Late field goals, penalties and referee controversy: Coaches talk worst losses
— -- Coaches always say they remember the losses more than the wins. So we decided to ask coaches about the worst losses of their careers. (Sorry, guys.) Not surprisingly, most instantly had one that stood out and they could recall with precise detail what went wrong. Some were years ago at lower-level schools, while in the case of Clemson's Dabo Swinney, it was the most recent game he played.
Here's a sampling of the worst losses from Power 5 coaches' careers:
Gus Malzahn, Auburn:? Two HS state championships Florida State 34, Auburn 31, 2014
The worst coaching loss of my career, there's a couple that stand out -- two when I was in high school. Our two state championship games we lost, one was in double overtime. The other one was at the very end, and then probably the Florida State game from 2013. Those three really stick with me. I think about those once a week. One, 1994, that was the first place I coached, and we lost 17-13 at the very end. The other one, when Rhett Lashlee was my quarterback and we lost in double overtime to a team that we probably should've beat. And of course the Florida State (national championship) game when they threw a touchdown toward the very end. Those were the three. It motivates you. The only time I think about the championship (we won) is when somebody brings it up, but once a week I think about [those losses] and it just motivates you as a coach.
David Cutcliffe, Duke: Miami 30, Duke 27, 2015
Miami, 2015. Our team did an incredible job of getting a win and then I've never experienced anything like that. Hopefully never will again. That's without a doubt, no hesitation. There's not a close second.
Bobby Petrino, Louisville:? Rutgers 28, Louisville 25, 2006
Rutgers, 2006. We win that game, we have an opportunity to probably play for the national championship. We were in control of the game and they came back in the second half. They kicked a last-second field goal, which he missed. We jumped offsides. They got to kick it again. It was one of those things that was devastating to our team at the time, but very proud about how we came back and didn't lose another game that year.
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