NCCU vs. NCAT game broadcast available on Internet streaming live video at 6:30 p.m. at: http://www.jarvistv.com/NCCU/.By Rob Daniels, Greensboro News and Record
Misery loves company and the N.C. A&T Aggies have plenty when it comes to college football losing streaks.
When you have lost 19 consecutive football games, as the N.C. A&T Aggies have, it's easy to think you're alone in misery. Particularly when you know your streak is the longest of the 236 teams in the college game's top two divisions.
But NCAA football is a large beast that encompasses 629 schools, from the giants of Ohio State and Texas and -- it has been alleged -- Notre Dame all the way to Huntingdon College of Montgomery, Ala., at which 96 of the 371 men enrolled this year are on the football team.
So fear not. There are other depositories of distress -- even if they're in the relative anonymity of Divisions II and III. A&T is but one of a half-dozen teams with 18 or more consecutive losses entering this weekend's play. They're not even the most downtrodden of Aggies.
Collectively, the Sliding Six-Pack has lost 117 consecutive games by an average score of 42-10. Only eight of the games in question have been decided by fewer than 10 points; 25 have been by 50 or worse.
In ascending -- or is that descending? -- order, here are the teams most desperate to win this week.
18: HIRAM COLLEGE
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
III 18 189 782 10-43
The Terriers of Hiram, Ohio, could have it worse. They haven't won since Oct. 1, 2005, and they managed only a touchdown in that one. Their 7-2 victory over Earlham came in the middle of a stretch in which they failed to score more than seven points in seven games. By the time they got the hang of the offense, it didn't matter. When they scored 38 vs. Kenyon, they gave up 41.
The Division III school of 900, situated 41 miles east of Cleveland, is renowned for its poetry review, which has been published since 1966. Perhaps the Terriers should avert their eyes from the most recent issue, which includes Shaun Hand's "The End of the World."
But then again, the schedule might be kind to them. Today's opponent, Manchester College of North Manchester, Ind., just broke its own 10-game losing streak with a victory over -- you got it -- Earlham.
Location: Hiram, Ohio
Famous alum: James A. Garfield, 20th president of the United States
Cool fact: Guarantees students that their tuition won't increase
19: N.C. A&T
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
I-AA 19 213 744 11-39
The Aggies face N.C. Central (3-1) at 6:30 p.m. today, seeking to avoid becoming the fifth team in the 30-year history of I-AA football to drop 20 games in a row. For now, the list is confined to Prairie View A&M (80), Columbia (44), St. Francis of Pennsylvania (30) and Canisius (24). The Aggies' streak is tied for the longest in MEAC history with Delaware State's run of futility in 1997-99.
Coach Lee Fobbs, whose administration was preceded by considerable player attrition after George Small's dismissal in late 2005, has twice lost his starting quarterback to knee injuries, but he has not soured on his bunch. Understandably, Fobbs is tiring of questions about how he'll keep his players motivated as the defeats mount.
"Everybody asks me that every week," he said after Saturday's 59-14 loss to Hampton, the three-time MEAC champion. "These guys love playing football. (Victory) is going to come for us. We've got the right guys out there. They bust their tails every day in practice. You haven't seen these guys quit. They work their fannies off every day."
Location: Greensboro
Famous alum: Jesse Jackson, civil-rights leader
Cool fact: Four freshmen initiated sit-in movement, Feb. 1, 1960
19: OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
II 19 149 1009 8-53
Also known as the Aggies, Oklahoma Panhandle has struggled more than A&T's Aggies. Of their 19 straight defeats, six have come by 60 or more points. That includes an ignominious run in 2005 in which the Division II team lost to Nebraska-Omaha 71-0, Pittsburg State 70-0 and Texas State 75-7. The coach of that team, Ryan Held, saw more points scored against his players in those three games than in any of his four full seasons as a Nebraska linebacker.
Their closest brush with victory during this streak was a 28-24 loss to Bacone College of Muskogee, Okla., on Oct. 16, 2006. The Warriors, who entered the game 0-5, won while being outgained by 145 yards in total offense.
Maybe today's the day. The Aggies' foe, the Blue Jays of Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan., are 0-2.
Location: Goodwell, Okla.
Famous alum: Billy Bob Thornton, actor
Cool fact: Is closer to Juarez, Mexico, than it is to portions of its own state
20: BECKER COLLEGE
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
II 20 301 845 15-42
A Division II school, Becker is winless in its football history, which began in 2005. The school began playing the sport for the same reason football is started on many campuses: It's considered a means of boosting male enrollment. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the school was straight out of a 1960s bubble-gum pop song -- two girls for every boy -- in 2005-06.
The campus is not without an athletics heritage, however. Just outside the Weller Academic Center, there's a marker commemorating the spot of the first perfect game in what is now called major league baseball. John Lee Richmond of the Worcester team known as the Worcesters, Ruby Legs or Brown Stockings, according to different accounts, beat Cleveland 1-0 on June 12, 1880.
Maybe the vibes haven't translated to the football team just yet, and that might be because Becker is actually made up of two campuses, one in Worcester, Mass., and another in Leicester, six miles away. The Hawks athletics department operates in Leicester; Richmond's feat occurred in Worcester.
They go to Newton, Mass., today to play Mount Ida (1-2).
Location: Leicester, Mass.
Famous alum: Colleen Barrett, president, Southwest Airlines
Cool fact: John Hancock signed the school's charter in 1784
20: LEWIS & CLARK
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
III 20 178 742 9-37
Not even a brush with death can stop the Pioneers of Portland, Ore., from trying to break their streak.
After the fourth game of the 2005 season, a 55-24 setback to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps of Claremont, Calif., the Division III Pioneers had lost their past nine games by an average score of 53-12. Citing a lack of healthy linemen and the resulting threat to the safety of the remaining players, the season was halted.
Shortly thereafter, the school's president convened an 18-member study group to determine the program's feasibility on a campus of 2,641 students.
"As a whole, the inventory taken of Lewis & Clark students has shown a sincere desire for football on campus," the report said. "While LC may currently attract independently minded students, it appears as if the students themselves, while independent, still want and need opportunities to be brought back together on campus."
A competitive renaissance isn't necessarily imminent -- the Pioneers lost to the Sagehens of Pomona College 36-6 last week -- but the team does get a break this weekend before returning to action at the University of Chicago next week.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Famous alum: Monica Lewinsky, White House intern
Cool fact: Declines to participate in U.S. News college rankings system
21: ST. ANSELM
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
II 21 196 846 9-40
Art has unintentionally imitated life at St. Anselm, a Division II school in Manchester, N.H. In November, the college will host a local youth play titled "Miss Nolan Has a Field Day." It's about an elementary school football team trying to break a 12-game losing streak.
As for the Hawks, they're coming off a 71-21 loss at the hands of Assumption, and they play today at Pace University of Pleasantville, N.Y. But they haven't lost the support of their community. The student activities board has a director of spirit, and home games remain popular.
"It's usually a good time," said Maura Leahy, a junior political science major from Wakefield, Mass. "Unfortunately, (the Hawks) usually lose a bit of steam in the third quarter. We'd like to have a winning football team, but we take what we have."
Location: Manchester, N.H.
Famous alum: Mark Sullivan, director, U.S. Secret Service
Cool fact: Host of presidential debates in 2008
Misery loves company and the N.C. A&T Aggies have plenty when it comes to college football losing streaks.
When you have lost 19 consecutive football games, as the N.C. A&T Aggies have, it's easy to think you're alone in misery. Particularly when you know your streak is the longest of the 236 teams in the college game's top two divisions.
But NCAA football is a large beast that encompasses 629 schools, from the giants of Ohio State and Texas and -- it has been alleged -- Notre Dame all the way to Huntingdon College of Montgomery, Ala., at which 96 of the 371 men enrolled this year are on the football team.
So fear not. There are other depositories of distress -- even if they're in the relative anonymity of Divisions II and III. A&T is but one of a half-dozen teams with 18 or more consecutive losses entering this weekend's play. They're not even the most downtrodden of Aggies.
Collectively, the Sliding Six-Pack has lost 117 consecutive games by an average score of 42-10. Only eight of the games in question have been decided by fewer than 10 points; 25 have been by 50 or worse.
In ascending -- or is that descending? -- order, here are the teams most desperate to win this week.
18: HIRAM COLLEGE
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
III 18 189 782 10-43
The Terriers of Hiram, Ohio, could have it worse. They haven't won since Oct. 1, 2005, and they managed only a touchdown in that one. Their 7-2 victory over Earlham came in the middle of a stretch in which they failed to score more than seven points in seven games. By the time they got the hang of the offense, it didn't matter. When they scored 38 vs. Kenyon, they gave up 41.
The Division III school of 900, situated 41 miles east of Cleveland, is renowned for its poetry review, which has been published since 1966. Perhaps the Terriers should avert their eyes from the most recent issue, which includes Shaun Hand's "The End of the World."
But then again, the schedule might be kind to them. Today's opponent, Manchester College of North Manchester, Ind., just broke its own 10-game losing streak with a victory over -- you got it -- Earlham.
Location: Hiram, Ohio
Famous alum: James A. Garfield, 20th president of the United States
Cool fact: Guarantees students that their tuition won't increase
19: N.C. A&T
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
I-AA 19 213 744 11-39
The Aggies face N.C. Central (3-1) at 6:30 p.m. today, seeking to avoid becoming the fifth team in the 30-year history of I-AA football to drop 20 games in a row. For now, the list is confined to Prairie View A&M (80), Columbia (44), St. Francis of Pennsylvania (30) and Canisius (24). The Aggies' streak is tied for the longest in MEAC history with Delaware State's run of futility in 1997-99.
Coach Lee Fobbs, whose administration was preceded by considerable player attrition after George Small's dismissal in late 2005, has twice lost his starting quarterback to knee injuries, but he has not soured on his bunch. Understandably, Fobbs is tiring of questions about how he'll keep his players motivated as the defeats mount.
"Everybody asks me that every week," he said after Saturday's 59-14 loss to Hampton, the three-time MEAC champion. "These guys love playing football. (Victory) is going to come for us. We've got the right guys out there. They bust their tails every day in practice. You haven't seen these guys quit. They work their fannies off every day."
Location: Greensboro
Famous alum: Jesse Jackson, civil-rights leader
Cool fact: Four freshmen initiated sit-in movement, Feb. 1, 1960
19: OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
II 19 149 1009 8-53
Also known as the Aggies, Oklahoma Panhandle has struggled more than A&T's Aggies. Of their 19 straight defeats, six have come by 60 or more points. That includes an ignominious run in 2005 in which the Division II team lost to Nebraska-Omaha 71-0, Pittsburg State 70-0 and Texas State 75-7. The coach of that team, Ryan Held, saw more points scored against his players in those three games than in any of his four full seasons as a Nebraska linebacker.
Their closest brush with victory during this streak was a 28-24 loss to Bacone College of Muskogee, Okla., on Oct. 16, 2006. The Warriors, who entered the game 0-5, won while being outgained by 145 yards in total offense.
Maybe today's the day. The Aggies' foe, the Blue Jays of Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan., are 0-2.
Location: Goodwell, Okla.
Famous alum: Billy Bob Thornton, actor
Cool fact: Is closer to Juarez, Mexico, than it is to portions of its own state
20: BECKER COLLEGE
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
II 20 301 845 15-42
A Division II school, Becker is winless in its football history, which began in 2005. The school began playing the sport for the same reason football is started on many campuses: It's considered a means of boosting male enrollment. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the school was straight out of a 1960s bubble-gum pop song -- two girls for every boy -- in 2005-06.
The campus is not without an athletics heritage, however. Just outside the Weller Academic Center, there's a marker commemorating the spot of the first perfect game in what is now called major league baseball. John Lee Richmond of the Worcester team known as the Worcesters, Ruby Legs or Brown Stockings, according to different accounts, beat Cleveland 1-0 on June 12, 1880.
Maybe the vibes haven't translated to the football team just yet, and that might be because Becker is actually made up of two campuses, one in Worcester, Mass., and another in Leicester, six miles away. The Hawks athletics department operates in Leicester; Richmond's feat occurred in Worcester.
They go to Newton, Mass., today to play Mount Ida (1-2).
Location: Leicester, Mass.
Famous alum: Colleen Barrett, president, Southwest Airlines
Cool fact: John Hancock signed the school's charter in 1784
20: LEWIS & CLARK
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
III 20 178 742 9-37
Not even a brush with death can stop the Pioneers of Portland, Ore., from trying to break their streak.
After the fourth game of the 2005 season, a 55-24 setback to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps of Claremont, Calif., the Division III Pioneers had lost their past nine games by an average score of 53-12. Citing a lack of healthy linemen and the resulting threat to the safety of the remaining players, the season was halted.
Shortly thereafter, the school's president convened an 18-member study group to determine the program's feasibility on a campus of 2,641 students.
"As a whole, the inventory taken of Lewis & Clark students has shown a sincere desire for football on campus," the report said. "While LC may currently attract independently minded students, it appears as if the students themselves, while independent, still want and need opportunities to be brought back together on campus."
A competitive renaissance isn't necessarily imminent -- the Pioneers lost to the Sagehens of Pomona College 36-6 last week -- but the team does get a break this weekend before returning to action at the University of Chicago next week.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Famous alum: Monica Lewinsky, White House intern
Cool fact: Declines to participate in U.S. News college rankings system
21: ST. ANSELM
Div. Streak PF PA Avg.
II 21 196 846 9-40
Art has unintentionally imitated life at St. Anselm, a Division II school in Manchester, N.H. In November, the college will host a local youth play titled "Miss Nolan Has a Field Day." It's about an elementary school football team trying to break a 12-game losing streak.
As for the Hawks, they're coming off a 71-21 loss at the hands of Assumption, and they play today at Pace University of Pleasantville, N.Y. But they haven't lost the support of their community. The student activities board has a director of spirit, and home games remain popular.
"It's usually a good time," said Maura Leahy, a junior political science major from Wakefield, Mass. "Unfortunately, (the Hawks) usually lose a bit of steam in the third quarter. We'd like to have a winning football team, but we take what we have."
Location: Manchester, N.H.
Famous alum: Mark Sullivan, director, U.S. Secret Service
Cool fact: Host of presidential debates in 2008
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