Even players got in on cutting their seasons short a little early. Eastern Michigan quarterback Mike Glass, decided to end his Senior season 10 seconds early by slapping Pitt Panthers and flopping referees. The Miami Hurricanes had several players cut their season short to prepare for the draft and watched their teammates get so embarrassed by Louisiana Tech that it cost offensive coordinator Dan Enos his job.
130-121 120-111 110-101 100-91 90-81
80.)
FIU (6-7, 109.7 WP, 77.6 LP)The Panthers also might have had something to do with Enos being fired as FIU stunned their inner city rival with a 30-24 victory. That win notched six wins for the Panthers and earned them an appearance in the Camellia Bowl. They fell short against Arkansas State and finished with their first losing season since 2016. Despite their early season success, FIU lost three of their final four games.
Best Win: Miami (FL)
Worst Loss: Tulane
2018 Finish: 9-4 (Bahamas Bowl), No. 35
79.)
EMU (6-7, 93 WP, 75.4 LP)The Eagles pulled off another late victory against a Big Ten team, this time Illinois, which made it all the more surprising that they needed a blocked punt beat Central Connecticut State (FCS). Once again, after a win over a Big Ten school, EMU fell apart during the MAC season. After a 3-1 start in non-conference play, the Eagles went 3-5 during MACtion. At 6-6, they were on the chopping block to miss out for a bowl game as it came down to them, Kent State, or Toledo. The Rockets ended up being the ones left out and EMU was invited to their second consecutive bowl game for the first time in school history. Not only that, but they didn't have to venture very far as they made the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.
A surprisingly large crowd was in full effect as the Eagles led the Pitt Panthers for 59 minutes of the game before the Panthers scored a late touchdown. EMU's strong effort was quickly forgotten as Mike Glass went into meltdown mode in the final ten seconds and began slapping any Pitt player within reach and also one flopping referee. His ejection made an impossible scenario even tougher, although Preston Hutchinson did throw a game winning touchdown against Western Michigan. Unfortunately it was not meant to be and the Eagles are still without a bowl win since 1987.
It could prove difficult for EMU to make it three years in a row as former AD Heather Lyke scrapped a visit from Michigan State and replaced it with a trip to Missouri. That means the Eagles will play two SEC schools in their non-conference as well as Army, whom the Eagles have struggled against mightily.
Best Win: Illinois
Worst Loss: Ball State
2018 Finish: 7-6 (Camellia Bowl), No. 73
78.)
The Bulldogs were fortunate to even make a bowl game as Ole Miss had them on the ropes, before a weird celebration penalty caused them to miss an extra point and give Mississippi State a 21-20 victory and a 6-6 record. That earned them a place in the Music City Bowl against Louisville, but they ran into a major issue before the game even started. Quarterback Garrett Shrader injured himself during an altercation at practice and his absence contributed to a 38-28 loss at the hands of the Cardinals. The disappointing finish as well as some issues within the program led to Mississippi State firing Joe Moorhead after just two seasons.
Best Win: Kentucky
Worst Loss: Tennessee
2018 Finish: 8-5 (Outback Bowl), No. 42
77.)
Life without Gardner Minshew was hard for the Cougars. Even Mike Leach was critical of his team, calling them, "fat, dumb, happy, and entitled" after a loss to Utah. After that speech that would've made Dean Wormer proud, Wazzu got back in the saddle and promptly dropped three of their next four. Fortunately they beat Stanford and escaped Oregon State to get to six wins before dropping the Apple Cup to Washington. The Cougars earned a bid to the Cheez-It Bowl, but were manhandled by Air Force to finish with their first losing season since 2014.
Best Win: Colorado
Worst Loss: UCLA
2018 Finish: 11-2 (Alamo Bowl), No. 8
76.)
It was a season of mixed emotions for the Fighting Illini as they began the year going 2-4 with a four game losing streak that was started by Eastern Michigan. Then they stopped their losing ways by stunning No. 8 Wisconsin on a late field goal and followed that with wins against Purdue, Rutgers, and Michigan State to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2014 and the first time under Lovie Smith. However, those feelings of joy dropped off after three straight losses including a 35-20 loss to Cal in the Redbox Bowl. Illinois looks to build on this momentum and try to pick up their first winning season since the Ron Zook era in 2011.
Best Win: Wisconsin
Worst Loss: Eastern Michigan
2018 Finish: 4-8, No. 105
75.)
Florida State (6-7, 76.8 WP, 27.7 LP)Well it turns out that leaving Oregon for Florida State was a mistake on the part of Willie Taggart as he was fired in less than two seasons. The Noles were brutal all season when it came to mental mistakes that cost them against Boise State and nearly cost them an overtime loss to Louisiana Monroe, but the Warhawks missed the tying extra point to send it into a second OT. An ugly loss to an equally struggling Florida team (Miami) cost Taggart his job. From there Florida State finished 2-1 to limp their way into a bowl game and nearly had Arizona State in the Sun Bowl, but the Seminoles turned it over six times. The biggest dagger came when James Blackmon threw a pick-6 to hand the lead back to ASU. That loss meant back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since the Mid-70's. Mike Norvell comes over from a strong Memphis program to try and bring FSU back to ACC glory, while Taggart hits the beach at FAU.
Best Win: Louisville
Worst Loss: Miami (FL)
2018 Finish: 5-7, No. 90
74.)
Boston College (6-7, 76.5 WP, 45.4 LP)The Eagles had a lot of promise heading into the season, but like the rest of the ACC (Clemson and Virginia excluded) they took the year off. After a big win over Virginia Tech to begin the season, Boston College did the unthinkable and lost to Kansas. The season went up and down much the same and they needed a win in the final week over Pitt to become bowl eligible. Unfortunately, it's not certain that BC actually made the trip to the Ticketsmarter Birmingham Bowl, perhaps they were they checked out after the weather delay, that unlike last year, didn't cancel the game. After the 1 1/2 hour delay, the UC Bearcats feasted on the Eagles 38-6 to give BC their first losing season since 2015. Luckily for Steve Addazio he wasn't there to watch things play out as he was fired after the win over Pitt and is now the coach at Colorado State. He will be replaced by Ohio State co-defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley.
Best Win: Virginia Tech
Worst Loss: Kansas
2018 Finish: 7-5 (First Responders Bowl), No. 51
73.)
The last of our losers, the Hurricanes were a ball of inconsistency. They began the season 2-2, but easily could've been 1-3 as they narrowly escaped Central Michigan 17-12. Miami did pull off a big win over Virginia, but followed that with an overtime loss to Georgia Tech. They put together three straight wins to become bowl eligible, but then were shocked by FIU and then Duke. Several players abandoned ship before the Independence Bowl and the Canes were blanked by Louisiana Tech in a performance so bad, that offensive coordinator Dan Enos was fired. Manny Diaz's first season ended with the first losing campaign since 2014.
Best Win: Virginia
Worst Loss: Georgia Tech
2018 Finish: 7-6 (Pinstripe Bowl), No. 63
72.)
Missouri (6-6, 98.2 WP, 63.8 LP)The Missouri Tigers were really excited to have Kelly Bryant transfer from Clemson to guide them to relevance in the SEC. After a tough loss to Wyoming, the Tigers went on to win their next five, but they followed that with a five game losing streak. They finished the season with a win over rival Arkansas, but an NCAA violation regarding improper grading by a tutor kept Mizzou out of the bowl season. Barry Odom suffered the consequences and was fired after four seasons. Eli Drinkwitz comes over from Appalachian State after just one season where he led the Mountaineers to another Sun Belt Title and helped App State become the first Sun Belt school to win a game while being ranked.
Best Win: Ole Miss
Worst Loss: Vanderbilt
2018 Finish: 8-5 (Liberty Bowl), No. 47
71.)
The Rockets got left out in the cold despite beating fellow 6-6 MAC teams EMU and Kent State. They even added wins over BYU and Colorado State, but they lost to a bad Bowling Green team and were pummelled in their final game of the season 49-7 by CMU. That was preceded by a 49-30 loss to Buffalo, as a win in either game would have put them into a bowl game. This is the first time Toledo has missed out on a bowl appearance since 2013, but just like this season, the Rockets were left out despite being bowl eligible at 7-5.
Best Win: BYU
Worst Loss: Bowling Green
2018 Finish: 7-6 (Bahamas Bowl), No. 72
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