Fun topic for the weekdays. I'm sure there are even more extreme examples than the two below.

Miami went 3-8 in 1976. Other than that we went 50-4-2 from 1973 through 1978, becoming the only team in college football history to beat an SEC team in a bowl three years in a row. Wins over Purdue (twice), South Carolina (twice), UNC (twice), Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, and IU over that period, with a tie to Purdue and one-point loss to Michigan State as well. Undefeated in MAC play except for two losses in 1978. From 1943 until 1980, 1976 was the only season under .500 for the Redskins.

On the flip side, Miami went 10-4 with the MAC title in 2010, becoming the first team in college football history to go from 10+ losses to 10+ wins the next season. If you exclude that, we went 13-53 from 2009 through the first six games of 2016, with glorious losses to Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Illinois over that stretch. From 2006 through present, 2010 has been our only season above .500.

Rice

2007 3-9
2008 10-3
2009 2-10

How about UCF Football
2012 10-4
2013 12-1
2014 9-4
2015 0-12
2016 6-7
2017 13-0
2018 12-1

That 0-12 sticks out like a sore thumb.... Team has gone 62-29 last 7 years and 12 of those 29 losses were in the 2015 season.

(09-17-2019 07:58 AM)stever20 Wrote:  How about UCF Football
2012 10-4
2013 12-1
2014 9-4
2015 0-12
2016 6-7
2017 13-0
2018 12-1

That 0-12 sticks out like a sore thumb.... Team has gone 62-29 last 7 years and 12 of those 29 losses were in the 2015 season.

Coaching turmoil and an extremely young squad. It happens.

As an Illini guy, I'm an expert in the random fluke season. The Illinois football regular seasons in first decade of this century are the textbook definition of flukiness:

2000: 5-6
2001: 10-1 Big Ten champion and a Sugar Bowl appearance (Rose Bowl was the BCS National Championship Game that year)
2002: 5-7
2003: 1-11
2004: 3-8
2005: 2-9
2006: 2-10
2007: 9-3 with a defeat of #1 Ohio State and a Rose Bowl appearance
2008: 5-7
2009: 3-9

As a summary, Illinois had a Sugar Bowl (as Big Ten champion) and Rose Bowl appearance in that decade... and those were the ONLY bowls that they made that decade. Outside of those two seasons where they made BCS bowls, they were 23-67 during that decade. I guess we're just a "Go big or go home!" type of school.

"Fluke" seasons aren't that rare, because you have constant player turnover, and a lot of coaching turnover as well.

(09-17-2019 09:34 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  "Fluke" seasons aren't that rare, because you have constant player turnover, and a lot of coaching turnover as well.

i think they're rarer than you think. Normally the coaching turnover and it becomes a trend..... What happened at UCF for instance is very unusual.

I saw UCF play a couple games that 0-12 year on TV and there was no question that team quit.

USM went 12-2 in 2011 and 0-12 the next year, 1-11, 3-9 and then 9-5 winning their division.
The AD caused that one. Why you would go from a young and rising coach and staff with a spread offense to a much older staff and new schemes rejecting everything that got you to 12-2 baffles me.

(09-17-2019 09:39 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 09:34 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  "Fluke" seasons aren't that rare, because you have constant player turnover, and a lot of coaching turnover as well.

i think they're rarer than you think. Normally the coaching turnover and it becomes a trend..... What happened at UCF for instance is very unusual.

UCF has had two zero win seasons in the past fifteen years. Under O'Leary, they also had four double-digit win seasons and two double digit losing seasons. I would personally categorize UCF, during that time period, as struggling to stay consistent, if anything, but hardly fluky, since they finished in a variety of ways.

Today, UCF has clearly capitalized on what Frost established, and with what Heupel has maintained, leading to a sustained run of success for UCF Football. Personally, I think there are a lot of similarities between UCF (2013-2019), and Miami (1979-1986). Aside from both being in Florida, both programs has long stretches of inconsistency in prime recruiting areas. Both programs hit home runs with hires like Scott Frost and Howard Schnellenberger, but also were able to maintain that level of success with the replacements (Josh Heupel and Jimmy Johnson). Eventually, Miami was able to challenge (and win) a national championship, and if UCF continues to win out annually, it is inevitable that they too will receive their shot. I would also argue that both programs were not in traditional power conferences (Miami was an independent, and UCF is in the AAC); Miami eventually got an invitation to the Big East, which was able to flip that into an ACC bid; if UCF continues to perform at a high-level in football, I think it is inevitable that one of the Big 12/ACC/SEC eventually adds them, but that is years down the road IMO.

2000 Oregon State

(09-17-2019 10:10 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 09:39 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 09:34 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  "Fluke" seasons aren't that rare, because you have constant player turnover, and a lot of coaching turnover as well.

i think they're rarer than you think. Normally the coaching turnover and it becomes a trend..... What happened at UCF for instance is very unusual.

UCF has had two zero win seasons in the past fifteen years. Under O'Leary, they also had four double-digit win seasons and two double digit losing seasons. I would personally categorize UCF, during that time period, as struggling to stay consistent, if anything, but hardly fluky, since they finished in a variety of ways.

Today, UCF has clearly capitalized on what Frost established, and with what Heupel has maintained, leading to a sustained run of success for UCF Football. Personally, I think there are a lot of similarities between UCF (2013-2019), and Miami (1979-1986). Aside from both being in Florida, both programs has long stretches of inconsistency in prime recruiting areas. Both programs hit home runs with hires like Scott Frost and Howard Schnellenberger, but also were able to maintain that level of success with the replacements (Josh Heupel and Jimmy Johnson). Eventually, Miami was able to challenge (and win) a national championship, and if UCF continues to win out annually, it is inevitable that they too will receive their shot. I would also argue that both programs were not in traditional power conferences (Miami was an independent, and UCF is in the AAC); Miami eventually got an invitation to the Big East, which was able to flip that into an ACC bid; if UCF continues to perform at a high-level in football, I think it is inevitable that one of the Big 12/ACC/SEC eventually adds them, but that is years down the road IMO.

The 1st winless season was in O'Leary's first year.... Give me a break including that.... The 2015 season when you look at their records in the decade sticks out like a sore thumb...... They've definitely taken their jump from CUSA to the AAC and run with it.

Very interesting thread.

I remember that season Central Florida went winless. Indeed, was only a couple years ago.

(09-17-2019 07:25 PM)Bronco14 Wrote:  Very interesting thread.

I remember that season Central Florida went winless. Indeed, was only a couple years ago.

Correction... seasons. They've had 2 winless seasons in the last 15 years (2015, 2004).

(09-17-2019 10:14 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 10:10 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 09:39 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 09:34 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  "Fluke" seasons aren't that rare, because you have constant player turnover, and a lot of coaching turnover as well.

i think they're rarer than you think. Normally the coaching turnover and it becomes a trend..... What happened at UCF for instance is very unusual.

UCF has had two zero win seasons in the past fifteen years. Under O'Leary, they also had four double-digit win seasons and two double digit losing seasons. I would personally categorize UCF, during that time period, as struggling to stay consistent, if anything, but hardly fluky, since they finished in a variety of ways.

Today, UCF has clearly capitalized on what Frost established, and with what Heupel has maintained, leading to a sustained run of success for UCF Football. Personally, I think there are a lot of similarities between UCF (2013-2019), and Miami (1979-1986). Aside from both being in Florida, both programs has long stretches of inconsistency in prime recruiting areas. Both programs hit home runs with hires like Scott Frost and Howard Schnellenberger, but also were able to maintain that level of success with the replacements (Josh Heupel and Jimmy Johnson). Eventually, Miami was able to challenge (and win) a national championship, and if UCF continues to win out annually, it is inevitable that they too will receive their shot. I would also argue that both programs were not in traditional power conferences (Miami was an independent, and UCF is in the AAC); Miami eventually got an invitation to the Big East, which was able to flip that into an ACC bid; if UCF continues to perform at a high-level in football, I think it is inevitable that one of the Big 12/ACC/SEC eventually adds them, but that is years down the road IMO.

The 1st winless season was in O'Leary's first year.... Give me a break including that.... The 2015 season when you look at their records in the decade sticks out like a sore thumb...... They've definitely taken their jump from CUSA to the AAC and run with it.

Speaking of O'Leary:
Georgia Tech
1990 11-0-1 share of MNC
1991 8-5-0 (Bobby Ross left)
1992 5-6-0
1993 5-6-0
1994 1-10-0 (O'Leary replaced Bill Lewis mid-season)

My memory was faulty. I was thinking it happened only two years after the MNC, but it was still a pretty quick collapse.

(09-17-2019 07:25 PM)Bronco14 Wrote:  Very interesting thread.

I remember that season Central Florida went winless. Indeed, was only a couple years ago.

Gotta stop killing those brain cells.

ND since 2015:

10-3

4-8

10-3

12-1

2-0


That 2016 season sure sticks out as an weird anomaly.

(09-17-2019 10:01 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  I saw UCF play a couple games that 0-12 year on TV and there was no question that team quit.

USM went 12-2 in 2011 and 0-12 the next year, 1-11, 3-9 and then 9-5 winning their division.
The AD caused that one. Why you would go from a young and rising coach and staff with a spread offense to a much older staff and new schemes rejecting everything that got you to 12-2 baffles me.

That Ellis Johnson hire also indirectly wrecked South Carolina about two years later as well. Ugh

(09-17-2019 10:10 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 09:39 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 09:34 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  "Fluke" seasons aren't that rare, because you have constant player turnover, and a lot of coaching turnover as well.

i think they're rarer than you think. Normally the coaching turnover and it becomes a trend..... What happened at UCF for instance is very unusual.

UCF has had two zero win seasons in the past fifteen years. Under O'Leary, they also had four double-digit win seasons and two double digit losing seasons. I would personally categorize UCF, during that time period, as struggling to stay consistent, if anything, but hardly fluky, since they finished in a variety of ways.

Today, UCF has clearly capitalized on what Frost established, and with what Heupel has maintained, leading to a sustained run of success for UCF Football. Personally, I think there are a lot of similarities between UCF (2013-2019), and Miami (1979-1986). Aside from both being in Florida, both programs has long stretches of inconsistency in prime recruiting areas. Both programs hit home runs with hires like Scott Frost and Howard Schnellenberger, but also were able to maintain that level of success with the replacements (Josh Heupel and Jimmy Johnson). Eventually, Miami was able to challenge (and win) a national championship, and if UCF continues to win out annually, it is inevitable that they too will receive their shot. I would also argue that both programs were not in traditional power conferences (Miami was an independent, and UCF is in the AAC); Miami eventually got an invitation to the Big East, which was able to flip that into an ACC bid; if UCF continues to perform at a high-level in football, I think it is inevitable that one of the Big 12/ACC/SEC eventually adds them, but that is years down the road IMO.

If UCF keeps it up I definitely see a P5 bid somewhere in their future. Their recruiting base and massive (and growing) alumni base is eventually going to be too much to ignore.

I say the 2012 Kent State Golden Flashes. They fell just short of playing in the Orange Bowl by losing the MAC championship in overtime to Northern Illinois. (The Huskies got the berth instead.)

2011 Kent State 5-7
2012 Kent State 11-3
2013 Kent State 4-8

Plus: It's Kent freakin' State.

(09-18-2019 02:16 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  I say the 2012 Kent State Golden Flashes. They fell just short of playing in the Orange Bowl by losing the MAC championship in overtime to Northern Illinois. (The Huskies got the berth instead.)

2011 Kent State 5-7
2012 Kent State 11-3
2013 Kent State 4-8

Plus: It's Kent freakin' State.

Definitely a top nominee!