ending the season unranked at 12-2.
NIU would have their revenge the next year, when they trounced BGSU 51-17, but sadly no BCS berth was on the line this time.
97: GEORGIA BULLDOGS (lost to Tennessee 34-31) [2016]
Kirby Smart’s first year with the Bulldogs was met with modest expectations, which quickly soared after a decisive opening week win over North Carolina, but then quickly cooled when the Dawgs needed everything they had to dispatch a pesky FCS Nicholls and got trounced by Ole Miss. They came into this contest 3-1 and a rare home underdog against a Tennessee team that, despite an opening week scare against Appalachian State, was coming in hot at 4-0 after finally snapping their agonizing 11-game losing streak to Florida.
Perhaps the Vols were a bit too euphoric about finally downing the Gators, because with two minutes to go in the half, the Bulldogs scored yet again to take a 17-0 lead. But Tennessee put up their own touchdown right before the half, and spent the second half clawing their way back into the game, and took a 28-24 lead with just three minutes to go. With just nineteen seconds left, things looked bleak for the Dawgs- they sat 47 yards away from the end zone and it looked like the Vols were going to escape the Hedges for the first time since 2006. But then Jacob Eason lobbed a rainbow to a streaking Riley Ridley, sending Sanford Stadium into a frenzy and giving the Dawgs a 31-28 lead with ten ticks left on the clock.
Only, admist all that jubilation a yellow flag sat on the field- unsportsmanlike conduct on the celebration, moving the kickoff back fifteen yards, and with four seconds to go, the Vols sat inside Georgia territory. Cue Josh Dobbs throwing a rainbow of his own, right into the arms of a leaping Jauan Jennings, stunning the Georgia faithful. Georgia would not be ranked again this year, lose to Vanderbilt, Florida and Georgia Tech, and finish 8-5 with a Liberty Bowl win over TCU.
On the bright side, Georgia hasn’t lost to Tennessee since.
TOMORROW: THAT Wake Forest game. No, the other one. And 2013 Auburn Magic claims its final victim.