Top 10 Worst College Football Teams in History: The ‘79 Ragin’ Cajuns, ‘95 Runnin’ Rebels, And MORE
The college football season is right around the corner, and everyone is bristling with anticipation for who gets to hoist that coveted national championship trophy this year.
However, it’s also a season of trepidation for the fans of teams which have either always been at the middle of the pack or just straight-up duds – with the absolute worst college football teams ever being included in this article.
Listing the top 10 worst college football teams in history
So, what are the top 10 worst college football teams in history?
Well, ryou might be surprised as to which squads are on this list. Take note, however, that this list is in no particular order.
1922 Arkansas State Red Wolves
We’re going way back for this one. This team was never, ever good at scoring –they were so bad, in fact, that for all their eight losses during that season (0-8), they never scored once. Ever. Aside from that, they allowed opponents to score a total of 469 points, including an insane 82-0 embarrassment versus Central Arkansas.
Perhaps this is one of those records that no football team, collegiate or otherwise, should want to beat.
1991 Prairie View A&M Panthers
Many fans consider the 1991 Prairie View A&M Panthers to be the worst out of the top 10 worst college football teams of all time, and perhaps for good reason. They might not have gone winless and scoreless like the Arkansas State Red Wolves in 1922, but the team was still pretty terrible – scoring a mere 48 points for the entire season.
It was also the start of a rough stretch when the Panthers never won a single game (losing 80 games in a row), which they only managed to end after beating Langston via a two-point conversion on the road – almost a decade later.
1973 USL Ragin’ Cajuns
Forty years ago, the Ragin’ Cajuns just couldn’t make things work on the NCAA gridiron. Then known as Southwestern Louisiana, the Cajuns finished winless in 10 games, and their numbers were consistently at the bottom half of the conference in almost every major statistic.
As one of the worst college football teams that season, they were 126th in points per game, 111th in opponent ppg and dead last in SRS at a paltry -28.52. Furthermore, the team was completely shut out four times and was even destroyed by former rival McNeese State in a 37-0 thrashing on their home field. Yikes.
1995 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
Defense was never the Runnin’ Rebels' calling card during the 1995 season, evident in allowing 47 ppg – the worst in the nation. They weren’t winless that season, however (going 2-9), but they did consistently get crushed. The team consistently lost by double digits, including a 62-14 drubbing at the hands of the Northern Illinois Huskies, as well as an 42-0 finish against Utah State.
1985 Columbia Lions
This team went 0-10, but that’s far from its only woes. Columbia was coming off a 12-game losing skid heading into the season.
It started off well enough, with the Lions leading Harvard 17-0 in the third quarter of newly-hired coach Jim Garrett’s first game. Then, disaster struck as Harvard scored 49 points in just 22 minutes – a meltdown of epic proportions that caused Garrett to basically blow a gasket talking to the New York Times after the loss.
That's easily a combination for one of the worst college football teams to ever set foot on a field.
1955 Alabama Crimson Tide
The Crimson Tide was running on fumes in the 1955 season, going 0-10 and allowing teams to score basically at will against them with an average of three touchdowns and one field goal allowed every game.
Alabama also notably lost every single game by 15 or more points. This season was one of only three winless ones in the team’s history and was notably also the only winless season for the school during the entirety of the 20th century. Now that says a lot.
1946 Kansas State Wildcats
The Wildcats have already recorded a total of seven winless seasons in its storied past. But that 1946 team? Ooh, boy. They were just getting run off of the field for every single game. They posted an 0-9 record, which was punctuated by them getting outscored 233-41 for the entire season, as well as never scoring over seven points in any game.
But, of course, everyone knows Bill Snyder basically helped save that team from falling into further obscurity.
1994 Akron Zips
Going back to a more “modern” era and to a team that actually has a win to its name, the University of Akron’s football team in 1994 went a relatively better 1-10 but still had an insanely terrible run.
That lone win was probably the only silver lining in a season that saw the team’s leading passer throwing a disappointing 501 yards, and their quarterbacks only combining for a total of five touchdowns and 26 interceptions. True enough, the Zips were one of the worst college football teams during that year, as even an AAU team’s QB rotation may have better stats.
1951 New Mexico State Aggies
Another not-so-winless team on this list (1-9), New Mexico State’s run in 1951 doesn’t look as bad unless you take a deeper look at the teams that beat them. They lost three games to subpar programs and scored an average of 11.5 ppg while allowing more than double that at over 33 opponent ppg.
Granted, its schedule might’ve been among the worst that year, but that’s no excuse when a DI-level squad is losing to DIII teams.
1950 Virginia Tech Hokies
The performance of the Virginia Tech Hokies in 1950 should be proof enough that win-loss records don’t mean a thing when it comes to determining the top 10 worst college football teams in history.
hey went winless as well, sure (0-10), but it’s the quality of the losses that cemented their place in the Hall of Shame. They got outscored by opponents at an insane 430-72, which included a massive 63-7 beatdown against Maryland and a 54-0 shutout to William & Mary that year.
Is your favorite team included in this list? Let us know!