This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/Pollaski on 2023-10-09 18:01:47.
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.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
- Baylor Bears (lost to Texas State 42-31)
- Nevada Wolf Pack (lost to Idaho 33-6)
- Oklahoma State Cowboys (lost to South Alabama 33-7)
- Minnesota Golden Gophers (lost to Northwestern 37-34)
- UCF Knights (lost to Baylor 36-35)
LAST WEEK: I thought it was going to be a two horse race between UCF and Georgia Tech, but it was all about the Knights. Hoo boy it was all about the Knights. In fact, some of you were calling for me to just declare their meltdown to Baylor the Ultimate Tank Job for the year and be done with it. You probably want to take that back.
Onto this week, yes, we’re still gonna vote. Yes, there’s other nominees. Yes, this is completely a formality. And yes, what happened at exactly 8:31 PM Pacific on Saturday Night is the kind of moment that the TJOTW can normally only dream about. In fact, you could say that I KNELT in reverence to the football gods who hath delivered such a glorious bounty.
NOTE: For Ease of Counting, please use carats in your vote, like this: . Thank you, and thanks for participating!
Honorable Mentions: WE ALL SAW THAT, USC. EVERYBODY SAW. Also, Nebraska/Illinois. And Jimbo Fisher’s intestinal fortitude.
And now, the nominees for Week 6 are…
ARIZONA WILDCATS (lost to USC 43-41)
I hate to do this, Zona. You followed up a plucky finish against Washington with an even pluckier effort against USC. But it was 17-0, guys. You had Steve Kerr skipping out of his press conference to watch and drink margaritas. And you couldn’t hang on. Also, you shoulda gone for two in the first overtime. It burned Colorado State, and it burned you too.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (lost to Wyoming 24-19)
At 5-0 and with two Power 5 scalps on their belt, the Bulldogs rolled into Laramie the clear frontrunner in the race for that coveted Group of Five NY6 berth. They leave with their teeth broken, limping back to California after a last minute interception halted a desperate comeback. Are their big boy bowl hopes dashed? Not yet. But they took a major hit.
MIAMI-FL HURRICANES (lost to Georgia Tech 23-20)
By now you’ve at least heard about it- the Canes didn’t kneel, fumbled, and then gave up the winning touchdown with two seconds left. As incredible as it might sound, that description doesn’t even begin to do this justice, and there’s absolutely nothing I can type here that will. If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to. If you have, you probably need to see it again. Not too many times, mind you, because you’re going to be watching this on every college football YouTube compilation for the rest of your life. Moderation is key.
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (lost to Louisville 33-20)
It was 17-13 Cards entering the fourth quarter. Notre Dame’s fourth quarter drive chart: Turnover on Downs on their own 35, First play interception, Fumble on their own 26 (which was gonna be a turnover on downs anyways), Touchdown!, Recovered onside kick, game ending interception. Considering the offensive meltdown and the absolute gifts of field position they handed Louisville, it’s a miracle the Cards only got 16 points out of it.
RICE OWLS (lost to Connecticut 38-31)
Owls were 10 point home faves over the winless Huskies, and outgained UConn by over 160 yards. But one, two, three turnovers put the Owls down 28-14. They did claw back to 31-28, but then the Huskies ripped off a 59 yard TD, and the attempted Rice counter resulted in turnover #4. Rice did manage a field goal to pull it into one score, but the onside kick was recovered, and the Huskies walk out of Houston with their first win of the year.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (lost to Boise State 35-27)
It was 27-7 at one point. And then the Smurf voodoo kicked in, the Broncos rallied off 28 straight, and the game that could have kickstarted SJSU’s floundering season is probably the beginning of the end for their bowl hopes.
UCF KNIGHTS (lost to Kansas 51-22)
One of the most overused terms in sports is “boatraced”, and people don’t use it correctly. A proper boatracing is a team racing out to such an insurmountable lead that even though the other team gets going, there’s just no hope they can possibly catch up (since in actual boat racing you can lose the lane you need to make the pass). That said, UCF got boat-raced by the Jayhawks. Or maybe bus-raced, but whatever. In fact, between the end of the Baylor game and the first 31 minutes of the Kansas game, the Knights were outscored 67-0. Yeesh.