Kansas Heads Into 2022 College Football Season With Nation’s Longest Bowl Drought

Since Mark Mangino led Kansas to the Perception Bowl in 2008, this system’s second straight bowl and third in 4 years, the Jayhawks have but to play past the common season.

Beginning in 2009, Mangino’s remaining season in Lawrence, seven coaches within the final 13 seasons have didn’t get Kansas to a bowl sport. Mangino, Turner Gill, Charlie Weis, Clint Bowen (interim), David Beaty, Les Miles and Lance Leipold haven’t been in a position to get to a bowl.

Whereas it seems the Jayhawks lastly have a coach that may get issues transferring in the appropriate course, it’s not probably Leipold can make them the requisite six wins in 2022, his second season on the helm. An improved exhibiting over final season’s 2-10? Certain. A really younger KU squad completed sturdy and has most starters returning. Nevertheless, choosing up 4 extra wins doesn’t appear probably.

Led by the Jayhawks, listed below are the groups that head into 2022 with the nation’s longest bowl droughts, every at the least six years.

Kansas: 13 Years

How a lot of an uphill climb is it for the Jayhawks to turn out to be bowl eligible for the primary time since 2008, after they went to the Perception Bowl and defeated Minnesota, 42-21? Properly, they haven’t received greater than three video games since 2009, the beginning of their drought and that of 13 straight shedding seasons, additionally the longest such lively streak within the FBS. They went 5-7 that season.…after beginning 5-0.

Since that 5-0 begin in ‘09, Kansas is an unbelievable 15-124 towards FBS opponents. To not pile it on, however KU’s Large 12 mark since defeating Iowa State on October 10, 2009 is an unthinkable, however actual, 7-106. I repeat: 7-106! Keep in mind, this program defeated No. 5 Virginia Tech to win the Orange Bowl and cap a 12-1 season in 2007.

Louisiana-Monroe: 9 Years

A forty five-14 loss to Ohio within the 2012 Independence Bowl throughout Todd Berry’s tenure in Monroe marks the Warhawks’ lone bowl sport in program historical past. They have been bowl eligible with 6-6 marks in 2013 and 2018, however have been handed over each instances.

Following an 0-10 exhibiting in Matt Viator’s remaining season of 2020, former Auburn and Akron coach Terry Bowden took over and had ULM in fairly good condition a yr in the past at 4-3, together with a win over closely favored Liberty. Alas, the Warhawks misplaced their remaining 5 video games, three by eight factors or much less.

Snapping the bowl drought in 2022 will probably be a chore given ULM has one of the crucial demanding non-conference schedules within the nation with video games at Texas, Alabama and West Level. Bowden ought to have his Warhawks do properly in Solar Belt play, the place they keep away from Appalachian State and Solar Belt beginner Marshall – however they should enhance significantly on an offense that averaged 20.9 factors per sport to rank 110^th nationally.

Texas State: 9 Years

The Bobcats transitioned to the FBS in 2012, grew to become postseason eligible in 2013 and have but to make postseason plans. The Solar Belt Convention program went 6-6 in 2013 and 7-5 in 2014 and didn’t obtain a bowl invitation. They’ve since received greater than three video games as soon as and that was final season’s 4-8 exhibiting.

Coach Jake Spavital, getting into his fourth season in San Marcos, has constructed depth and has many key gamers returning on each side of scrimmage, significantly on offense. With somewhat luck, together with turning a few single-digit losses into wins, this could possibly be a landmark season for this system.

UMass: 9 Years

The Minutemen have appeared in a pair of bowl video games, although earlier than Division I cut up into I-A (FBS) and I-AA (FCS) in 1978. As a member of the Yankee Convention, they misplaced to East Carolina within the 1964 Tangerine Bowl and defeated UC-Davis within the 1972 Boardwalk Bowl.

UMass elevated to the FBS in 2012 as a member of the MAC, grew to become postseason eligible in 2013 and has been taking part in as unbiased since 2016. This system has struggled mightily to place wins on the board as a pair of four-win seasons (2017-18) is pretty much as good because it has gotten in Amherst.

Massachusetts native Don Brown, who loved a lot success as an assistant and head coach at UMass when this system was a member of the FCS, has returned to information a group that has received two of its final 30 video games. He has fairly a job in lifting the Minutemen to respectability, not to mention bowl eligibility.

UNLV: 8 Years

Not solely do the Rebels take an eight-year yr bowl drought into 2022, however they’ve been to solely two bowl video games within the final 27 seasons. The closest UNLV has come to bowl eligibility throughout their present dry spell is a 5-7 mark underneath Tony Sanchez 2017.

Marcus Arroyo enters his third season in Vegas with a 2-16 document with each wins coming final season. UNLV confirmed many constructive indicators a yr in the past after they misplaced six video games by single digits. It is perhaps asking an excessive amount of to choose up 4 extra wins and turn out to be bowl eligible this season, although it might not be an enormous shock if the Rebels flirt with doing simply that.

The Rebels’ final bowl was a 36-14 loss underneath Bobby Hauck within the 2013 Coronary heart of Dallas Bowl.

*East Carolina: 7 Years

This entry comes with a asterisk for good cause: the Pirates went 7-5 final yr and had their Army Bowl sport with Boston School cancelled on account of constructive virus assessments amongst BC gamers. Count on Mike Houston’s group to proceed to pattern in the appropriate course and eventually play in a bowl sport on the finish of this season.

ECU was coached by Ruffin McNeill when this system final performed in a bowl, a 28-20 Birmingham Bowl loss to Florida following an 8-4 common season in 2014.

Rice: 7 Years

Rice opened final season shedding to Arkansas, Houston and Texas by a mixed 140-24, which left a tricky hill to climb heading into convention play. Mike Bloomgren’s Owls had a shot at bowl eligibility as they went into the season’s remaining 5 weeks needing three wins to succeed in six. They misplaced 4 in row, together with two straight in time beyond regulation, earlier than closing the season with a win over Louisiana Tech to complete 4-8.

This season’s non-conference slate is hard as soon as once more because it consists of journeys to USC, one other intracity date with Houston and a matchup with Louisiana. Therefore, the Owls will probably should reverse their 3-5 convention document of their remaining season as a CUSA member.

Rice’s most up-to-date bowl sport was a 30-6 win over Fresno State within the 2014 Hawaii Bowl underneath David Bailiff, who preceded Bloomgren.

Bowling Inexperienced: 6 Years

After finishing final season’s non-conference slate by beautiful Minnesota on the street to enhance to 2-2, the Falcons wanted to interrupt even within the MAC with a purpose to turn out to be bowl eligible for the primary time since 2015 after they misplaced to Georgia Southern, 58-27, within the GoDaddy Bowl. Alas, they misplaced their first 4 convention video games and completed 2-6 within the MAC.

One other upset will probably be wanted in non-conference play this season if there may be to be a lot hope of going at the least 6-6 in Scot Loeffler’s fourth season at Bowling Inexperienced. Journeys to UCLA and Mississippi State together with a go to from Marshall make for a frightening opening month, so they may probably want to show issues round large time in convention play.

For the document, Brian Ward served as interim coach within the aforementioned bowl after Dino Babers left for Syracuse.

UConn: 6 Years

A program that had a pleasant run within the Large East (33-19 in 2007-10) underneath Randy Edsall and performed Oklahoma within the Fiesta Bowl following the 2010 season, has fallen on very laborious instances. In reality, since 2010, the Huskies have endured 11 straight shedding seasons, the second-longest lively FBS streak behind Kansas. They went 6-6 within the 2015 common season underneath Bob Diaco earlier than shedding to Marshall within the St. Petersburg Bowl to complete underneath .500.

Since turning into an unbiased in 2020, the Huskies’ schedule has been brutal. This season consists of journeys to Utah State, Michigan, North Carolina State and West Level. Additionally they host Syracuse, Fresno State, Boston School and Liberty. Therefore, count on the bowl-less drought to proceed within the first season underneath Jim Mora, Jr.