Who has gone 0-11 (in the B10)?

Submitted by Michigan Arrogance on January 5th, 2023 at 7:38 PM

So I've been perusing the Big Ten all time standings and have been stuck by the strangeness of how certain numbers pop up in what seem to be patterns. I know this is the brain making connections and forming explanations to make sense of otherwise randomness and that this is an artifact of evolution, etc. Still interesting to me, anyway. For example, in the 127 years of B10 football, there have only been 7 teams in the history of the Big Ten (which had 11 members for about 20 years):

1973 Iowa 0–8–0 // 0–11–0

1980 Northwestern 0–9–0 // 0–11–0

1981 Northwestern 0–9–0 // 0–11–0

1984 Indiana 0–9–0 // 0–11–0

1989 Northwestern 0–8–0 // 0–11–0

1994 Michigan State 0–8–0 // 0–11–0 (5 wins forfeited)

1997 Illinois 0–8 //  0–11

 

These, my friends, are the biggest losers in the 127 year history of the conference. Not sure what kind of leadership these teams had, nor what kind of talent, but it's safe to say that they didn't have much of either. 

MGoBoard
Football
iowa football
Indiana football
Northwestern football
msu football

Wolverine In Exile

January 5th, 2023 at 7:46 PM ^

I remember those northwestern teams of the 80s from my youth... They were beyond just normal bad. So when Gary Barnett actually turned them into a winning team? Friggin unbelievable.

Joined: 11/08/2008

MGoPoints: 10790

MGoGrendel

January 5th, 2023 at 8:06 PM ^

I moved to Chicago in the early 80's and went to a Michigan/Northwestern game in Evanston.  Having spent five seasons of football at Michigan Stadium, I was shocked (shocked!) to see the tiny Northwestern stadium.  Almost no one was there and it was a beautiful day in Chicago.  The atmosphere felt like they were having a scrimmage game. 

Joined: 01/21/2013

MGoPoints: 70271

Double-D

January 5th, 2023 at 10:48 PM ^

We used to to take the train from downtown to watch the Michigan games in Evanston in the early 90s. It was like a high school environment.

We would walk up and down and lean on the fence for much of the game right at the line of scrimmage. It was like being on the field. You could hear the coaching. It was beyond awesome.

The end zone was empty with no net so my three buddies and I once waited for the extra point with a bunch of the ball boys trying to retrieve the kick. I caught it and ran up the steps with a bunch of security and ball boys in pursuit.  I’m not sure why but I had it and they wanted it.

I was trapped about ten rows from the top and made a pitch pass to my buddy who was tracking along.  It looked like we had practiced this it was so smooth. He made it the rest of the way and spiked the ball over the top of the stadium. The crowd cheered and we made espn highlights.

We walked back to our seats and sat down and nobody said a thing. The ball boys just ran outside and a few minutes later came back with the ball.

Great times. 

Joined: 12/21/2013

MGoPoints: 87522

rob f

January 6th, 2023 at 12:50 AM ^

Great story!

I've gone to the majority of the 14 Michigan games at Northwestern since 1978 and while most the games have generally been less than memorable, specific incidents still stand out in my memory from the '78 and '82 games.

The most memorable thing about the '78 game to me happened when I went for a hot dog and some hot chocolate (it was a cold blustery day) and while waiting in line I witnessed an unfortunate mustard incident: a gal ahead of me wanted to get some mustard on her dogs and the pump on the big plastic mustard container was malfunctioning. She decided to pick it up, turning the jug upside down...and DISASTER---the top of the jug fell off and drenched her with enough mustard for dozens of wieners!

Then in '82, we sorta got behind schedule thanks to a stop in nearby Evanston for food and beers.  Finally arriving middle of the first quarter,  we literally walked/stumbled right thru an open fence gate and across the end of the field (just beyond the end line) just after Michigan scored and as they kicked the extra point at that end.  Got scolded by stadium security as they pointed us towards the fence gate in the direction we were already headed, but not until after we had congratulated and high-fived a few of the Michigan players.

Joined: 11/11/2010

MGoPoints: 194830

LSAClassOf2000

January 5th, 2023 at 8:18 PM ^

As I recall, George Perles did go 5-6 as hinted at by the OP, but it was Peter McPherson who gladly forfeited MSU's five wins though the NCAA found no infractions themselves (as a result of an investigation that the school requested, I believe). 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130636

St Joe Blues

January 6th, 2023 at 8:43 AM ^

I have this saved from a Chicago Trib article:

"Citing "several very serious and major violations," including academic fraud and cash payments to recruits" - right, sounds very inane. Surely you remember Greg Croxton?

  • Croxton also was alleged to be involved in one of the more bizarre incidents in the history of cheating in major-college football. The NCAA reports said that Croxton arranged in August, 1994, for a football player to go to a psychological clinic and pretend he had a mental illness. The student-athlete received a letter from the clinic asserting that he suffered from "severe depression and suicidal ideations," according to the NCAA report.

All the player had to do to claim mental illness was show his LOI to Perles and MSU.
 

Unfortunately the link I saved doesn't work anymore because the 1996 article has been moved behind a paywall. But if you google Greg Croxton and Michigan Staee football, there are plenty of articles that address this. They bribed and coerced professors to change grades to make ineligible players eligible. The players didn't even know they were ineligible, but Perles did and played them anyway.

Taking away the wins was their way to stop the NCAA investigation.

Joined: 01/08/2017

MGoPoints: 33795

funkywolve

January 5th, 2023 at 8:54 PM ^

The Illinois one surprised me because within a couple years they were pretty good.  Shared the Big Ten title in 2001 and went to the Rose Bowl.

Joined: 10/08/2008

MGoPoints: 20237

AndrelAnthonyCarter

January 5th, 2023 at 9:03 PM ^

Scott Frost will forever regret not making this list. Spends weeks at a time fantasizing about getting canned in week 12 Iowa after dropping the last 11 games by a total of like 3 points. Don't tell him it's mathematically impossible, just let him dream.

Joined: 11/02/2021

MGoPoints: 3546

TBuck97

January 5th, 2023 at 10:56 PM ^

Interesting stat. Shocked it’s only that many teams (1 being bc of forfeitures) and that, even in only 9 years of being in the conference, that Rutger hasn’t laid a goose egg. They’ve had some horrific teams. 

Joined: 09/28/2016

MGoPoints: 5830