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 Broken dreams Arizona staring at long odds after Pigskin pounding
Posted: Monday August 30, 1999 12:56 AM
By Ryan Hunt, CNN/SI One loss doesn't always break a season, but after Saturday's 41-7 thumping, Arizona has an uphill battle in its quest for a national title. In the 68 years of The Associated Press poll, there have been only 19 teams that have won a national title despite losing at least one game (the 1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers are the only two-loss champion). Only two have lost the first game of the season and went on to win the national title. Both the 1965 Alabama Crimson Tide and the 1983 Miami Hurricanes hit their speed bumps early in their title-winning seasons. Colorado tied Tennessee in the inaugural Pigskin Classic game in 1990 before winning the AP share of the national crown. Alabama lost its opening game in 1965 to Georgia 18-17, only to run off 11 straight wins. Miami, meanwhile, was trounced by seventh-ranked Florida 28-3 before making its storybook run to the crown.
Coincidentally, both went on to beat Nebraska in their bowl game. So when's the best time to lose a game and still remain in title contention? History doesn't provide any clear indication. Four times a national champion has lost its bowl game -- Oklahoma (1950), Maryland (1953), Minnesota (1960) and Alabama (1964). But prior to 1965, champions were selected before the bowls. Since '65, however, of the 12 times a team has lost in the regular season and still won the title, five stumbled in September, four fell in November and three lost in October. However, the last two one-loss champs -- Florida State (1993) and Florida (1996) -- both lost in the final weeks of the regular season. Most teams, though, have needed late help in bowl games to win the title. Since '65, only three of the 12 one-loss teams were ranked No. 1 in the AP poll heading into the bowl season -- Southern California (1967), Colorado (1990) and Florida State (1993). Penn State, which plays host to Saturday's Pigskin Classic, lost the fifth game in its 1982 title year. However, the Nittany Lions lost that game on the road. Just don't lose at home. Only five times has an eventual champion lost a home game in its title-winning year, the last being Oklahoma in 1985. The Sooners also dropped a home game in their 1975 championship season. Penn State followed that advice Saturday. And remained in the title hunt.
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