Eight saddest college football fanbases after Week 11

The losses just sting more in November, especially for teams and fans who had bought into the belief that this season could end in the College Football Playoff.

But that's not the extent of our list of the eight saddest fan bases after Week 11 -- a couple merited inclusion despite any lofty goals having dissipated much earlier.

Let's get right into it.

1. Iowa

After largely flying under the radar and not receiving any national buzz all season, Iowa got thrust into the spotlight last week when it was slotted No. 20 in the first College Football Playoff rankings despite still being unranked in the AP top 25 poll.

The Hawkeyes had a prime opportunity to truly vault into playoff contention as they hosted No. 9 Oregon on Saturday with the strong home-field advantage that Kinnick Stadium traditionally provides.

And with less than 2 minutes remaining, Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski plunged into the end zone to cap a 12-play, 93-yard touchdown drive that gave the Hawkeyes a 16-15 lead (after a missed two-point conversion).

Oregon had an answer, though, as Dante Moore threw a straight dart to Malik Benson for a 24-yard gain to the Iowa 27 with 23 seconds left. That helped set up Atticus Sappington's game-winning 39-yard field goal to end Iowa's upset bid and its CFP hopes.

Just like that, the Hawkeyes got their deserved spotlight and nearly a lot more only to have it snatched away in the final minutes.

Eight saddest college football fan bases after Week 11. — Memphis Tigers Head Coach Ryan Silverfield looks on during a game earlier this season. | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

2. Memphis

Memphis also had its CFP hopes effectively dashed Saturday while largely controlling its destiny entering the weekend.

The AAC race is a mess, and the Tigers had already complicated matters with a stunning loss at UAB, but they bounced back to beat then-No. 18 South Florida the following game and looked to be rolling again while moving back into the AP rankings at No. 22.

They already had the tiebreaker over South Florida and had the opportunity to knock off a few other AAC contenders in Tulane, East Carolina and Navy on the way to the conference championship game with the opportunity to seize the CFP berth awarded to the highest-ranked Group of Five league champ.

But they never got the lead Friday night at home as Tulane jumped out to a 21-point advantage early in the third quarter. Playing for its season, Memphis rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to get it within 38-32, but that's where it finished.

The Tigers (8-2, 4-2 AAC) would need a great deal of help in the final weeks to back into the conference championship game, given their two losses and the fact that five teams still have one league loss ahead of them.

Washington Huskies football. — Washington Huskies quarterback Demond Williams Jr. (2) looks to the sidelines between plays during the first quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

3. Washington

To be fair, Washington has been an overachiever this season while taking a big leap in coach Jedd Fisch's second year. But because of that, there was reason for Huskies fans to start thinking big.

Washington had landed at No. 23 in the initial CFP rankings and still had a home game against a top-10 Oregon team ahead that provided an opportunity to make a late push for a playoff berth.

But only if the Huskies took care of business between now and then -- and they sure didn't.

Washington lost 13-10 Saturday at Wisconsin, which had been 0-5 in Big Ten play entering the day.

Now 6-3, the Huskies are simply playing for the potential of a good second-tier bowl game, which is still notable after a 6-7 finish last year -- but not quite what some fans may have been hoping for before Saturday.

4. Virginia

For anyone watching the last month, Virginia really seemed to be hanging on by a thread to its lofty ranking and CFP hopes, but as long as the Cavaliers were a highly-ranked one-loss team that kept finding ways to escape a setback, their fans could dream big.

It was only a matter of time, though, before that house of cards tumbled down, and it happened Saturday with a 16-9 loss at home to Wake Forest.

We'll see how the CFP committee feels about the Cavaliers, but it is surprising they are still ranked as high as No. 20 in the AP poll, considering they have two bad losses to NC State and Wake Forest, and their most notable win was over Louisville in a coin-flip overtime game.

Regardless, there's no chance the Cavaliers get a CFP at-large berth. They officially have only one ACC loss, as the NC State game was technically a non-conference game outside of the ACC-dictated conference slate. Therefore, the Cavs are one of five teams with one ACC loss. Without diving into the tiebreaker scenarios, they'd need to win the conference championship to make the playoffs at this point.

But the bigger point is that it should now be clear that Virginia is not a CFP-caliber team this year.

5. BYU

BYU was chasing a perfect season with one ranked opponent remaining on the schedule, and not only did the Cougars lose, but they were also thoroughly humbled in a 29-7 loss to No. 8 Texas Tech.

BYU may have been one spot higher than the Red Raiders in the initial CFP rankings, but it was made clear Saturday that they aren't on the same level. The Cougars managed just 255 yards and didn't score their first points until midway through the fourth quarter.

The loss didn't end 8-1 BYU's playoff hopes -- it only dropped four spots to No. 12 in the AP poll and still controls its destiny in chasing the Big 12's automatic playoff berth or a potential at-large berth -- but the Cougars had played only one other ranked opponent all season (a tight win over Utah) and this raises the question of how legitimate they ever were as a top 10 team.

6. Louisville

No one expected Louisville to be in the playoff picture this season, but there the Cardinals were until Saturday.

There were still decently tough games ahead vs. Clemson and at SMU, so they might have gotten tripped up somewhere else along the way, but to see those playoff hopes effectively dashed at home in a loss to middling Cal is a tougher pill to swallow.

Louisville, which was No. 15 in the initial CFP rankings, lost 29-26 in overtime to drop to 7-2 and, more to the point, 4-2 in a crowded ACC race that still has five teams with just one conference loss.

It's hard to see the Cardinals backing into the ACC championship game or receiving a CFP at-large berth at this point. That doesn't detract from this being a successful season for Jeff Brohm's program, but Saturday was a painful way to see bigger goals ripped away.

Penn State loses a thriller to Indiana. — Penn State Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen (13) pushes forward with the ball during the fourth quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

7. Penn State

The college football world will be talking about Indiana's thrilling 27-24 come-from-behind win at Penn State on Saturday and Omar Cooper Jr.'s sensational toe-tapping catch for the game-winning touchdown.

Which means Nittany Lions fans will be reminded over and over and over the rest of this season and in years to come of that moment.

Penn State's season was already sunk, of course, but upsetting the No. 2 team in the country before the home fans would have been something better to remember this season by.

Alas, the Nittany Lions (3-6, 0-6) have lost six straight and are at risk of going winless in Big Ten play for the first time since joining the conference in 1993.

8. Maryland

Maryland was 4-0, fresh off a 27-10 blowout of Wisconsin on the road and riding the strong play of impressive true freshman quarterback Malik Washington, with the thought of this being a breakout season and something to build upon in the years ahead.

Instead? The Terrapins have now lost every game since then -- five in a row -- including 35-20 at Rutgers on Saturday.

The losing streak began with the Terps blowing late leads against Washington, Nebraska, and UCLA, but losing by 15 points to Rutgers shows just how much this season has unraveled. With a road game at Illinois, and No. 21 Michigan at home the next two games it could get worse still.