Which schools had the roughest years in the two major college sports? What were the 25 worst college football and basketball combinations of 2018-2019?
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Let’s cut through the hoo-ha … college football and men’s college basketball. That’s college sports, at least at the highest of national levels.
An athletic director doesn’t get fired for whiffing on the cross country coach hire.
For the 25 schools below, their fans had a rough run over the latest college football and basketball seasons, and they deserve better. So which big-time, FBS football/D-I basketball schools stunk it up the most this year? Whose fan bases endured a run of total misery?
To get on this list, 1) a school’s college football team had to miss out on a bowl appearance, and 2) its men’s basketball team had to finish with a losing season and/or not get into the NCAA Tournament.
And the 25 football & basketball schools who struggled the most in 2018 – and part of 2019 – were …
25. Indiana Hoosiers
Going 17-15 and being nothing more than a bubble team isn’t what Indiana basketball team is supposed to be all about. The Hoosiers finished tied for eighth in the regular season, and got bounced out early in the Big Ten Tournament. The football side – for the second year in a row – had a bowl game there for the taking, and lost to Purdue to finish 5-7.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
24. Miami University RedHawks
The football team deserved a bowl game. It went 6-6 and finished tied for second in the MAC East, but it got squeezed out – the conference didn’t have enough bowl tie-ins. The basketball team wasn’t totally miserable, but it died down the stretch to end up 15-17.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 20
23. Florida Atlantic Owls
Coming off an amazing 2017 footballs season under Lane Kiffin, the Owls were a stunning disappointment with an underwhelming 5-7 clunker. The basketball team came up with a 17-15 winning season, but went 8-10 in Conference USA play and finished tied for ninth in the regular season.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
22. Arizona Wildcats
Kevin Sumlin was supposed to come in and rock right away. The football team started with a loss to BYU, ended with a loss to Arizona State, and finished with a rough 5-7 run. The basketball woes extended to beyond just the disappointing 17-15 record for a program that’s supposed to be among the elite of the elite.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
21. Nebraska Cornhuskers
The basketball team wasn’t all that bad, and it had a fun few days in the Big Ten basketball tournament. But it still ended up finishing 13th in the conference regular season and 18-16 overall, helped by a midseason seven-game losing streak. There’s certainly hope for the football team under Scott Frost, but 4-8 is still 4-8.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
20. Akron Zips
Coming off a trip to the MAC Championship, the Zips went an ugly 4-8 on the football field and ended up bailing on head coach Terry Bowden. The basketball team at least had a 17-16 winning season, but it finished fourth in the MAC East and had a league-worst 1-10 record on the road.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
19. Arkansas Razorbacks
No one was expecting miracles right away in the Chad Morris era, but going 2-10 and finishing winless in the SEC wasn’t how the football season was supposed to go. To put it into perspective, Arkansas scored over 400 fewer points than Bama. Hogs hoops were a wee bit better, finishing with a 17-15 record, ending tied for ninth in the SEC.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
18. Ball State Cardinals
The Cardinals just didn’t have any fun. It was bad enough to have a disappointing 4-8 season in football, but the good guys – QB Riley Neal and RB James Gilbert – transferred for next year. The hoops team finished fifth in the MAC West and 16-17 overall.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
17. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
The Chanticleers were close to being good in both sports. They’re still trying to find their way in the FCS football world, but they still finished 5-7 and fourth in the Sun Belt East. The basketball team went 15-16 and couldn’t make any noise in the Sun Belt Tournament.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 8
16. South Alabama Jaguars
The Jaguars went through a football coaching change, but they were still supposed to be a whole lot better than 3-9 with one of the nation’s worst offenses. The basketball team had a winning season, but was only 17-16, finishing in the middle of the pack.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 11
15. Oregon State Beavers
Favorite son former quarterback Jonathan Smith came in to take over the woebegone football team and … 2-10. At least it ruined Colorado’s season with one decent Pac-12 win. The basketball team finished tiled for fourth in the conference regular season, but was 18-13 and got destroyed in the Pac-12 Tournament by … Colorado.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 13
14. Wyoming Cowboys
It was a really, really lousy run of a basketball season, going just 4-14 and finishing next-to-last in Mountain West play, and going 8-24 overall. The football team went 6-6 and couldn’t find its way into a bowl game – the league didn’t have enough tie-ins – thanks to an offense that had little interest in scoring.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
13. USC Trojans
No, it’s not because of Isabella Loughlin. The Trojans were supposed to be rebuilding a bit on the football field, but to go 5-7? USC? In a bad, down year for the conference and the South? That was bad, and the 16-17 season in basketball didn’t help.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
12. Air Force Falcons
The Falcons just couldn’t seem to get either season going. The basketball team finished sixth in the Mountain West with an 8-10 record, and went 14-18 overall. The football side couldn’t seem to get a big road win and missed out on a bowl finishing 5-7.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 16
11. UConn Huskies
Isn’t UConn supposed to be good at this basketball thing? It continues to be awful, going 6-12 in the AAC to finish ninth in the regular season, and closed out with an 84-45 loss to Houston in the conference tournament to end up 16-17. That was bad, the football team was at a historic level of awful, going 1-11 giving up 605 points.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 10
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10. New Mexico Lobos
The Lobos sputtered and struggled throughout the basketball season, going 14-18 and fizzling in conference play with a mediocre 7-11 run. The football team couldn’t get past early quarterback injuries to go along with a bad defense, finishing 3-9 and last in the Mountain division.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
9. Navy Midshipmen
Basketball? Going 12-19 overall and finishing fifth in the Patriot League isn’t a plus, but it’s not easy for the service academies to rock on the hardwood. The football side went into a surprising funk, going 3-10 last year with no defense and not enough O to help the cause.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
8. Illinois Fighting Illini
Lovie Smith just can’t get this thing going. It’s been three years, and the football team continues to sputter and cough, finishing last in the Big Ten West and going 4-8 overall. The basketball team had a decent midseason run, but ended 12-21 overall going just 7-13 in conference play.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 6
7. Colorado State Rams
A big disappointment in both bit sports, the Rams failed to get the season rolling in basketball, and closed with a thud losing four straight to go 12-20 on the year. The football team needed to do a little bit or rebuilding, but even with a win over Arkansas it finished 3-9.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: Not Ranked
6. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Oh Rutgers … will there ever be a rainbow? The Big Ten might be good at this football thing, but going 0-9 in conference and scoring just 162 points overall in a 1-11 year isn’t okay. The basketball program is taking a few steps, but it still went 14-17 and went out with a whimper with three straight losses.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 7
5. UMass Minutemen
Nothing worked. The basketball team sputtered and struggled in the Atlantic 10 with a 4-14 record – tying for second-to-last – and going 11-21 overall with just one road win. The football team had a fun offense, but the D was non-existent in a 4-8 campaign.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 9
4. Rice Owls
Not only did Rice to 2-11 in football, but it lost to UTEP – the only Miner win in two seasons. The basketball side of things was a wee bit better, but not by much, going 13-19. At least the Owls went 8-10 in Conference USA play.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 4
3. East Carolina Pirates
The Pirates made a football coaching change after this year to finally try turning around a program that used to be a Group of Five player. But this year was an ugly 3-9 season gong 1-7 in the AAC East. The basketball team went 10-21, closed out with five straight losses, and only finished ahead of AAC-winless Tulane in conference play.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 5
2. UTEP Miners
At least the Miners are No. 1. They finally won a football game again, but it’s the only one in two years – beating Rice – to finish 1-11. As bad as things were, the team really did get better under new head man Dana Dimel.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 1
1. San Jose State Spartans
It’s been a brutal run over the last several years for the San Jose State football program, winning just three games – and just one game against an FCS team, since 2016. there’s just been one winning season since 2006, and it’s still going to be a fight as head man Brent Brennan tries to find something positive.
The football team was bad. The basketball team was even worse, going 4-27 on the season and just 1-17 in the Mountain West. Everyone’s favorite houseguest went 0-12 on the road, and worst of all, the team closed out with a 1-21 run after December 15th.
Last Year’s Oops & Helmets Ranking: 2
