It’s never fun to lose and when a team gets on a long losing streak, it can take a toll on players and fans. But what happens when a football team can’t win a single game for a few seasons? That’s when things really get tough and you have to appreciate each player’s willingness to keep going.
In college football history, there are quite a few teams that had long losing streaks. While the teams and fans would like to forget these years, it is interesting sports trivia to look at the teams that didn’t do so well.
The Longest Losing Streaks in FCS (Division I-A)
The country’s major college football conference is called the Football Championship Subdivision, Division 1-A. And on that grand stage, the Northwestern Wildcats own one record that they would probably like stricken from the record books. When it comes to Division I-A football, they hold the title for the longest losing streak in history.
Between 1979 and 1982, the Wildcats lost 34 straight games. That’s six more than their nearest competitors, the Virginia Cavaliers, who lost 28 (1958-1961) and the Kansas State Wildcats, who also lost that many (1945-1948).
Here are all of the FBS teams that have suffered through long losing streaks of at least 20 games.
Team Consecutive Losses When Did It Happen?
Northwestern Wildcats 34 games 1979-1982
University of Virginia Cavaliers 28 games 1958-1961
Kansas State Wildcats 28 games 1945-1948
New Mexico State Aggies 27 games 1988-1990
Eastern Michigan Eagles 27 games 1980-1982
Colorado State Rams 26 games 1960-1963
Duke Blue Devils 23 games 1999-2002
Northern Illinois Huskies 23 games 1996-1998
Duke Blue Devils 22 games 2005-2007
Ball State Cardinals 21 games 1999-2000
South Carolina Gamecocks 21 games 1998-2000
Kent State Golden Flashes 21 games 1981-1983
New Mexico Lobos 21 games 1967-1969
Temple Owls 20 games 2004-2006
TCU Horned Frogs 20 games 1974-1975
Florida State Seminoles 20 games 1972-1974
The Longest Losing Streak in College Football History
You may not have heard of this losing streak because it didn’t happen in Division 1-A, but Northwestern’s stat sheet looks great compared to Prairie View A&M’s record. In the 1990s, the football team from this small Division I-AA school in Texas lost 80 games in a row.
The Prairie View A&M Panthers had their program cut in 1990 due to a massive fiscal deficit. In June of that year, the “Houston Chronicle” reported that $100,000 dollars was missing and many people in the athletic department, including the head football coach Haney Catchings, were indicted.
In 1991, the school brought football back despite the lack of scholarships and the next seven seasons did not see a single win. To make matters look even worse, in 1991 the Panthers scored just 48 points in the entire season (1992 was not much better, but they did score 55 points that year).
After the 1997 season, the Panthers broke their losing streak and since the mid-2000s they have actually done very well. They even won the SWAC Conference Championship three years in a row from 2005 to 2007.
The small school’s comeback is a harrowing one and it pays homage to the team’s success in the Black college championships of the 1950s and 60s. You really have to give it to those players who stuck out that long drought and played hard against some tough teams.
College Football’s Oldest Rivalry and Oldest Teams
Randy Moss
Ohio State’s SEC Struggles
The Wayne Gretzky Record Book
The Number of People Who’ve Attended the Super Bowl Each Year
College World Series Champions
NFL Champions (1920–Present)
The 10 Greatest Football Movies of All Time
What Is PAT in Football?
Golfer Paul Azinger: Cancer Survivor and Major Championship Winner
Kathy Whitworth: LPGA’s Biggest Winner
Football Glossary
How Super Bowl Winners Fared the Following Season
Golfer Raymond Floyd
The Longest Home Winning Streaks in College Football History
How the Super Bowl Came to Be
Home
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Activities
Humor
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It’s never fun to lose and when a team gets on a long losing streak, it can take a toll on players and fans. But what happens when a football team can’t win a single game for a few seasons? That’s when things really get tough and you have to appreciate each player’s willingness to keep going.
In college football history, there are quite a few teams that had long losing streaks. While the teams and fans would like to forget these years, it is interesting sports trivia to look at the teams that didn’t do so well.
The Longest Losing Streaks in FCS (Division I-A)
The country’s major college football conference is called the Football Championship Subdivision, Division 1-A. And on that grand stage, the Northwestern Wildcats own one record that they would probably like stricken from the record books. When it comes to Division I-A football, they hold the title for the longest losing streak in history.
Between 1979 and 1982, the Wildcats lost 34 straight games. That’s six more than their nearest competitors, the Virginia Cavaliers, who lost 28 (1958-1961) and the Kansas State Wildcats, who also lost that many (1945-1948).
Here are all of the FBS teams that have suffered through long losing streaks of at least 20 games.
Team Consecutive Losses When Did It Happen?
Northwestern Wildcats 34 games 1979-1982
University of Virginia Cavaliers 28 games 1958-1961
Kansas State Wildcats 28 games 1945-1948
New Mexico State Aggies 27 games 1988-1990
Eastern Michigan Eagles 27 games 1980-1982
Colorado State Rams 26 games 1960-1963
Duke Blue Devils 23 games 1999-2002
Northern Illinois Huskies 23 games 1996-1998
Duke Blue Devils 22 games 2005-2007
Ball State Cardinals 21 games 1999-2000
South Carolina Gamecocks 21 games 1998-2000
Kent State Golden Flashes 21 games 1981-1983
New Mexico Lobos 21 games 1967-1969
Temple Owls 20 games 2004-2006
TCU Horned Frogs 20 games 1974-1975
Florida State Seminoles 20 games 1972-1974
The Longest Losing Streak in College Football History
You may not have heard of this losing streak because it didn’t happen in Division 1-A, but Northwestern’s stat sheet looks great compared to Prairie View A&M’s record. In the 1990s, the football team from this small Division I-AA school in Texas lost 80 games in a row.
The Prairie View A&M Panthers had their program cut in 1990 due to a massive fiscal deficit. In June of that year, the “Houston Chronicle” reported that $100,000 dollars was missing and many people in the athletic department, including the head football coach Haney Catchings, were indicted.
In 1991, the school brought football back despite the lack of scholarships and the next seven seasons did not see a single win. To make matters look even worse, in 1991 the Panthers scored just 48 points in the entire season (1992 was not much better, but they did score 55 points that year).
After the 1997 season, the Panthers broke their losing streak and since the mid-2000s they have actually done very well. They even won the SWAC Conference Championship three years in a row from 2005 to 2007.
The small school’s comeback is a harrowing one and it pays homage to the team’s success in the Black college championships of the 1950s and 60s. You really have to give it to those players who stuck out that long drought and played hard against some tough teams.
College Football’s Oldest Rivalry and Oldest Teams
Randy Moss
Ohio State’s SEC Struggles
The Wayne Gretzky Record Book
The Number of People Who’ve Attended the Super Bowl Each Year
College World Series Champions
NFL Champions (1920–Present)
The 10 Greatest Football Movies of All Time
What Is PAT in Football?
Golfer Paul Azinger: Cancer Survivor and Major Championship Winner
Kathy Whitworth: LPGA’s Biggest Winner
Football Glossary
How Super Bowl Winners Fared the Following Season
Golfer Raymond Floyd
The Longest Home Winning Streaks in College Football History
How the Super Bowl Came to Be
When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies
It’s never fun to lose and when a team gets on a long losing streak, it can take a toll on players and fans. But what happens when a football team can’t win a single game for a few seasons? That’s when things really get tough and you have to appreciate each player’s willingness to keep going.
In college football history, there are quite a few teams that had long losing streaks. While the teams and fans would like to forget these years, it is interesting sports trivia to look at the teams that didn’t do so well.
The Longest Losing Streaks in FCS (Division I-A)
The country’s major college football conference is called the Football Championship Subdivision, Division 1-A. And on that grand stage, the Northwestern Wildcats own one record that they would probably like stricken from the record books. When it comes to Division I-A football, they hold the title for the longest losing streak in history.
Between 1979 and 1982, the Wildcats lost 34 straight games. That’s six more than their nearest competitors, the Virginia Cavaliers, who lost 28 (1958-1961) and the Kansas State Wildcats, who also lost that many (1945-1948).
Here are all of the FBS teams that have suffered through long losing streaks of at least 20 games.
Team Consecutive Losses When Did It Happen?
Northwestern Wildcats 34 games 1979-1982
University of Virginia Cavaliers 28 games 1958-1961
Kansas State Wildcats 28 games 1945-1948
New Mexico State Aggies 27 games 1988-1990
Eastern Michigan Eagles 27 games 1980-1982
Colorado State Rams 26 games 1960-1963
Duke Blue Devils 23 games 1999-2002
Northern Illinois Huskies 23 games 1996-1998
Duke Blue Devils 22 games 2005-2007
Ball State Cardinals 21 games 1999-2000
South Carolina Gamecocks 21 games 1998-2000
Kent State Golden Flashes 21 games 1981-1983
New Mexico Lobos 21 games 1967-1969
Temple Owls 20 games 2004-2006
TCU Horned Frogs 20 games 1974-1975
Florida State Seminoles 20 games 1972-1974
The Longest Losing Streak in College Football History
You may not have heard of this losing streak because it didn’t happen in Division 1-A, but Northwestern’s stat sheet looks great compared to Prairie View A&M’s record. In the 1990s, the football team from this small Division I-AA school in Texas lost 80 games in a row.
The Prairie View A&M Panthers had their program cut in 1990 due to a massive fiscal deficit. In June of that year, the “Houston Chronicle” reported that $100,000 dollars was missing and many people in the athletic department, including the head football coach Haney Catchings, were indicted.
In 1991, the school brought football back despite the lack of scholarships and the next seven seasons did not see a single win. To make matters look even worse, in 1991 the Panthers scored just 48 points in the entire season (1992 was not much better, but they did score 55 points that year).
After the 1997 season, the Panthers broke their losing streak and since the mid-2000s they have actually done very well. They even won the SWAC Conference Championship three years in a row from 2005 to 2007.
The small school’s comeback is a harrowing one and it pays homage to the team’s success in the Black college championships of the 1950s and 60s. You really have to give it to those players who stuck out that long drought and played hard against some tough teams.
It’s never fun to lose and when a team gets on a long losing streak, it can take a toll on players and fans. But what happens when a football team can’t win a single game for a few seasons? That’s when things really get tough and you have to appreciate each player’s willingness to keep going.
In college football history, there are quite a few teams that had long losing streaks. While the teams and fans would like to forget these years, it is interesting sports trivia to look at the teams that didn’t do so well.
The Longest Losing Streaks in FCS (Division I-A)
The country’s major college football conference is called the Football Championship Subdivision, Division 1-A. And on that grand stage, the Northwestern Wildcats own one record that they would probably like stricken from the record books. When it comes to Division I-A football, they hold the title for the longest losing streak in history.
Between 1979 and 1982, the Wildcats lost 34 straight games. That’s six more than their nearest competitors, the Virginia Cavaliers, who lost 28 (1958-1961) and the Kansas State Wildcats, who also lost that many (1945-1948).
Here are all of the FBS teams that have suffered through long losing streaks of at least 20 games.
Team Consecutive Losses When Did It Happen?
Northwestern Wildcats 34 games 1979-1982
University of Virginia Cavaliers 28 games 1958-1961
Kansas State Wildcats 28 games 1945-1948
New Mexico State Aggies 27 games 1988-1990
Eastern Michigan Eagles 27 games 1980-1982
Colorado State Rams 26 games 1960-1963
Duke Blue Devils 23 games 1999-2002
Northern Illinois Huskies 23 games 1996-1998
Duke Blue Devils 22 games 2005-2007
Ball State Cardinals 21 games 1999-2000
South Carolina Gamecocks 21 games 1998-2000
Kent State Golden Flashes 21 games 1981-1983
New Mexico Lobos 21 games 1967-1969
Temple Owls 20 games 2004-2006
TCU Horned Frogs 20 games 1974-1975
Florida State Seminoles 20 games 1972-1974
The Longest Losing Streak in College Football History
You may not have heard of this losing streak because it didn’t happen in Division 1-A, but Northwestern’s stat sheet looks great compared to Prairie View A&M’s record. In the 1990s, the football team from this small Division I-AA school in Texas lost 80 games in a row.
The Prairie View A&M Panthers had their program cut in 1990 due to a massive fiscal deficit. In June of that year, the “Houston Chronicle” reported that $100,000 dollars was missing and many people in the athletic department, including the head football coach Haney Catchings, were indicted.
In 1991, the school brought football back despite the lack of scholarships and the next seven seasons did not see a single win. To make matters look even worse, in 1991 the Panthers scored just 48 points in the entire season (1992 was not much better, but they did score 55 points that year).
After the 1997 season, the Panthers broke their losing streak and since the mid-2000s they have actually done very well. They even won the SWAC Conference Championship three years in a row from 2005 to 2007.
The small school’s comeback is a harrowing one and it pays homage to the team’s success in the Black college championships of the 1950s and 60s. You really have to give it to those players who stuck out that long drought and played hard against some tough teams.
The Longest Losing Streak in College Football History
You may not have heard of this losing streak because it didn’t happen in Division 1-A, but Northwestern’s stat sheet looks great compared to Prairie View A&M’s record. In the 1990s, the football team from this small Division I-AA school in Texas lost 80 games in a row.
The Prairie View A&M Panthers had their program cut in 1990 due to a massive fiscal deficit. In June of that year, the “Houston Chronicle” reported that $100,000 dollars was missing and many people in the athletic department, including the head football coach Haney Catchings, were indicted.
In 1991, the school brought football back despite the lack of scholarships and the next seven seasons did not see a single win. To make matters look even worse, in 1991 the Panthers scored just 48 points in the entire season (1992 was not much better, but they did score 55 points that year).
After the 1997 season, the Panthers broke their losing streak and since the mid-2000s they have actually done very well. They even won the SWAC Conference Championship three years in a row from 2005 to 2007.
The small school’s comeback is a harrowing one and it pays homage to the team’s success in the Black college championships of the 1950s and 60s. You really have to give it to those players who stuck out that long drought and played hard against some tough teams.
College Football’s Oldest Rivalry and Oldest Teams
Randy Moss
Ohio State’s SEC Struggles
The Wayne Gretzky Record Book
The Number of People Who’ve Attended the Super Bowl Each Year
College World Series Champions
NFL Champions (1920–Present)
The 10 Greatest Football Movies of All Time
What Is PAT in Football?
Golfer Paul Azinger: Cancer Survivor and Major Championship Winner
Kathy Whitworth: LPGA’s Biggest Winner
Football Glossary
How Super Bowl Winners Fared the Following Season
Golfer Raymond Floyd
The Longest Home Winning Streaks in College Football History
How the Super Bowl Came to Be
College Football’s Oldest Rivalry and Oldest Teams
College Football’s Oldest Rivalry and Oldest Teams
Randy Moss
Randy Moss
Ohio State’s SEC Struggles
Ohio State’s SEC Struggles
The Wayne Gretzky Record Book
The Wayne Gretzky Record Book
The Number of People Who’ve Attended the Super Bowl Each Year
The Number of People Who’ve Attended the Super Bowl Each Year
College World Series Champions
College World Series Champions
NFL Champions (1920–Present)
NFL Champions (1920–Present)
The 10 Greatest Football Movies of All Time
The 10 Greatest Football Movies of All Time
What Is PAT in Football?
What Is PAT in Football?
Golfer Paul Azinger: Cancer Survivor and Major Championship Winner
Golfer Paul Azinger: Cancer Survivor and Major Championship Winner
Kathy Whitworth: LPGA’s Biggest Winner
Kathy Whitworth: LPGA’s Biggest Winner
Football Glossary
Football Glossary
How Super Bowl Winners Fared the Following Season
How Super Bowl Winners Fared the Following Season
Golfer Raymond Floyd
Golfer Raymond Floyd
The Longest Home Winning Streaks in College Football History
The Longest Home Winning Streaks in College Football History
How the Super Bowl Came to Be
How the Super Bowl Came to Be
Home
Entertainment
Careers
Activities
Humor
About Us Advertise Careers Privacy Policy Editorial Guidelines Contact Terms of Use EU Privacy
LiveAbout is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.
Home
Home
Entertainment
Careers
Activities
Humor
About Us Advertise Careers Privacy Policy Editorial Guidelines Contact Terms of Use EU Privacy
About Us
Advertise
Careers
Privacy Policy
Editorial Guidelines
Contact
Terms of Use
EU Privacy
Entertainment
Careers
Activities
Humor
LiveAbout is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.
When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies