Ten worst games of the 2014 season
With so many games each season, there are bound to be a few duds. Sometimes a good team has an off day. Sometimes two subpar teams battle to find out which is worse. Regardless of the reason, these types of games happen, and all we can do is laugh and enjoy the humiliation.
• STAFF: The top 25 games of the 2014 college football season
So, to celebrate the cesspool of stink, here are the 10 worst games from the 2014 college football campaign.
10. Iowa 17, Ball State 13 (Sept. 6)
The Hawkeyes outgained the Cardinals 455 to 219, led in first downs 27 to 13 and converted more than 50 percent of their third downs. So, how did they have just three points until 2:52 remaining in the fourth quarter? Three missed field goals, all from within 37 yards. It was hardly a banner day for kickers Marshall Koehn and Mick Ellis, but two late touchdowns bailed Iowa out. -- Colin Becht
9. Clemson 16, Syracuse 6 (Oct. 25)
The Tigers had a really good season, all things considered. They got to 10 wins, overcame multiple injuries to freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson and obliterated Oklahoma 40-6 in the Russell Athletic Bowl. But this win over the Orange won’t make the highlight reel. Syracuse led 6-3 until Clemson tied it up with 6:36 left in the third quarter. The Tigers turned the ball over four times, while the Orange had a whopping 170 yards of total offense. -- Martin Rickman
Scott Halleran/Getty Images
8. Arkansas 31, Texas 7 (Dec. 29)
Walk to the refrigerator, grab a snack and venture back to the couch. Great job, you’ve now compiled more rushing yards than Texas did against Arkansas in the Texas Bowl. The Longhorns managed just two rushing yards, and 59 total yards, in a lopsided loss to their former Southwest Conference foe. Texas’ two yards on the ground were the program’s fewest in a game since 2000. -- Zac Ellis
7. Akron 21, Pittsburgh 10 (Sept. 27)
This season was long and complicated, so it’s easy to forget Akron beat Pitt on the road after the Zips had lost their prior two games by a combined score of 69-20. The Panthers allowed Akron back Conor Hundley to rush for 148 yards. Hundley would rush for 349 more yards over the team’s final eight games. -- MR
6. Temple 37, Vanderbilt 7 (Aug. 28)
Many expected a drop-off in Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason’s debut season, but no one expected this. The Commodores lost seven turnovers -- yes, seven -- and allowed Temple to score the final 30 points. All but 10 of the Owls' points came off of turnovers, as they nabbed their first win over an SEC team in 76 years. -- ZE
Rob Foldy/Getty Images
5. Missouri 42, Florida 13 (Oct. 18)
While the score may suggest the Tigers dominated, that simply wasn’t the case. Missouri gained just 119 yards of total offense, but that was more than enough to rout the Gators, who turned the ball over six times. The Tigers scored twice within 1:28 in the third quarter, returning a Jeff Driskel fumble and an interception to the house. Those two touchdowns were part of a rare defensive and special teams cycle: Mizzou returned a kick, punt, interception and fumble to the end zone. -- CB
4. Georgia Tech 56, Pittsburgh 28 (Oct. 25)
Let’s just go to the drive summary for Pittsburgh’s first five possessions to explain why this one makes the list.
Yup, that’s right. Each of the Panthers’ first five drives culminated with a fumble, allowing Georgia Tech to build a 28-0 lead. After that, both teams scored 28 points, but it’d be nearly impossible to recover from a start that disastrous. -- CB
• STAFF: Georgia Tech's Shaq Mason makes SI.com 2014-15 All-Bowl Team
3. Florida 10, Tennessee 9 (Oct. 4)
Florida quarterback Driskel threw three interceptions while combining with Treon Harris for a whopping 76 passing yards, but that was enough to get it done against Tennessee. Despite managing a mere 3.1 yards per play, the hapless Gators still earned their 10th straight win over the Vols, who also coughed up three turnovers. Florida’s 10 points were the fewest it had scored in a win since 1968. -- ZE
2. Michigan 10, Northwestern 9 (Nov. 8)
Words can’t accurately describe how epically awful this game was, so just watch these clips instead.
With the score knotted at 0-0 until midway through the third quarter, the most exciting aspect of the game was a joke about what the scoreboard looked like.
Trevor Siemian’s slip (the final Vine) came after Northwestern scored its first touchdown with three seconds left to pull within one point. The Wildcats' two-point try was, um, unsuccessful. -- CB
1. Wake Forest 6, Virginia Tech 3 2OT (Nov. 22)
I hope you didn’t watch this game. I really, really hope you didn’t watch this game. Imagine if this was the first college football game you ever saw. You’d never watch another for the rest of your life. When the lasting image is Hokies coach Frank Beamer joyously throwing his hands up after Wake Forest missed a field goal to keep it 0-0 at the end of regulation, that’s a game you bury deep underground and hope it does not return undead and hellbent on feeding on brains.
Even overtime (you know, when teams start with the ball 25 yards from the opposing end zone) wasn't enough to get either team a touchdown. It took a missed field goal -- the fourth of the game -- to settle this one. -- MR
