The five longest losing streaks in college football history
By Sam Fariss
Having the longest winning streak in college football is possibly the greatest boast of all time in collegiate sports.
The worst?
The longest losing streak.
These five programs were infamous for their losing streaks in the '90s and while the streaks haven't been matched in the current millennia, it's hard to forget the droughts that these teams went through.
Here are the five longest losing streaks in college football history:
. team. 404. . 27 games. . . T4. emu. Tied for 4th
In 1980, the Eagles won the first two games of their season.
After that?
Nothing.
It wouldn't be until the ninth game of Eastern Michigan's 1982 season that the Eagles struck gold again, bringing their 27-game losing streak to an end.
T4. . . 539. . Tied for 4th. 27 games. . nm st.
Most recently, the New Mexico State Aggies matched the Eastern Michigan losing streak of 27 games.
The Aggies defeated the Kansas Jayhawks in 1988 and then lost every single game until the end of their 1990 season.
In 1990, New Mexico State defeated the CSU Fullerton Titans (Never heard of them before today? I hadn't either).
28 games. T2. 463. . . . k st. . . Tied for 2nd
Tied for second place, somewhat surprisingly, are the K-State Wildcats.
Unsurprisingly, this 28-game losing streak came in the mid-1940s, well before the Wildcat program was what it is today.
In 1945, Kansas State defeated Wichita State and then failed to score 20 points in a game, losing every single one, until the Wildcats defeated Arkansas State in 1948 (which was their only win of that season).
. 28 games. . . uva. T2. 446. . . Tied for 2nd
The UVA Cavaliers aren't a football school, we can all sit here and admit that.
In the late 1950s, the Cavaliers really weren't a football school.
Virginia lost every game from the third game of the 1958 season through the season opener in 1961, ranking last in points allowed for both the 1959 and 1960 seasons.
. . . 489. . Longest losing streak in FBS history. . nw. 34 games. 1
Last but not least, the longest losing streak in college football history belongs to none other than the Northwestern Wildcats.
The Wildcats' 34-game losing streak spanned over three years, not just three seasons.
After winning on Sept. 15, 1979, the Wildcats did not win another game until Sept. 25, 1982.
Every matchup with those four seasons was a complete blowout other than Northwestern's 1-point loss (21-20) to the Indiana Hoosiers in 1981.
Unfortunately for Northwestern, the odds are that this streak will stand as the longest losing streak in history for quite a long time.
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