College Football SMQ: The greatest forfeit games in college football history

In theory, forfeit college football games never really happened. But ultimately it is impossible to un-play a game. SMQ looks at the greatest forfeits ever.

With the announcement by the NCAA vacating Notre Dame’s results from the 2012 and 2013 seasons, games won and then lost by forfeit are on the mind. The Fighting Irish fell from second to sixth in all-time wins after their appeal was denied.

The offseason tends to send the mind wandering. Part of being a Sunday Morning Quarterback is drifting away on tangents, and the concept of forfeit games is on the mind. Do any of Notre Dame’s 21 vacated victories merit inclusion on a list of the greatest wins lost to forfeit?

The Irish went to the 2013 BCS National Championship game, but they lost to Alabama. Thus that game remains on their official record. They did beat several 10-win teams along the way, with a home victory over Stanford and a road win in Norman against Oklahoma. But because they lost the ultimate prize, and because the Fighting Irish do not play in a conference, their forfeit games are largely an academic exercise.

It isn’t the first time a team was forced to forfeit wins from its record

It is a tradition that dates back as early as 1910. That year, Baylor left the field against Texas after a disagreement with the officials when the game was tied 6-6. The record books officially show a 1-0 victory for the Longhorns, though the Bears still claim an undefeated season.

With over a century of forfeits in college football history, it is worth contemplating which ghost games were the most exciting and significant. A forfeit usually only takes place in games that are won, as defeat while cheating is its own humiliation.

Let’s dive in further and look at the five greatest games in college football history that were eventually forfeited away by victors.