If UNT wins it’s game Saturday against Idaho it will be 5-5 for the year and clinch a berth to the New Orleans bowl against the MWC #3 (probably Colorado State). UNT will have one game remaining against Troy State prior to the bowl (UNT can get bowl berth even with 5-6 record due to an exemption granted to the Sunbelt Conference)If they lose (to Idaho) MTSU will go instead with an 8-3 record
Two questions
It probably won’t happen but when was the last time a team went to a bowl with a losing record? I know it has happened but not recently.
When was the last time a team went to a bowl after starting the season 0-5?
What? Obviously he’s talking about college; there has never been a losing team in a pro bowl.
Pro ramble: I believe there have been just a few NFL teams with sub-500 records in the playoffs, but if they ever got to the only bowl game, the Super Bowl, they had winning records by then. Unless you want to count promotional stunts like the American Bowl, where they play exhibition games in Europe or wherever.
Actually, I can’t speak for WLAF, WFL, XFL, AFL, AAFC, USFL, or other lesser known leagues. In Canada they have a cup, not a bowl. It’s a spartan existence up there.
NCAA: In recent years they’ve had a rule where you must have 6 Division I victories to make it to a bowl game. Unless you have a 13 game season, you’re hard-pressed to have a losing record before the bowl. I believe the rule was inspired by some really wussy teams making it to bowls in the early 1990s(?), including one or two losing-record teams.
North Texas has played in two bowls before, losing to Nevada 13-6 in the 1948 Salad Bowl and losing to New Mexico State in the 1959 Sun Bowl.
There weren’t any records listed for worst record in a bowl game. Many 6-5 teams have made bowl games. It used to be you had to have a winning record, but this year, because of unusual events, such restrictions have been lifted.
It’s possible that some of the older non-sanctioned bowl games that were just postseason exhibitions might have featured teams with losing records.
Resurrecting a thread because I found out the answer.
According to an AP story, two teams have played in bowl games despite a losing record.
SMU was invited to the Sun Bowl in 1963 after beating Navy to even their record at 4-4. The Mustangs then lost their last two regular season games and the Sun Bowl and finished 4-7.
In 1970, William & Mary was invited to the Tangerine Bowl to play Toledo despite having a 5-6 record. William & Mary lost that game (and Jerry the Orthodontist from The Bob Newhart Show probably got very drunk. Fans of that show will recognize that joke.)
According to the NCAA, no one has gone 6-5 after starting out 0-5. North Texas must beat Troy State Saturday to have a winning record, but the Mean Green will be playing in the New Orleans Bowl against Colorado State on Dec. 18 regardless.
Well, North Texas lost the Troy State game by a last second field goal (made it by an inch). I guess they will be the first team with a 5-6 record in 30 years. Well, there is no such thing as bad publicity I guess. 8-3 Middle Tennessee must be upset.
I am currently in grad school at UNT. I am doing the 5-year accounting masters thing. You must have attended here during the name change, huh? If you would like to talk to other UNT fans I would suggest going to http://www.gomeangreen.com