Not all losses are created equal in college football. Here were the three worst defeats suffered by teams during Week 1 action.
The first weekend of college football saw some crazy results across the country. Fittingly, Las Vegas was the locale where Howard became the largest underdog to win outright over an FBS opponent. Howard visited UNLV at the Silver Bowl and took down the Rebels as major underdogs. But the impact of a loss for the Rebels is minimal, as they are still experiencing growing pains under third-year coach Tony Sanchez and are still merely struggling for bowl eligibility.
Instead, the worst losses are those that should never happen. Sometimes it comes down to blowing a huge lead to drop what should have been an easy win. Sometimes it is tumbling decisively at home as a ranked team. And sometimes it is collapsing to a team in the process of transitioning to the FBS level.
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The exceptional losses in the Lone Star State
Texas was bombarded by Hurricane Harvey over the past week, making the first weekend of college football a sobering diversion for much of the state. Sport was forced to take the sideline for teams like the Houston Cougars and UTSA Roadrunners. Their showdown in the Alamodome was postponed due to the adverse conditions on the ground in the southern parts of the state.
The state of Texas often fancies itself as an exceptional case. And it was especially hard-hit by storms at the end of August. In a state where football is exceptionally revered, it takes a lot to cancel a gridiron game. Not every team canceled its games, though, and the show went on in locales across the state.
If everything is bigger in the state of Texas, that is just as true about the impact of losses. After a wild few days of action over Labor Day weekend, all three of the biggest losses of Week 1 involved Texas-based programs. Two of them took place within the state. Another was a full-stop collapse on the road.
Click ahead to read about the three worst losses over the Labor Day weekend as the 2017 college football season concludes Week 1.