See Also: The Dreadful Dozen: Counting down the worst teams of 2012.
- - -
Wyoming coach Dave Christensen has an unusual way of showing "appreciation." (US Presswire)
10. USC's Long November.
Lane Kiffin, do you have anything to say in your team's defense?
OK then, good luck in the Sun Bowl.
9. Oct. 20: Houston Embraces the Spirit of Giving.
Just in case you wonkier types were wondering how it's possible for a team to score 42 points while also committing nine turnovers in the same game, because I was: The Houston-SMU tilt in question featured 30 offensive possessions between both teams, 10 of which took less than a minute off the clock. Equally incredible: That number includes SMU's final drive of the night, which burned nearly nine minutes over the course of 15 plays.
8. Sept. 22: Georgia Tech's Self-Safety.
Worse than the embarrassment over a momentary lapse? The Jackets could have really used those two points: After four wild, back-and-forth quarters, Georgia Tech and Miami wound up deadlocked at 36, and Tech went on to lose in overtime.
7. Nov. 3: Nebraska's Phantom Flag.
That said, Michigan State would have much more room for complaint if it had not allowed 313 yards rushing, or been outgained by more than 100 yards of total offense overall, or left points on the board on four separate trips into Nebraska territory, or managed a single sustained drive in the fourth quarter instead of three consecutive punts on its final three turns with the ball. (Of course, Nebraska had its complaints about the refs, too.) The Cornhuskers played a sloppy, turnover-filled game on the road, but ultimately made enough to put itself in a position to benefit from a little luck, and took advantage of it to remain atop the Big Ten's Legends Division.
6. Maryland Plumbs the Depth Chart.
Predictably, Maryland dropped its final four with Petty in the lineup by an average of 22 points per game, and limped into the winter with a dismal 2-6 mark in ACC play. Even Iowa running backs are relieved they didn't have to go through a season like that.
5. Aug. 30: Kent State's Wrong-Way Run.
Think about it this way, Andre: It happened to Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels in the Rose Bowl. It happened to Jim Marshall in the NFL, and he's considered one of the greatest defensive linemen in history. So when you really think about, you're in some pretty rare company.
4. Sept. 22: Michigan's Meltdown.
Including the first-quarter pick thrown by Vincent Smith on a halfback pass and Robinson's fumble on the opening drive of the second half, Michigan turned the ball over on six consecutive offensive possessions, out of just 10 possessions for the entire game. For every dagger Robinson stuck in the Fighting Irish in exhilarating, last-second comebacks in 2010 and 2011, consider them paid back in full. With interest.
3. Oct. 20: Southern Miss' Misdemeanor Mom.
The mother of Southern Miss freshman quarterback Anthony Alford was escorted from the stands at M.M. Roberts Stadium Saturday and charged with a pair of misdemeanors after being arrested by Hattiesburg Police.Lawanda Ann Alford, 38, was booked into the Forrest County Jail Saturday on disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges.
She was ordered from the stands after getting into a loud argument with another fan who was berating her son's play during USM's 59-24 loss to Marshall.
Video? Why of course there's video:
Alford was only the most prominent of four different starting quarterbacks who took the wheel of an attack that finished among the worst in the nation in total offense, scoring offense and pass efficiency, and failed to top 24 points in regulation in all but one game. Last week, he was suspended indefinitely after being charged with aggravated assault in an on-campus fight.
2. Sept. 15: Slaughter of the Buffaloes.
At one point in the first quarter, Fresno State scored five touchdowns in the span of 10 offensive plays (read that again, out loud), which is not really possible against Division I scholarship athletes who are actually trying. Two of the scores in that string came on a 97-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Isaiah Burse, immediately followed by a 94-yard touchdown run by Robbie Rouse on the Bulldogs' next series, his fourth touchdown of the quarter. The first quarter.
Although Colorado rebounded the following week for a come-from-behind, 35-34 upset over Washington State in its conference opener, the Buffaloes never really recovered, dropping their last eight Pac-12 games to close the season by an average margin of nearly five touchdowns per game. Head coach Jon Embree was fired in November, but he was doomed months earlier.
1. Oct. 13: Wyoming Would Like to Sincerely Apologize ...
Surprise: Despite the obligatory apology, Christensen was subsequently fined $50,000 by the university and suspended for Wyoming's Oct. 27 game against Boise State. The rant -- reportedly sparked by Christensen's suspicion that Air Force quarterback Connor Dietz faked an injury to stop the clock just before the Falcons' game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter, despite the fact that more than six minutes remained at the time and Air Force had all three timeouts -- also caused some internal tension in the athletic department, which was left to field boosters' complaints about a coach who had not only embarrassed the university nationally, but whose team had managed a single win over the first two months of the season. Had the Cowboys not reversed course with three consecutive wins in November to finish 4-8, Christensen might have been finished in Laramie himself.