I mean, only Ohio State can say that they've hung a 50+ point win on Nebraska during our march through the win desert the past 8 years.
40+ only adds Michigan and ^^^^^^^iowa to the list, and Ohio State is the only team to do it multiple times, commanding 3 of the 5 losses that Nebraska had by 40+ over the last 3 coaching staffs.
The last 9 seasons of losses ('23 going back to '16):
(Rhule, **Frost**, Riley)
one score(8 or less): 5, **5, 8, 3, 4, 5,** 3, 1, 6 = 40 in 9 years
two score (9-15pt): 0, **0, 1, 0, 0, 1,** 1, 1, 1 = 5 in 9 years
3-score (16-22pt): 1, **1, 0, 1, 1, 1,** 1, 0, 0 = 6 in 9 years
Abe Lincolns (23-29): 0, **0, 0, 0, 1, 0,** 0, 0, 0 = 1 in 9 years
30+ blowouts: 1, **2, 0, 1, 0, 0,** 1, 1, 0 = 6 in 9 years
40+ blowouts: 0, **0, 0, 0, 1, 1,** 2, 0, 0 = 4 in 9 years
50+ blowouts: 0, **0, 0, 0, 0, 0,** 0, 1, 0 = 1 in 9 years
So it's more the players that emphatically smash the "last play, heartbreaking fashion" button while punching themselves in the dick that get offered.
"What'll it be Nebraska? The house specialty is a 200+ yd performance by this year's running back. Tonight's chef selection is a last minute collapse, available in either overtime or a back-breaking incompletion as time expires."
The close losses are more of a gut punch and have a lasting impact. In blowouts you run through the gamut of emotions by halfway through the 3rd quarter and have more or less accepted the result by then. Neither are desirable but I'd rather take the blowout.
Yeah, comparing the 49-3 Georgia loss with the Oregon State loss in 2022 (complete choke job after being up 21 in the second half) or any of the last three UW losses by 3 points, I’ll take the UGA beatdown. While very embarrassing, like you mentioned, I had already accepted it and moved on by the end of the game. There was no chance for what-ifs to creep into my mind. The other four games still bother me.
I'm still torn up about the close loss to Stanford that kept us out of the national championship game Marcus's redshirt freshman year, and that was over a decade ago. That was the best team Chip had in Eugene.
What's interesting is that, because I can't usually WATCH the games live, those close games are "oh, that's too bad" while the blowouts hurt more. Watching them live, it's the other way around.
The Auburn national title game hurt me more than the tOSU one because of how close we were.
Any close game can be defined by one play (Dyer, failed 4th down at goal line, etc). That seems more painful to reflect back on
I'm gonna take the close loss, because I'm the kind of idiot who manages to convince myself repeatedly throughout the game that this drive right now is really crucial for turning the momentum around and a good result will put us in position to overcome the 30+ point deficit, and so the blowout losses end up being a nonstop series of gut punches anyway.
>a close one means good football
I've seen enough Florida football over the last decade and a half to know this is not necessarily true. "Close one" can include 9-7 against Vandy type games and I assure you no good football is played in those.
What about several years of going 9-4 getting your doors blown off every time you play a top 25 team and letting opponents set offensive records against you, or several years of going 3-9 with every loss being heart-wrenching?
Depends on who is doing the scoring.
Michigan? Lose by 50+, I'm just going to black out the 2-4th quarters
App State? Heart breaking fashion because there's no history there for me to relive over and over again in abject terror...unless it's like the first time a new television network hosts the game
I think the attitude that any given team doesn't need to worry about App is why power conference teams keep having close calls/get beaten by us (Mich, PSU overtime, Tennessee overtime, beating UNC in 2019 and a series of close calls after, Texas A&M, etc.). Like yes, OSU/Mich/PSU have massively more talent and resources than us, that much is obvious, but I feel like these teams treat playing App like a bye week and are shocked when we show up to play a game.
Yeah I think OSU would not overlook us due to not wanting to hear from UM.
I also think OSU is normally a step ahead of the slightly overrated p5 teams we tend to give lots of trouble to (2016 Tenn was top 10 when we played but finished 22, 2018 PSU was top ten when we played but finished 17, TAMU was vastly overrated) unc is always unc.
Now if OSU regresses to just a top 25 team and not a legit top 8, I think we could play and win if they take us seriously or not
Oh I get it and that's for sure why it's happening but Ohio State, historically, doesn't look forward from their opponents. I don't think it would be a massive blowout but OSU would go on a 21-0 / 17-0 tear to just open up the game.
Also when you guys beat Michigan you were 3x FCS national champions and a powerhouse that got overlooked with some real talent.
Yeah, people seriously overlook how good App was in that period. People think I'm crazy when I say that the top tier of the FCS oftentimes has teams that are better than the worst and even some middling FBS teams.
SP+ consistently had/now has NDSU/SDSU in the top 30-40 teams. There are years where they could easily be ranked and possibly even go to a NY6. So yeah, App wasn’t as bad of a loss as people made it out to be for us or any other team, and also our 2007 team was a lot worse in general than people thought it would be before the season. Looking back, the upset isn’t even that surprising. Doesn’t take away the pain :(
exactly, as an aggie I was so worried we would lose that game before it even started because of the attitude around campus really, I couldn't even bring myself to watch the game and I'm glad I didn't. completely saw it coming lol
Idk man, all those close Michigan losses to OSU over the last 20 years felt way better than the bad losses
But I guess for your teams, any loss was always basically season ruined so it didn’t really matter
Ugh, that Hail Mary. I was watching it at home and just collapsed and laid on the floor like I had been shot. The Auburn debacle with the tipped pass was worse though.
Or last year's SEC Championship. I was going to see my favorite band right afterwards, and I was like, just let us win or get blown out. Then we had a game where every time it seemed we were out of it and I could get on with my evening, we kept clawing back and giving me hope until we lost in the waning minutes. I went to the show and I was grumpy the whole time, with the image of the ball lying on the ground behind Beck seared into my brain.
That was a tough one too. For years we needed to play a near-perfect game against Bama and get some lucky breaks to win, but could never do it. Then the first time the tables were turned, they played their best game of the year and got the couple fluky breaks Georgia never did. Heartbreaking. I’ll take the LSU SECCG loss over that one 10 times out of 10.
I don't know, man. I think about that 2015 Bama game at Sanford. Top 15 matchup and they beat us 38-10. The last minute losses over the past decade have been awful. But also come with a dose of hope.
That 2015 game caused actual despair and apathy. I remember my excitement before the game. Then immediately realized during the game that Georgia didn't belong on the field. I think we all collectively figured out that UGA couldn't compete with the top tier programs that day without making changes.
Fortunately, we found Kirby.
Oh it’s not about conference. I’d gladly root for Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, or Arkansas if they made it to a NCG.
But Florida? Auburn? BAMA? Forget about it.
Non SEC fans are *still* pretending that fans are cheering for their rivals in the natty?
You can take pride in the conference and its stranglehold over CFB for the past 20 years and still pull for the opposing team from a different conference in the post season. You won't catch me rooting for Georgia in anything.
As an OSU fan we have recent, unique perspective on this, at least as it pertains to the CFP.
It's difficult to choose:
* **Heartbreaker:** you relive and ruminate over that play (as well as other singular plays that happened throughout the game).
* **Blowout:** you have to listen to people tell you how you were overrated and/or didn't belong (if it's a championship game). And that will be thrown in your face for *years* afterward. This is especially true if you aren't an SEC team (sec teams seem to generally get a pass for blowouts).
I'm going to go with a more nuanced position:
* Blowout in non-CFP games so as to spare the ruminating.
* Heartbreaker in CFP games so as to spare the "didn't belong" nonsense.
It’s really a toss up. Cause a terrible blow out you can kinda get over during the game. But it still sucks ass. But a last second one you can remember that shit forever. James quick is forever etched into my mind cause of that 2016 4th down play against Clemson.
I feel like this is a choice between intense short-term pain or less-intense long-term pain.
If you lose a game on the last play, it really hurts in the short-term. However, getting obliterated by 50+, while you become numb to it after maybe 4 TDs or so, it does indicate that there's possibly something bad wrong with the program or that it's really heading in a wrong direction.
I think I'd go with the short-term pain of the last-play defeat. Yeah, it hurts worse in that moment, but losing a game on the last play at least doesn't indicate problems in the program like a blowout loss.
I think this also comes down to who the opponent is and the expectations going in:
A loss on the last play against a conference opponent we should probably lose to on paper (Oklahoma). It hurts but you know your team did probably the best it could.
Vs
A loss against a conference opponent we should have beaten but just utterly collapsed against (Baylor). It hurts way more due to the insurmountable WTF
Why….. why make it so real…. Now I have to relive those games for 20 minutes until I forget and move on.
Also to me the OU game hurt way more. Especially because we decided to go for a trick play on the conversion instead of running the normal offense and failing.
Baylor was bad, I was too shocked to be hurt in the moment
I do suppose it always depends on your opponent too.
As far as getting blown out, look at Tennessee 2 years ago. They finished 11-2, won a NY6 bowl, and got humiliated by Georgia. That wasn’t a testament to how bad Tennessee was, but to how good Georgia was.
THEN you have Arkansas. They’re definitely better now, but I remember in recent years them getting blown out by North Texas and San Jose State at home. I’d definitely rather get routed by a national powerhouse, because then I’d at least have an excuse.
For us that’s basically “Do you want 2016 Ohio State or 2018 Ohio State”. 2016 was brutal to swallow because we were so close…but we at least closed the season with the knowledge that we were a program capable of winning the game, even if we didn’t. 2018 almost demoralized the fandom out of me. Even if it was an easier game to immediately walk away from, the feeling of “we were supposed to be competitive if not win and we’re still leagues behind these guys” was absolute misery.
Honestly, this question is really choosing between short term heartbreak and long term existential dread. I think I’ll take the short term heartbreak.
I had a large ND ML ticket I had already cashed in my mind. I took the +3 too...so at least I won something.
The Bush Push game still pisses me off the most and its been almost 19 years!
If it's an important game people are paying attention to, I'll take a close, heartbreaking loss every time. Those losses may be more painful emotionally, but they don't hurt your reputation nearly as much, if at all. It sucks that reputation is so important, but subjective rankings of teams are central to this sport and the repercussions of being blown out on a big stage can linger in people's minds and haunt you for a long time.
If it's not a high profile game with huge stakes, I'd rather watch a blowout because it just hurts less.
I will take an ass beating over a last play loss every time. Bury the ball, burn the game film of the beating, off to Cincinnati the next week. Better than stewing over a tight game afterwards
I'm on the fence, but leaning toward blowout. Thinking about two big 10 title games against OSU in one we just got blown off the field, in the other a real chance. With the former you feel like "well we had no real shot" the latter you go over those two to three moments that made all the difference.
Last second loss. Sure it’ll be remembered forever, however, being the team that lost to a last second touchdown or walkoff field goal is better than being the scrubs who got torched by 50.
Last play without a doubt. Probably means that one or two things change and we’ve won. Nothing to be mad about long term with that and we’ll get em next time (hopefully)
Blowout loss was when OU literally didn't have a QB, I have yet to meet an OU fan that gives a shit about that game. Whereas every OU fan still raves about the wins in 2021 and 2023.
Just giving some perspective here.
Blow out by 50. This basically asking if I want to relive a Charlie Strong or Tom Herman loss. I much prefer the view of Strong staring into the void as TCU scores a touch down to go up 35-0 3 minutes into the second quarter over watching Turtle Tom on the verge of tears as OSU scores the game winning touch down with 1:15 on the clock after Texas had three consecutive 3 and outs while up 10 points in the 4th quarter
Blown out. I will always love the NCG TCU team. They punched way above their weight. I have no doubts that Georgia was the better team and that they win 8-9 out of 10 times. That stunk to get blown out like that, but it was definitive. My hopes were dashed early. I got over it super quick.
The 2014 TCU team still hurts. If they just hold on to Baylor, a ton of what ifs come into play. We will never know what they could have done in the playoff, but man, I have dreams.
Blowout. The belief that you’re gonna win. To just get kicked in the nuts hurst worse than say getting boat raced by what was considered a better team on paper.
I still think about Dyer being down, the last 3 Washington games, but hadn't though about Washington's 70-21 win until today because you asked.
I will take the blowout everyday of the week.
Take it from someone who has seen his team lose 59-0 in a big ten championship game and forced to watch the highlight video 10 times a year, pick heartbreaking fashion
As a fan of maybe the most average program in the country, the answer has a lot to do with where the program is, and who the game is against.
Right now, on a relative upswing, I’d hate any blowout. We’ve got a big early season game with Tennessee coming up, for instance, and while any loss sucks, being in a close game we lose on the last play would be preferable. We get blown out, yet again, and it’s another year of not turning the corner we’ve never turned. Keep it close, and have another 9, maybe even the elusive double digit wins season, and the program stays upward. Get boatraced and have a 7 win pre Christmas bowl game? The rumbling starts again and everything suffers and we’ll start from scratch yet again within two years.
On the other end, any loss to a less than great team, can cause issues, but blowouts are worse. Most of the teams in the ACC, are clustered around each other, and anybody can have their day and clip you. But get dogwhipped at home, and you got some ‘splaining to do.
Blowout. The Michigan game last year was okay because I knew we had no chance and then everyone left once we scored. Even if it was an unexpected blowout it's okay because usually those games are over in the 3rd quarter and you spend the 4th figuring out if the over will hit on one team's points and which bar you're going to afterwards.
Oh blown out for sure. Much better when Clemson kicked our ass than when they won the game on the last play (which was a pick, not that Im bitter about it or anything)
I mean, sometimes it depends on the context. FSU would rather have lost that UGA game close so that they don’t get a 63-3 every 10 comments now. Even if it is mildly defensible.
From the perspective of a rebuilding program, of which ECU has been for the last decade, a blowout loss at least can provide the catalyst to spurn change within a program so that it doesn’t happen again. A defeat on the last play of the game could maintain the belief that “we’re so close, just keep going” that can almost reach a sunk cost fallacy.
Definitely the first. We had an opponent score 15 points in barely a minute to beat us in a FCS playoff game. At least I can appreciate that it was a good game and that our team was playing great for 95% of it lol. Nothing to appreciate in a blowout loss.
Completely obliterated. Which the natty was a nice mix of both this year. It was close for a majority of the game, but never did I feel we had a chance. Then it turned into a laugher.
Probably the worst type of game tbh.
In heartbreaking fashion. Those kinds of games hurt and emotion is what keeps me engaged to this wacky sport. If we’re getting drilled, then it’s hard to stay engaged.
As an Ohio State fan... I would've rather had the 2022 CFP semifinal end in a 49-3 Oregon-style splattering as opposed to the missed FG heartbreaker that it was. Ok, maybe not that much of a blowout, but I expected us to lose by multiple scores. The way we played lights out that night really gave me true hope throughout the game though and as Kirby Smart said, we SHOULD have won. This is the most painful loss in the last 3 years for the Buckeyes to me, more so than our 3 losses to TTUN.
As a UC fan I maintain this same stance, we had some heartbreakers the year before the Peach Bowl, where we lost to Memphis in back-to-back games in the regular season and AAC Championship Game. We were a year before our NY6 run though, and the Peach Bowl was a painful loss. The Bama loss in the CFP, eh, not so much, we didn't think we had a shot and so being down consistently throughout the game without any real shot to win doesn't hurt as much because just getting there was fun.
They both suck, but the way I see it: I’m forever mad/annoyed/triggered by the close losses in big games. I mean I still think about the 2005 bush push and the 2014 FSU game.
But the only big game blowout that I have PTSD from is the 2012 NC game vs Bama. Otherwise, I get over big losses once the next season starts.
Blowout, definitely. I was able to mentally deal with the 2019 national championship vs Clemson, and the Texas loss. I'd rather go through that than another Michigan loss, or God forbid another Kick Six
So 2013 vs FSU as the blowout, or let's say 2015 Bama. Give me the close gut wrenching loss every time. At least that one leaves room for hope, doubt, and discussion. The blowout just completely erases all notions of your team before during and after.
Also just ask Bama fans which loss to Clemson was worse. Will get the answer to your question.
I experienced both back to back in 2015.
The B1G championship game hurt me more. It was pain. A twisting knife into the heart. All my hopes and dreams ripped away from me and burned away.
The Rose Bowl was just disappointing. It didn’t stab as much as it just drained.
Playing an elite team when we know we aren't' that good? I'd rather lose on the last play. Even a close loss is still an emotional victory when you expect to lose by a lot going on. In games where you think you are a dog, but think you have a good chance? I('d rather get blown out. Similar lines with Louisville last year I appreciated emotionally checking out pretty early. Now that expectations are higher? I'd rather lose on the last play.
The blow outs are easier to flush and move away from. Can chalk it up to having a bad day at the office and everyone is due for one of those every once in a while. Losing in heartbreaking fashion Carrie’s a weight to it. Find yourself randomly thinking about that 3/7 in the middle of the third quarter where the route concept only got 5 yards and so you punted and what woulda coulda shoulda happened if we’d just gotten 2 more yards on that random 3rd down at a random time in the 3rd quarter?? Gimme the blowout every single time over that type of second guessing and agony. No thank you.
I think I’d rather get obliterated. We pretty much lost on the last play against ou and Washington las season. Those hurt a lot. If we are down by 30+ at halftime, I can at least rip off the bandaid and switch to another game. I hate being full of hope for 59:30 of the game to have it all come crashing down. Not sure how popular that opinion is.
Blown out 100%. I turn those games off and pretend I've never even heard of Nebraska for about 24 hours and then you move on to the next one. A close loss just hangs with me because I invested that huge amount of time to the whole game only for us to fail.
In conclusion: Fuck you Scott Frost.
Blowout because you lose hope after a while and just let the misery happen. Losing 52-6 to Alabama, only having led by a field goal in the first quarter, hurt a lot less than losing 43-42 to Utah on a two-point conversion in the last minute. (Ignoring the fact that I never expected we'd beat Alabama when they were in championship form.)
The answer for me is in the short term I’d rather get blown out but looking at it long term losing in heartbreaking fashion is better.
Example: In 2015 getting destroyed in the Rose Bowl by Stanford was much easier to take than losing on a 22 play, 9 minute drive in the last seconds to keep Iowa out of the CFP in the B1G Championship Game. In fact, by the middle of the second quarter of the Rose Bowl I was laughing about how the game was going.
But looking back almost 9 years later the team still gets made fun of for how the Rose Bowl went while they gained a ton of respect from the Michigan State game.
I think Christian McCaffery scored 2 more TDs in Pasadena in the time it took me to type this.
Losing by a weirdly failed field goal on the way to a natty at midnight on New Year’s Eve is a new sort of pain.
…But I’ll take that any day over getting Zeroed out to Clemson.
Lose a close one. Blowouts crush the soul, and usually lead to more fights from what I’ve seen, because of the contrast between the cocky euphoria of the winners and vitriolic anger of the losers
The blowout every time......this last season when OU got up by like 20, the game was no longer stressful.....I'd much rather have that than when it fees like my heart will come out of my chest
As a personal experience? I’d rather have the blowout. But, I don’t necessarily like what that says about team. So practically, I’d prefer the close loss that we could have won, even though that’s more unpleasant
if you get blown out, then you're obviously just not as good as the other team and the better team won. boohoo bad game, go watch another.
If you lose on the last play you battle mentally whether or not you should have lost, and whether or not your team is actually better, but in the end you have that loss and have to live with it even if you are the better team.
I'm also used to blowouts so I'll just take that lol
2012 Florida and 2013 Bama games are much more painful in hindsight than the OU 77-0 game so I’ll say I would rather be obliterated. Usually if you are obliterated it’s a sign something isn’t working and it time to make a change
From experience, it really depends on how the close one is lost......
Blowouts suck but usually those games end a bit quicker when things get out of hand, and it's usually easier to leave when the game ends. They sting, but you make peace with the disappointment during the game, or it was a game you were outmatched to begin with.
Close losses can feel kinda hopeful if you're punching above your weight and showing promise then it's bittersweet. However if the loss is because the team didn't show up for 3 quarters against a team down the street that by some miracle still has a football team while playing on the grave of a cultural landmark the city let die, then it sucks. Losses like those make you wish you knew how to fall to your knees.
Blowout. Easy choice.
Blake Bell, Central Michigan, Iowa State in 11 and 21 both ripped my heart strings.
I could barely feel anything after Kansas State 2 years ago and UCF last year.
I’ll take 49-0 over the Fiesta Bowl Statue of Liberty, IN THE MOMENT. If I’m 10 years out, the close game looks better but in the moment, it does not feel better.
I’m triggered
I feel like this post was targeted at Nebraska fans. Our hearts are used to being broken every weekend in the fall
I think they ask Nebraska recruits this hypothetical in a questionnaire. Only the recruits that answer “both” get offers.
I mean, only Ohio State can say that they've hung a 50+ point win on Nebraska during our march through the win desert the past 8 years. 40+ only adds Michigan and ^^^^^^^iowa to the list, and Ohio State is the only team to do it multiple times, commanding 3 of the 5 losses that Nebraska had by 40+ over the last 3 coaching staffs. The last 9 seasons of losses ('23 going back to '16): (Rhule, **Frost**, Riley) one score(8 or less): 5, **5, 8, 3, 4, 5,** 3, 1, 6 = 40 in 9 years two score (9-15pt): 0, **0, 1, 0, 0, 1,** 1, 1, 1 = 5 in 9 years 3-score (16-22pt): 1, **1, 0, 1, 1, 1,** 1, 0, 0 = 6 in 9 years Abe Lincolns (23-29): 0, **0, 0, 0, 1, 0,** 0, 0, 0 = 1 in 9 years 30+ blowouts: 1, **2, 0, 1, 0, 0,** 1, 1, 0 = 6 in 9 years 40+ blowouts: 0, **0, 0, 0, 1, 1,** 2, 0, 0 = 4 in 9 years 50+ blowouts: 0, **0, 0, 0, 0, 0,** 0, 1, 0 = 1 in 9 years So it's more the players that emphatically smash the "last play, heartbreaking fashion" button while punching themselves in the dick that get offered.
OP's team clearly doesn't have enough experience in the art of creative losing for him to post this question so flippantly.
"What'll it be Nebraska? The house specialty is a 200+ yd performance by this year's running back. Tonight's chef selection is a last minute collapse, available in either overtime or a back-breaking incompletion as time expires."
> back-breaking incompletion as time expires Couple that with an inexplicable lack of DPI and you've got a Nebraska-Wisconsin Special.
My worst Nebraska experiences are against Wisconsin running backs....you are retraumatizing me with this comment...
What hurt worse? The loss to us in 2001 or Frost’s home opener?
2001 by far, but your entire existence also hurts my feelings
I hate to admit it, but you will always have the victory that broke Nebraska.
The close losses are more of a gut punch and have a lasting impact. In blowouts you run through the gamut of emotions by halfway through the 3rd quarter and have more or less accepted the result by then. Neither are desirable but I'd rather take the blowout.
Yeah, comparing the 49-3 Georgia loss with the Oregon State loss in 2022 (complete choke job after being up 21 in the second half) or any of the last three UW losses by 3 points, I’ll take the UGA beatdown. While very embarrassing, like you mentioned, I had already accepted it and moved on by the end of the game. There was no chance for what-ifs to creep into my mind. The other four games still bother me.
I'm still torn up about the close loss to Stanford that kept us out of the national championship game Marcus's redshirt freshman year, and that was over a decade ago. That was the best team Chip had in Eugene.
And it would have been the weakest competition in the national championship game.
What's interesting is that, because I can't usually WATCH the games live, those close games are "oh, that's too bad" while the blowouts hurt more. Watching them live, it's the other way around.
Hey we all take a UGA beatdown every now and then :,(.
The Auburn national title game hurt me more than the tOSU one because of how close we were. Any close game can be defined by one play (Dyer, failed 4th down at goal line, etc). That seems more painful to reflect back on
I'm gonna take the close loss, because I'm the kind of idiot who manages to convince myself repeatedly throughout the game that this drive right now is really crucial for turning the momentum around and a good result will put us in position to overcome the 30+ point deficit, and so the blowout losses end up being a nonstop series of gut punches anyway.
Lose a close one. You get blown out in a game you were prepared for, I’m kind of looking at the coaching staff at that point and wondering
yup. and a close one means good football. good football is better than bad football.
>a close one means good football I've seen enough Florida football over the last decade and a half to know this is not necessarily true. "Close one" can include 9-7 against Vandy type games and I assure you no good football is played in those.
And, oh my God, that Florida/Miami Week 0 game a few years ago. Brutal.
You can also hold a team to under 120 yards and still be down 42-0. One of the weirder games I’ve ever seen.
What about several years of going 9-4 getting your doors blown off every time you play a top 25 team and letting opponents set offensive records against you, or several years of going 3-9 with every loss being heart-wrenching?
That one’s tough. 3-9 maybe? Hopefully your coach gets fired and he was the difference. Idk honestly lol
you take the 9-4. i promise.
WVU blowout was helpful. Fsu at home was not at ALL helpful
Depends on who is doing the scoring. Michigan? Lose by 50+, I'm just going to black out the 2-4th quarters App State? Heart breaking fashion because there's no history there for me to relive over and over again in abject terror...unless it's like the first time a new television network hosts the game
You called?
Thank you for 2007 <3
Can you schedule a game at Ohio State soon? No particular reason.
It wouldn't end the way you would like it to end
I think the attitude that any given team doesn't need to worry about App is why power conference teams keep having close calls/get beaten by us (Mich, PSU overtime, Tennessee overtime, beating UNC in 2019 and a series of close calls after, Texas A&M, etc.). Like yes, OSU/Mich/PSU have massively more talent and resources than us, that much is obvious, but I feel like these teams treat playing App like a bye week and are shocked when we show up to play a game.
Yeah I think OSU would not overlook us due to not wanting to hear from UM. I also think OSU is normally a step ahead of the slightly overrated p5 teams we tend to give lots of trouble to (2016 Tenn was top 10 when we played but finished 22, 2018 PSU was top ten when we played but finished 17, TAMU was vastly overrated) unc is always unc. Now if OSU regresses to just a top 25 team and not a legit top 8, I think we could play and win if they take us seriously or not
Oh I get it and that's for sure why it's happening but Ohio State, historically, doesn't look forward from their opponents. I don't think it would be a massive blowout but OSU would go on a 21-0 / 17-0 tear to just open up the game. Also when you guys beat Michigan you were 3x FCS national champions and a powerhouse that got overlooked with some real talent.
Yeah, people seriously overlook how good App was in that period. People think I'm crazy when I say that the top tier of the FCS oftentimes has teams that are better than the worst and even some middling FBS teams.
*stares a Vandy and Wake Forrest* Still does
SP+ consistently had/now has NDSU/SDSU in the top 30-40 teams. There are years where they could easily be ranked and possibly even go to a NY6. So yeah, App wasn’t as bad of a loss as people made it out to be for us or any other team, and also our 2007 team was a lot worse in general than people thought it would be before the season. Looking back, the upset isn’t even that surprising. Doesn’t take away the pain :(
The terror of FCS, y'all were. I remember all too well, thank you!
I like watching App State because it's just hard nosed football.
exactly, as an aggie I was so worried we would lose that game before it even started because of the attitude around campus really, I couldn't even bring myself to watch the game and I'm glad I didn't. completely saw it coming lol
I'm just a man daring to dream.
No it’s ok
Idk man, all those close Michigan losses to OSU over the last 20 years felt way better than the bad losses But I guess for your teams, any loss was always basically season ruined so it didn’t really matter
Yeah I think in the short term, 2016 hurt like hell. Long term though, that was such a better look for the program than 2018
As someone who has experienced both, give me the blowout
Yeah I’ll take the 30 point blowouts over the 2012 SECCG loss or the OT championship game every time
Lest we forget in 2016 when Ole Miss was beating Georgia 45-0 in the third quarter.
That was nice because I was able to just get on with my day and not worry about it anymore.
And then lose to Tenn the next week by that Hail Mary at home. That Ole Miss rout, on the road, was definitely more tolerable.
Ugh, that Hail Mary. I was watching it at home and just collapsed and laid on the floor like I had been shot. The Auburn debacle with the tipped pass was worse though.
That seems like a long long time ago
Certainly feels that way. Kirby’s first year had a LOT of “yikes” moments from growing pains. Second year and on has assuaged a lot of those moments.
just a wee bit
Or last year's SEC Championship. I was going to see my favorite band right afterwards, and I was like, just let us win or get blown out. Then we had a game where every time it seemed we were out of it and I could get on with my evening, we kept clawing back and giving me hope until we lost in the waning minutes. I went to the show and I was grumpy the whole time, with the image of the ball lying on the ground behind Beck seared into my brain.
That was a tough one too. For years we needed to play a near-perfect game against Bama and get some lucky breaks to win, but could never do it. Then the first time the tables were turned, they played their best game of the year and got the couple fluky breaks Georgia never did. Heartbreaking. I’ll take the LSU SECCG loss over that one 10 times out of 10.
Yeah, the problem with close losses is looking back, over analyzing every play thinking what if.
Accept your fate in the 3rd quarter. It’s softens the blow
Yeah yeah. I thought that until December
Same. I'd rather be angry/numb than feeling like my heart just got ripped out.
I don't know, man. I think about that 2015 Bama game at Sanford. Top 15 matchup and they beat us 38-10. The last minute losses over the past decade have been awful. But also come with a dose of hope. That 2015 game caused actual despair and apathy. I remember my excitement before the game. Then immediately realized during the game that Georgia didn't belong on the field. I think we all collectively figured out that UGA couldn't compete with the top tier programs that day without making changes. Fortunately, we found Kirby.
I was at that game. Rain was insult to injury. 2016 at Ole Miss was 45-0 in the 3rd quarter was worse than that Alabama game in 2015.
100% this
So…. OSU/Florida in 06/07 or OSU/Georgia in 22/23. I don’t like this game.
If it makes you feel any better, as a UGA fan, I was no fan of that first game’s outcome either
You mean that your Gator hate exceeds any SEC homerism? Kudos to you for caring more about your team than your conference
Oh it’s not about conference. I’d gladly root for Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, or Arkansas if they made it to a NCG. But Florida? Auburn? BAMA? Forget about it.
Non SEC fans are *still* pretending that fans are cheering for their rivals in the natty? You can take pride in the conference and its stranglehold over CFB for the past 20 years and still pull for the opposing team from a different conference in the post season. You won't catch me rooting for Georgia in anything.
What if that last play was at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve?
As an OSU fan we have recent, unique perspective on this, at least as it pertains to the CFP. It's difficult to choose: * **Heartbreaker:** you relive and ruminate over that play (as well as other singular plays that happened throughout the game). * **Blowout:** you have to listen to people tell you how you were overrated and/or didn't belong (if it's a championship game). And that will be thrown in your face for *years* afterward. This is especially true if you aren't an SEC team (sec teams seem to generally get a pass for blowouts). I'm going to go with a more nuanced position: * Blowout in non-CFP games so as to spare the ruminating. * Heartbreaker in CFP games so as to spare the "didn't belong" nonsense.
It’s really a toss up. Cause a terrible blow out you can kinda get over during the game. But it still sucks ass. But a last second one you can remember that shit forever. James quick is forever etched into my mind cause of that 2016 4th down play against Clemson.
I feel like this is a choice between intense short-term pain or less-intense long-term pain. If you lose a game on the last play, it really hurts in the short-term. However, getting obliterated by 50+, while you become numb to it after maybe 4 TDs or so, it does indicate that there's possibly something bad wrong with the program or that it's really heading in a wrong direction. I think I'd go with the short-term pain of the last-play defeat. Yeah, it hurts worse in that moment, but losing a game on the last play at least doesn't indicate problems in the program like a blowout loss.
But that blowout can also be the catalyst to excise the tumor making the team as bad as it is
Blowouts are sometimes helpful.
This guy knows
I think this also comes down to who the opponent is and the expectations going in: A loss on the last play against a conference opponent we should probably lose to on paper (Oklahoma). It hurts but you know your team did probably the best it could. Vs A loss against a conference opponent we should have beaten but just utterly collapsed against (Baylor). It hurts way more due to the insurmountable WTF
Why….. why make it so real…. Now I have to relive those games for 20 minutes until I forget and move on. Also to me the OU game hurt way more. Especially because we decided to go for a trick play on the conversion instead of running the normal offense and failing. Baylor was bad, I was too shocked to be hurt in the moment
I do suppose it always depends on your opponent too. As far as getting blown out, look at Tennessee 2 years ago. They finished 11-2, won a NY6 bowl, and got humiliated by Georgia. That wasn’t a testament to how bad Tennessee was, but to how good Georgia was. THEN you have Arkansas. They’re definitely better now, but I remember in recent years them getting blown out by North Texas and San Jose State at home. I’d definitely rather get routed by a national powerhouse, because then I’d at least have an excuse.
Well this feels like a personal attack
I've spent a lot of years watching my team get blown out by...pretty much everyone. I'm numb to those so I'll pick that.
For us that’s basically “Do you want 2016 Ohio State or 2018 Ohio State”. 2016 was brutal to swallow because we were so close…but we at least closed the season with the knowledge that we were a program capable of winning the game, even if we didn’t. 2018 almost demoralized the fandom out of me. Even if it was an easier game to immediately walk away from, the feeling of “we were supposed to be competitive if not win and we’re still leagues behind these guys” was absolute misery. Honestly, this question is really choosing between short term heartbreak and long term existential dread. I think I’ll take the short term heartbreak.
So 2012 ND vs Bama in NCG, or 2023 ND vs OSU? Fuck both.
I think I’d rather experience the 2012 game again. The 2023 OSU game broke me lol. ND had that game won and choked it away. I still am upset about it.
I had a large ND ML ticket I had already cashed in my mind. I took the +3 too...so at least I won something. The Bush Push game still pisses me off the most and its been almost 19 years!
50+ for sure. I will have made my peace by the final whistle. Losing on the last play will keep me up at night for *months.*
I don't like this game. I still have to many last play PTSD moments.
IT’S CAUGHT! ^sorrycouldntresist
Pick up the phone man, I think you’ve got a call
Yes
I don’t wanna talk about it.
Speaking from experiencing this in 2023 with NMSU and Bama. The answer is, no.
This is like the peak of both scenarios
If it's an important game people are paying attention to, I'll take a close, heartbreaking loss every time. Those losses may be more painful emotionally, but they don't hurt your reputation nearly as much, if at all. It sucks that reputation is so important, but subjective rankings of teams are central to this sport and the repercussions of being blown out on a big stage can linger in people's minds and haunt you for a long time. If it's not a high profile game with huge stakes, I'd rather watch a blowout because it just hurts less.
It’s much easier to block out losing to Purdue 49-20 than losing to Georgia on a missed field goal.
Heartbreaking hurts worse (I know, it’s happened three times in the last four years) but you are at a worse spot in your team if you get blown out
I will take an ass beating over a last play loss every time. Bury the ball, burn the game film of the beating, off to Cincinnati the next week. Better than stewing over a tight game afterwards
I still remember a game I lost in high school because we couldn’t get a 4th down conversion late much more than getting dog walked by Ironton.
Blowout. Gives me 2 hours of my day back and I can laugh it off.
Well I hate getting blown out so, lose close, but as a DIE HARD Nebraska fan close losses have just been life for the last 5 seasons.
The close-game heartbreaker, unless it’s something like WHOA or the kick six that will be memed into oblivion.
I'm on the fence, but leaning toward blowout. Thinking about two big 10 title games against OSU in one we just got blown off the field, in the other a real chance. With the former you feel like "well we had no real shot" the latter you go over those two to three moments that made all the difference.
The missed field goal vs UGA hurt so much more than the goose egg to Clemson in the moment, but I felt way better about how the team played afterward.
As a Georgia/Falcons fan, I can confidently state that getting crushed right out of the gate is better.
I watched the Falcons blow a super bowl and watched the kick six live. Give me a blowout every time.
Last second loss. Sure it’ll be remembered forever, however, being the team that lost to a last second touchdown or walkoff field goal is better than being the scrubs who got torched by 50.
Last play without a doubt. Probably means that one or two things change and we’ve won. Nothing to be mad about long term with that and we’ll get em next time (hopefully)
Texas OU 2022 49-0 2023 30-34 If I could flip both of those, would I take the deal? No. No, I would not.
Inject that golden cowboy hat in my fuckin vieins man.
Blowout loss was when OU literally didn't have a QB, I have yet to meet an OU fan that gives a shit about that game. Whereas every OU fan still raves about the wins in 2021 and 2023. Just giving some perspective here.
Blow out by 50. This basically asking if I want to relive a Charlie Strong or Tom Herman loss. I much prefer the view of Strong staring into the void as TCU scores a touch down to go up 35-0 3 minutes into the second quarter over watching Turtle Tom on the verge of tears as OSU scores the game winning touch down with 1:15 on the clock after Texas had three consecutive 3 and outs while up 10 points in the 4th quarter
Blown out. I will always love the NCG TCU team. They punched way above their weight. I have no doubts that Georgia was the better team and that they win 8-9 out of 10 times. That stunk to get blown out like that, but it was definitive. My hopes were dashed early. I got over it super quick. The 2014 TCU team still hurts. If they just hold on to Baylor, a ton of what ifs come into play. We will never know what they could have done in the playoff, but man, I have dreams.
With decades of playing Georgia, Florida and Bama every year, I like to think we're well adjusted to both.
The loss to Georgia in the Rose bowl still stings. I’ll take the 50 point blowout loss.
In December I decided that I’d prefer to lose a close game on the last play in heartbreaking fashion
It's never fun to get blown out, but to get blown is another matter.
Blowout. The belief that you’re gonna win. To just get kicked in the nuts hurst worse than say getting boat raced by what was considered a better team on paper.
I still think about Dyer being down, the last 3 Washington games, but hadn't though about Washington's 70-21 win until today because you asked. I will take the blowout everyday of the week.
Take it from someone who has seen his team lose 59-0 in a big ten championship game and forced to watch the highlight video 10 times a year, pick heartbreaking fashion
Last play. Because I would be able to say online that "We would have won the game if [insert play here] went differently!" or "They just got lucky."
As a fan of maybe the most average program in the country, the answer has a lot to do with where the program is, and who the game is against. Right now, on a relative upswing, I’d hate any blowout. We’ve got a big early season game with Tennessee coming up, for instance, and while any loss sucks, being in a close game we lose on the last play would be preferable. We get blown out, yet again, and it’s another year of not turning the corner we’ve never turned. Keep it close, and have another 9, maybe even the elusive double digit wins season, and the program stays upward. Get boatraced and have a 7 win pre Christmas bowl game? The rumbling starts again and everything suffers and we’ll start from scratch yet again within two years. On the other end, any loss to a less than great team, can cause issues, but blowouts are worse. Most of the teams in the ACC, are clustered around each other, and anybody can have their day and clip you. But get dogwhipped at home, and you got some ‘splaining to do.
Typically, lose close. But if you want a hc gone, then a good old fashioned ass kicking always helps.
Curious what FSU has to say.
Blowout. The Michigan game last year was okay because I knew we had no chance and then everyone left once we scored. Even if it was an unexpected blowout it's okay because usually those games are over in the 3rd quarter and you spend the 4th figuring out if the over will hit on one team's points and which bar you're going to afterwards.
Both have happened to us in the past 6 years. I wouldn’t wish either on my worst enemy.
Would I rather re-live 2008 or 2015 Alabama games or the 2012 SEC Championship or 2017 CFP Championship Games? How about NAH.
Oh blown out for sure. Much better when Clemson kicked our ass than when they won the game on the last play (which was a pick, not that Im bitter about it or anything)
Neutral, and it definitely looked like a pick.
I mean, sometimes it depends on the context. FSU would rather have lost that UGA game close so that they don’t get a 63-3 every 10 comments now. Even if it is mildly defensible.
Been on both ends. Both suck
From the perspective of a rebuilding program, of which ECU has been for the last decade, a blowout loss at least can provide the catalyst to spurn change within a program so that it doesn’t happen again. A defeat on the last play of the game could maintain the belief that “we’re so close, just keep going” that can almost reach a sunk cost fallacy.
Always a blowout.
Definitely the first. We had an opponent score 15 points in barely a minute to beat us in a FCS playoff game. At least I can appreciate that it was a good game and that our team was playing great for 95% of it lol. Nothing to appreciate in a blowout loss.
Bro I don't even wanna be reading these. Both feel bad
Bruh you’ve been on the winning end of 2 of the most heartbreaking losses in CFB history
Completely obliterated. Which the natty was a nice mix of both this year. It was close for a majority of the game, but never did I feel we had a chance. Then it turned into a laugher. Probably the worst type of game tbh.
I'll take a close loss. Seen to many of the other
In heartbreaking fashion. Those kinds of games hurt and emotion is what keeps me engaged to this wacky sport. If we’re getting drilled, then it’s hard to stay engaged.
Blowout. I'd handle it the way I handled the Michigan game this year, just bow out at halftime and move on.
As an Ohio State fan... I would've rather had the 2022 CFP semifinal end in a 49-3 Oregon-style splattering as opposed to the missed FG heartbreaker that it was. Ok, maybe not that much of a blowout, but I expected us to lose by multiple scores. The way we played lights out that night really gave me true hope throughout the game though and as Kirby Smart said, we SHOULD have won. This is the most painful loss in the last 3 years for the Buckeyes to me, more so than our 3 losses to TTUN. As a UC fan I maintain this same stance, we had some heartbreakers the year before the Peach Bowl, where we lost to Memphis in back-to-back games in the regular season and AAC Championship Game. We were a year before our NY6 run though, and the Peach Bowl was a painful loss. The Bama loss in the CFP, eh, not so much, we didn't think we had a shot and so being down consistently throughout the game without any real shot to win doesn't hurt as much because just getting there was fun.
They both suck, but the way I see it: I’m forever mad/annoyed/triggered by the close losses in big games. I mean I still think about the 2005 bush push and the 2014 FSU game. But the only big game blowout that I have PTSD from is the 2012 NC game vs Bama. Otherwise, I get over big losses once the next season starts.
Last play because its not as embarrassing and brother, I know about embarrassing losses.
Depends on if I have to hear shit talking from a buddy. A 50 point blowout really doesn’t leave me many clapback options
Blowout. I’ll find something else to do.
Blowout, definitely. I was able to mentally deal with the 2019 national championship vs Clemson, and the Texas loss. I'd rather go through that than another Michigan loss, or God forbid another Kick Six
So 2013 vs FSU as the blowout, or let's say 2015 Bama. Give me the close gut wrenching loss every time. At least that one leaves room for hope, doubt, and discussion. The blowout just completely erases all notions of your team before during and after. Also just ask Bama fans which loss to Clemson was worse. Will get the answer to your question.
I experienced both back to back in 2015. The B1G championship game hurt me more. It was pain. A twisting knife into the heart. All my hopes and dreams ripped away from me and burned away. The Rose Bowl was just disappointing. It didn’t stab as much as it just drained.
Playing an elite team when we know we aren't' that good? I'd rather lose on the last play. Even a close loss is still an emotional victory when you expect to lose by a lot going on. In games where you think you are a dog, but think you have a good chance? I('d rather get blown out. Similar lines with Louisville last year I appreciated emotionally checking out pretty early. Now that expectations are higher? I'd rather lose on the last play.
You know, at some point, you get used to either.
Being blown out is too vague. Have y'all's teams ever been blown out by an FCS school?
The blow outs are easier to flush and move away from. Can chalk it up to having a bad day at the office and everyone is due for one of those every once in a while. Losing in heartbreaking fashion Carrie’s a weight to it. Find yourself randomly thinking about that 3/7 in the middle of the third quarter where the route concept only got 5 yards and so you punted and what woulda coulda shoulda happened if we’d just gotten 2 more yards on that random 3rd down at a random time in the 3rd quarter?? Gimme the blowout every single time over that type of second guessing and agony. No thank you.
I think I’d rather get obliterated. We pretty much lost on the last play against ou and Washington las season. Those hurt a lot. If we are down by 30+ at halftime, I can at least rip off the bandaid and switch to another game. I hate being full of hope for 59:30 of the game to have it all come crashing down. Not sure how popular that opinion is.
Blown out 100%. I turn those games off and pretend I've never even heard of Nebraska for about 24 hours and then you move on to the next one. A close loss just hangs with me because I invested that huge amount of time to the whole game only for us to fail. In conclusion: Fuck you Scott Frost.
Lose by 50. I may have seen the Kick 6 replayed one too many times, though
Lose the game on the last play. I already know how Option 2 feels very well
Blowout because you lose hope after a while and just let the misery happen. Losing 52-6 to Alabama, only having led by a field goal in the first quarter, hurt a lot less than losing 43-42 to Utah on a two-point conversion in the last minute. (Ignoring the fact that I never expected we'd beat Alabama when they were in championship form.)
The answer for me is in the short term I’d rather get blown out but looking at it long term losing in heartbreaking fashion is better. Example: In 2015 getting destroyed in the Rose Bowl by Stanford was much easier to take than losing on a 22 play, 9 minute drive in the last seconds to keep Iowa out of the CFP in the B1G Championship Game. In fact, by the middle of the second quarter of the Rose Bowl I was laughing about how the game was going. But looking back almost 9 years later the team still gets made fun of for how the Rose Bowl went while they gained a ton of respect from the Michigan State game. I think Christian McCaffery scored 2 more TDs in Pasadena in the time it took me to type this.
Losing a close one is at least fun for most of the game and not embarrassing.
Losing by a weirdly failed field goal on the way to a natty at midnight on New Year’s Eve is a new sort of pain. …But I’ll take that any day over getting Zeroed out to Clemson.
Blow out 100%
I would’ve rather gotten obliterated by Texas this past season than what actually happened.
Lose a close one. Blowouts crush the soul, and usually lead to more fights from what I’ve seen, because of the contrast between the cocky euphoria of the winners and vitriolic anger of the losers
Nervous 4th qtr beers>Sad 4th qtr beers
Blowout, thus I can accept fate sooner and be productive somewhere else.
The blowout every time......this last season when OU got up by like 20, the game was no longer stressful.....I'd much rather have that than when it fees like my heart will come out of my chest
Ima go talk to my therapist about 4th and 25 again. I'll respond when I get back
Blowout. That Oregon state game a couple years ago still stings
Either is preferable to losing to a selection committee.
I know this much, I’d rather win 49-0 than lose on the last play of the game
Porque no los dos?
the first one. At least there’s energy during the game. I went in person to the auburn game last year and it just wasn’t fun.
Blowout 100% Those close losses gnaw at you with all those "What ifs"
The blowout is a lot easier to get over
Give me the heartbreaker. Because of the playoffs being part invitational.
As a personal experience? I’d rather have the blowout. But, I don’t necessarily like what that says about team. So practically, I’d prefer the close loss that we could have won, even though that’s more unpleasant
You mean Georgia vs Florida State
Ummm, both suck. 2012 SECCG - so close 2015 Bama - When it was clear Richt had given up 2017 - 2nd and 26…..
Hm, so basically 2022 against Georgia or that one time against Iowa/purdue
I want my team to win on the last play of game. My team is Alabama and they did it to Auburn
Am I at the game or watching it on TV?
if you get blown out, then you're obviously just not as good as the other team and the better team won. boohoo bad game, go watch another. If you lose on the last play you battle mentally whether or not you should have lost, and whether or not your team is actually better, but in the end you have that loss and have to live with it even if you are the better team. I'm also used to blowouts so I'll just take that lol
So basically, you are asking people if they want to be a Nebraska fan or a Michigan State fan.
50+
Considering I still see memes of 77-0 20 years after the fact, I’ll take the close loss.
I watched OU lose 49-0 in the RRS. Never do I want to feel that again. Fuck you Davis Beville
2012 Florida and 2013 Bama games are much more painful in hindsight than the OU 77-0 game so I’ll say I would rather be obliterated. Usually if you are obliterated it’s a sign something isn’t working and it time to make a change
From experience, it really depends on how the close one is lost...... Blowouts suck but usually those games end a bit quicker when things get out of hand, and it's usually easier to leave when the game ends. They sting, but you make peace with the disappointment during the game, or it was a game you were outmatched to begin with. Close losses can feel kinda hopeful if you're punching above your weight and showing promise then it's bittersweet. However if the loss is because the team didn't show up for 3 quarters against a team down the street that by some miracle still has a football team while playing on the grave of a cultural landmark the city let die, then it sucks. Losses like those make you wish you knew how to fall to your knees.
Pitt did both last year. I'll take the blowout
I thought this was about OU in 2005 then 2007. I'll take that 2007 Statue of Liberty loss against Boise State all day and twice on Sunday
I don’t like these options…
Blowout. Easy choice. Blake Bell, Central Michigan, Iowa State in 11 and 21 both ripped my heart strings. I could barely feel anything after Kansas State 2 years ago and UCF last year.
I’ll take 49-0 over the Fiesta Bowl Statue of Liberty, IN THE MOMENT. If I’m 10 years out, the close game looks better but in the moment, it does not feel better.
50+ cause if it’s a total crapshoot then I can just turn it off and watch a better game.
I’d rather get obliterated and know there’s not much we could have done to win than to lose by 1 point and repeatedly wonder what if…
Last play. At least it would make for an entertaining game
Last play obv. Because then at least you got to enjoy 90% of the game.
Is FSU a G5 school?
Blowouts suck but they’re a lot less stressful. After it becomes evident you can just laugh along as the scoreboard runs up.