116. Duke Blue Devils (1-11)-

Best Game-W 20-14 Northwestern. And the Duke fans go crazy! This game ended a 22-game losing streak for the Blue Devils. But fear not. Duke is working on another 9-game losing streak. Maybe Northwestern just pitied the Blue Devils, remembering their own 34-game losing streak in the late seventies, early eighties. It’s still the longest in Division 1-A history,  Is having a Satanic name hurting the Blue Devils? Obviously not in basketball. And even in football, the Demon Deacons and Sun Devils did pretty well this season. Funny quote: "I hope this will be a springboard for us and we will understand what it feels like to win and the reward that goes along with hard work," Duke coach Ted Roof said.

Worst Game-L 7-28 Notre Dame. I remember someone on ESPN predicting Duke to win this game. Obviously, if there was a year the Blue Devils were going to beat the Fighting Irish, it was this year. And, indeed, with less than two minutes remaining in the game, the score was 0-0. If only Duke could have held for that last 32 minutes, they probably had a pretty good shot to win in overtime. Certainly, now former Duke coach Ted Roof thought so. "It's very disappointing," Duke coach Ted Roof said. "It's 0-0 and what did they get, 14 points in the last minute in the first half? You were talking about a one-play game that could go either way.”

115. Northern Illinois Huskies (2-10)-

Best Game-W 27-20 Kent State. This game followed their worst game of the season. (See below). It was also the last win for long-time Huskies Coach Joe Novak. The exciting part is that the new coach is named Jerry KILL! Which would also be my last name if I took out the middle four letters. That is a great, yet scary, last name for a head football coach. But he has the stats to back up his name, going 56-32 in seven seasons at Southern Illinois. I don’t know if there’s an Eastern Illinois or a Western Illinois, but they would seem to be next on the Kill tour. Wasn’t that the name of an Iron Maiden concert tour?

Worst Game-L 21-70 Toledo. There was a time when losing to Toledo wouldn’t have been such a shame. A time when the Rockets were among the mid-majors cream of the crop. This wasn’t one of those years. Toledo went 5-7. But they must really hate the Huskies, or just dogs or house pets. They had 812 yards of offense in this game. Two runners ran for over 100 yards, four for over 50. They scored 2 30-yard touchdowns, IN THE FIRST QUARTER!  They were ahead 42-0 with 9:09 left in the first half. No wonder the Huskies were so pumped up against Kent State. The Huskies only lost by 41 points to Wisconsin and they’re a good team. In Toledo’s defense, five of their seven losses were to bowl teams.

114. Baylor Bears (3-9).

Best Game-W 34-21 Buffalo. Unfortunately for Baylor, after this game they started their Big 12 schedule and they never got within 20 of another win. Yet at this point of the season, Baylor was actually 3-1, winning three straight. Fortunately for the Bulls, after this game they would start their Mid-American schedule and go 4-4 the rest of the year. In Baylor’s defense, seven of eight of the Big 12 teams to which they lost ended up winning bowl games. This was the stock market game, Bears against Bulls. Maybe Baylor winning this game sent the stocks tumbling. As a Nebraska fan, I’m glad for teams like Baylor in the Big 12, so my Huskers aren’t the worst team.

Worst Game-L 13-51 Kansas State. This is the one Big 12 team they lost to which didn’t make a bowl game and they still lost by 38. Usually when you lose this badly, you can be sure turnovers played a part. They did. Baylor turned over the ball seven times. Maybe Baylor should schedule Nebraska next year. My rating system adjusts for games played against tough teams, but it helps if you get close. After the win over Buffalo, the Bears only led in a game twice. Teams like this must feel the same way I do when my Slo-Pitch softball team gets mercied. “Oh, man, we’re down 13-1 in the first inning. I wish this game would just end so we could go home.”

113. Army Black Knights (3-9)-

Best Game-W 37-21 Temple. The good news. The surge is working! The bad news, some of the Army had to stay back in the states to play football. This game was the Black Knights’ first win over a Division 1-A school in over a year. Fortunately, Army didn’t have to rely too much on their offense. They had a punt return, a kickoff return and a recovered fumble for touchdowns. This was the start of a two-game winning streak, which preceded a six-game losing streak. Besides Army, there are three other independents in Division 1-A-Navy, Western Kentucky and Notre Dame . Who would’ve thought that it would have been Notre Dame that matched Army’s 3-9 record. Not me and I’m an expert.

Worst Game L 3-38 Navy. This game was on my birthday this year. It’s always on or around my birthday. It’s always a good show, good television viewing, as long as you don’t watch the game too closely. Except for Navy-Notre Dame, it’s usually the only time all year you ever see these two on TV. In the M*A*S*H episode entitled “The Army-Navy Game,” Navy ends up beating Army 42-36. That has never been the score of a Black Knights-Midshipmen match up. In 1951, Navy did beat Army 42-7. Before Navy’s current six-game winning streak, Army actually led this series, 49-46-7. Navy now leads 52-49-7. Future generations are going to wonder how teams tied, since they’re now verboten in college football.