130-121 120-111 110-101 100-91 90-81 80-71
70.)
Charlotte (7-6, 106.7 WP, 57.2 LP)Will Healy found great success in his first season as Charlotte's head coach, guiding them to their first bowl game ever. The 49ers began the season 2-5 and look destined for another losing season, but a 39-38 win over North Texas started a five-game win streak that had them destined for postseason play. They even got a nice trip to the Bahamas before they watched Buffalo stampede to a 31-9 win.
Best Win: Marshall
Worst Loss: FIU
2018 Finish: 5-7, No. 98
69.)
Ohio (7-6, 96 WP, 86.5 LP)Frank Solich reached a milestone in November as the Bobcats won their last two conference games to make a bowl game. The first of those two wins also mad Solich the winningest coach in MAC history with 111 (now 112) conference wins. The bowl appearance was impressive considering the 1-4 start, but it didn't stop Ohio from wiping the blue turf with Nevada in 30-21 victory in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The best part of the victory was watching the established Solich get french fries rather than Gatorade dumped on his head. He was thanked with a two-year contract extension, keeping him in Athens until age 77.
68.)
The Golden Flashes appeared to be in store for another losing season after a narrow escape of FCS Kennesaw State in overtime. They even fell to 3-6 needing wins against two bowl bound teams. However, there last loss to Toledo showed a lot of offensive promise that they used to knock off Buffalo, Ball State, and EMU to get to 6-6. Kent State earned an appearance in the Frisco Bowl against a tough opponent in Utah State, but the Flashes controlled the game from the start for 51-41 victory and their first ever bowl win. With the offensive scheme clicking, it will be interesting to see if that translates into next year in Sean Lewis' third season.
Best Win: Buffalo
Worst Loss: Toledo
2018 Finish: 2-10, No. 124
67.)
The Golden Eagles were left out of a bowl game after a 6-5 finish last year, but they would do just enough to make it this year. Southern Miss actually jumped out to a 7-3 start, but finished with losses to Western Kentucky and FAU. They were selected to an Armed Forces Bowl appearance against former CUSA foe Tulane. Southern Miss raced out to a 13-0 lead, but an injury to quarterback Jack Abraham allowed the Green Wave to rattle off 31 unanswered points. Despite the loss they still managed to record their fifth consecutive win.
Best Win: UAB
Worst Loss: Tulane
2018 Finish: 6-5, No. 56
66.)
The Green Wave were lucky to make it into a bowl game as they had a 6-3 start erased after a tough stretch in the AAC that included SMU, UCF, and Temple. They lost all three games and limped into the bowl competition with an appearance against Southern Miss in the Armed Forces Bowl. After falling behind 13-0 they rattled off 31 points to finish with a winning record.
Best Win: Southern Miss
Worst Loss: Temple
2018 Finish: 7-6 (Cure Bowl), No. 68
65.)
Georgia State (7-6, 89.6 WP, 75.8 LP)No matter how the season finished, it was an epic year for the Panthers. Georgia State opened the year with a stunning 38-30 victory over Tennessee. Then they puzzlingly lost to Texas State before running off four straight wins. That was followed with three losses in their last four, but that lone win was enough to ensure a bowl appearance. They would get to spend New Year's Eve out west, but were manhandled by Wyoming in the Arizona Bowl.
Best Win: Tennessee
Worst Loss: Texas State
2018 Finish: 2-10, No. 121
64.)
Western Michigan (7-6, 88.1 WP, 65.7 LP)The Broncos were responsible for one of Georgia State's losses as they throttled the Panthers 57-10. WMU had great success in the MAC with losses to Toledo and EMU early on, but had a chance to win the West after their head-to-head win over the Chippewa's. However, Northern Illinois played spoiler and kept the Broncos out and CMU won the West instead. They settled for a trip to the First Responders Bowl and went down to the wire with Western Kentucky, but it would be the Hilltoppers who knocked in the game winning field goal for a 23-20 victory.
Best Win: Miami (OH)
Worst Loss: Northern Illinois
2018 Finish: 7-6 (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl), No. 74
63.)
Georgia Southern (7-6, 87.3 WP, 53.7 LP)The Eagles had an interesting non-conference schedule as they were throttled by LSU, escaped Maine (FCS), and were down to the wire with Minnesota. Then after a loss to Louisiana they put together four straight wins, including a win over a ranked Appalachian State team for the second year in a row. They split their final four, but won their rivalry over Georgia State. After winning their first bowl game ever last season, they looked for back-to-back victories, this time in the Cure Bowl against Liberty. The Flames got ahead and never relinquished the lead to notch their first bowl win in their first ever bowl appearance.
Best Win: Appalachian State
Worst Loss: Troy
2018 Finish: 10-3 (Camellia Bowl), No. 22
62.)
Nevada (7-6, 83.9 WP, 73.8 LP)The Wolfpack began the season with a win and a loss against Power 5 schools. First they rallied to knock off Purdue, but were brought back to Earth with a 77-6 loss at Oregon. That would be a theme throughout the season as they followed a big win over UTEP with a big loss at Hawai'i. A three game win streak towards the end of the season got them bowl eligible, but for the second year in a row, they were beaten by an inferior UNLV squad for the Fremont Cannon. They were selected to go to a familiar place in Boise, as they faced Ohio in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The Bobcats dominated the line of scrimmage and Nevada ended the season with back-to-back losses.
Best Win: San Diego State
Worst Loss: UNLV
2018 Finish: 8-5 (Arizona Bowl), No. 45
61.)
UNC (7-6, 82.3 WP, 28.8 LP)The Tar Heels were oh so close, certainly closer than any other ACC team at beating Clemson. UNC scored with 1:17 left to play and elected to go for the win, but were stopped on a 2-point try and fell 21-20. That loss was the end of a three game losing streak that featured a controversial six point loss to Wake Forest and a three point loss to Appalachian State. There were more close calls to come as they were on the wrong end of history when they played the first game under the new overtime rules when they lost 43-41 in six overtimes against Virginia Tech. In fact all six of their losses were decided by seven points or less.
They won their final two games including a 41-10 throttling of rival NCST to earn a bowl appearance. Based on record the Tar Heels seemed overmatched by a battle tested AAC team in Temple. But all the close calls in ACC play helped give UNC the confidence to obliterate the Owls in the best bowl win in school history, a 55-13 route in the Military Bowl. The return of Mack Brown brought a new spark and swagger back to Chapel Hill and this season shows that there's plenty of promise to come in 2020.
Best Win: Temple
Worst Loss: Pitt
2018 Finish: 2-9, No. 119
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