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Members of the college football Reddit community have been known to do extensive research into college football’s past to yield some interesting discoveries. Most recently, a Reddit user compiled the season records of all teams in a major conference to see which team has the fewest number of losing seasons in the past 50 years.
We all know that the SEC is known for the winning seasons it produces, but does history hold up the conference’s reputation?
Here are the top ten teams with the fewest losing seasons over the past 50 years:
RANK | TEAM | LOSING SEASONS | YEAR OF LOSING SEASON |
---|---|---|---|
T-1 | Southern California | 3 | 1983, 1991, 2000 |
T-1 | Oklahoma | 3 | 1996, 1997, 1998 |
T-1 | Nebraska | 3 | 2004, 2007, 2015 |
T-1 | Ohio State | 3 | 1966, 1988, 2011 |
T-5 | Florida | 4 | 1971, 1978, 1979, 2013 |
T-5 | Michigan | 4 | 1967, 2008, 2009, 2014 |
T-5 | Florida State | 4 | 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 |
T-8 | Alabama | 5 | 1984, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006 |
T-8 | Georgia | 5 | 1977, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2010 |
T-8 | Penn State | 5 | 1988, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 |
Generally speaking, no real surprises lie in the top ten. Three teams from the SEC make an appearance at the top, but the Big Ten beats out the SEC with four.
Here is where all SEC schools rank when it comes to number of losing seasons in the past 50 years:
RANK | TEAM | LOSING SEASONS | YEAR OF
LOSING SEASON |
---|---|---|---|
5 | Florida | 4 | 1971, 1978, 1979, 2013 |
8 | Alabama | 5 | 1984, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006 |
9 | Georgia | 5 | 1977, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2010 |
14 | Tennessee | 9 | 1977, 1980, 1988, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
16 | LSU | 11 | 1975, 1981, 1983, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999 |
17 | Auburn | 11 | 1966, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008, 2012 |
19 | Arkansas | 11 | 1967, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2013 |
26 | Texas A&M | 13 | 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1980, 1982, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009 |
43 | South Carolina | 20 | 1966, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2015 |
50 | Ole Miss | 22 | 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011 |
54 | Missouri | 23 | 1970, 1971, 1977, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2012, 2015 |
64 | Mississippi State | 28 | 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 |
79 | Kentucky | 35 | 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
90 | Vanderbilt | 43 | 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 |
Christine Wang is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. She covers Auburn, Arkansas and Ole Miss.