This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/2Pollaski2Furious on 2024-08-17 15:14:38+00:00.
Into the top 20! I think once we reach the Top 10, I’m gonna slow things down to just one entry per day.
20: CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (lost to Oregon State 31-28) [2007]
Just before #2 Cal’s kickoff against Oregon State, the Bears received two bits of news. The first was that top-ranked LSU had just lost to Kentucky in triple overtime, meaning the Bears were just sixty minutes of football away from their first #1 ranking since 1951. The second was that they would have to play those sixty minutes without starting quarterback Nate Longshore, who had become a last-minute scratch due to bone spurs in his ankle, and Kevin Riley would be taking the helm. The first half was a back and forth affair, but Cal ended up taking a 14-13 lead into the locker room. Oregon State came out of the locker room ready, though, and drove down the field to score and take a 20-14 lead. Cal responded with a drive of their own, getting down to the Beaver 2. From there, they gave running back Justin Forsett the ball four times, and four times he was denied, turning the ball over. Cal did manage to score on their next drive, going up 21-20, but Oregon State responded and then, after Cal fumbled the kickoff, booted a field goal to take a 31-21 lead. Cal finally closed the gap to just three points with 2:31 remaining, but Oregon State recovered the onside kick. Cal burned their remaining timeouts, and forced an OSU stop and punt, but Alexis Serna’s kicked a beauty that was downed at the Cal 6. The Bears had 94-yards to go for the win (a bit less for overtime), 1:27 on the clock, and zero timeouts.
It nearly went wrong almost immediately, but on 4th and 17 from the 17, Riley found Lavelle Hawkins just beyond the sticks to keep the game alive. A couple of plays later, Riley launched it downfield, connecting with Robert Jordan for 37 yards to the Oregon State 27, moving into field goal range. A couple plays later, with 14 seconds, DeSean Jackson was hit just a bit too early, leading to a pass interference penalty. 14 seconds remained, but Cal was at the Beaver 12. The next play- a first down, mind you- Riley dropped back, and finding no open receivers, decided to run for it- one of the most costly mistakes in college football history. He was quickly dragged down, and as the clock sped towards 0:00, instead of going for another spike, Cal tried to firedrill on the field goal unit. It didn’t work- time ran out, and the dreams of Cal ascending to the top of the mountain were crushed in one of the most soul-draining fashions imaginable. Longshore would return the next week, but the magic was gone. California ended up losing six of its final seven regular season games before eeking out the Armed Forces Bowl, plummeting from 5-0, #2 with a near certainty of going to #1, to unranked 7-6 at the end of the season.
19: USC TROJANS (lost to Washington State 10-7) [2013]
Lane Kiffin’s job was already on shaky ground when the 2013 season opened. 2012 saw the Trojans begin the season ranked #1 in the nation, only to crater to a 7-6 season that ended with the Trojans embarrassing themselves both on and off the field against Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl. It was the first time since 1964 that a team had fallen from pole position to out of the rankings (Ole Miss in case you were wondering), and it burned up any leeway Kiffin might have had. After an easy win on the Islands over Hawai’i, the Trojans came home for the second week to face Washington State. Wazzu was at a crossroads themselves- the Cougs had spent the better part of the last half-decade or so fielding some of the worst teams to ever slap on a power conference patch, but were starting to put things together under Mike Leach. Just the previous week, the Cougs had gone to eventual runner-up Auburn and played the Tigers close (they’d also famously caused Auburn to run out of beer, which I’m oddly proud of them for). Still, the talent disparity just seemed too much.
ANd sure enough, the Trojans stifled the Cougs. Washington State turned the ball over three times and managed just 222 yards on the night. But USC was somehow even worse on the night, not even getting to the 200 yard mark. Both touchdowns came off turnovers, Washington State fumbled at their own 20, setting up a Trojan touchdown. THen, just before the half, USC Quarterback Cody Kessler, who had passed for all of 41 yards so far, was picked off and watched it returned 70 yards to tie the game up at 7. In the second half, Kiffen yanked Kessler and replacd him with Max Wittek, and the Trojans had their best drive of the night- only to miss a field goal. They missed another field goal on their next drive as the futility only continued to deepen. But its not like the Cougs were doing any better- with 5:41 left to play, Wazzu had managed a pathetic 29 yards of offense for the half. And then it happened- Dom Williams broke loose on a wheel route and scampered for fifty yards, setting up a Wazzu field goal to take the lead. Wittek then threw an interception- ending his half with just fourteen yards of passing, and for once, a Mike Leach team was able to kill the clock. As the seconds ran down, Fox cameras cut to an image of Kiffin standing on the sideline, looking like a dead man walking as “FIRE KIFFIN” chants rained down from enraged Trojan fans. And yes, the true end may have come three weeks later at four in the morning in a tiny little office just off the LAX runway, but this was truly the game that had sealed Kiffin’s fate.
Seriously, I can’t wait for the inevitable Lane Kiffin biopic because this dude has had by far the most insane career in football history.
18: FLORIDA GATORS (lost to Missouri 42-13) [2014]
If you think about it, there’s really six ways you can score a touchdown in football- the offensive ways (rushing, passing), the defensive ways (interception, fumble), and the special teams ways (kick return, punt return). I’m not sure if one team has ever gotten all six methods in a game- or even how many times all six have even occurred in a game, but I do know that the 2014 contest between Missouri and Florida was one of them, and Mizzou managed every single one but a passing touchdown. Florida took care of that last one with less than two minutes left in the third quarter when they were already down 42-0.
I’m not sure its possible to overstate just how apocalyptically bad Florida’s offense was in this game. Had Florida simply knelt on every single play for the first thirty-nine minutes, they might have had a chance. Missouri had just 119 yards of offense for the entire game, but it didn’t matter, because Florida was finding new and inventive ways to get their opponents onto the scoreboard. Giving up the opening kickoff for a touchdown? Check. Fumbling the ball in your own red zone leading to Mizzou’s only offensive touchdown? Check. An interception returned to your own five that resulted in a field goal? Check. Having your opening drive of the second half end in a punt that’s returned for another touchdown to make it 28-0? Check. And back to back drives resulting in a scoop-n-score and pick-six? Check, and check.
Needless to say, the only question coming out of this game was if head coach Will Muschamp would survive to coach against Georgia two weeks later. And he did! And they crushed the #9 Bulldogs 38-20. Because college football is a stupid, stupid sport (and Muschamp did get fired at the end of the year anyways).
17: MIAMI-FL HURRICANES (lost to Pittsburgh 24-14) [2017]
Other than Texas, Miami is probably the team that is most subjected to the dreaded “is back” meme. The glory days of the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, when the Canes swagger was felt all up and down the country, seems like a bygone era, and The U, who had been predicted to be such a dominant force when they joined the ACC, has proved to be anything but since. 2017 looked to change that, however. The Canes started 10-0, and had quietly crept their way up the rankings before running into #3 Notre Dame and loudly announcing themselves by trouncing the Irish 41-8. Now the Canes sat one week away from an enormous showdown with Clemson with both the ACC Championship and a likely playoff berth on the line. But first, a little stop at Heinz Field.
The Panthers were 4-7, already out of bowl contention at this point, and as a result, coach Pat Narduzzi elected to look towards the future, tapping true freshman Kenny Pickett to start. But it was the Panther defense that stepped up in a big way, causing Canes QB Malik Rosier to complete less than half his passes and stifling the Miami rushing attack for just 45 yards on the day. Towards the end of the first half, Pickett got his offense in gear, driving down the field and running the last six yards himself to take a 10-7 lead going into the break. He did it again towards the end of the third quarter, hitting Quadree Ollison from 5 yards out to go up 17-7. Meanwhile, Miami stalled out even more, and was forced to punt on each of their first six drives in the second frame. It wasn’t until Pickett ran in again from 22 yards out that the Canes finally woke up, and Rosier quickly responded to cut the lead to 24-14 with just 2:16 left. Miami recovered the onside kick, causing the Pitt crowd to tense up, but they fumbled three plays later, and the Panthers ran out the clock to snap Miami’s winning streak at 15 games. The Canes hopes would then be thoroughly dashed t…
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