College Football 2011: 20 FBS Programs That Will Never Make a BCS Game

So you went to a school that was great in getting you a phenomenal education but their football program was awful. Well, this article is for you as all of these twenty teams on this list have programs that have not been up to the same standards of the schools like: Auburn, LSU, Florida State, or Texas.

These schools listed on this slide show have alumni that are proud of their degree, but more than likely align themselves with another more popular and successful university. 

But, at least for most of these schools they do not have to worry about seeing these words next to their Alma Mater on ESPN, "is currently being investigated by the NCAA."

Now go ahead, fans of those schools that schedule these easy wins, and give a click through to find thees teams that will never take a BCS spot away from your more successful team.

(Side note: Some of these schools HAVE made a BCS game before; however, this list is going forward that they will not make another BCS game.)

 Can't wait till the end of the slideshow? Well come follow my thoughts at Twitter. 

The Pittsburgh Panthers, Big East

Okay, just like my last list, The 25 Most Hated College Football Programs in America, I listed Pitt to kick off the slideshow. And this Pitt team leads off this wonderful masterpiece.

Will Pitt make a BCS game in a weak Big East conference in the next 10 years? Probably.

Take a look at their last two years. In 2009, they were tied with the Big East leader heading into the last game of their season. If not for a fumbled snap on the extra point, the Panthers would have won the conference and a spot in a BCS game.

Last year, Pitt had a two-game lead heading into the final three games. What happened was a metaphorically fumbled snap on an extra point, as Pitt lost two of their last three and finished in a three-way tie for first, but third in the tie-breaker.

And as long as Tino Sunseri (left) is the quarterback, this team will find a way to under-perform.

Indiana Hooisers, Big Ten

The wife is going to hate me for putting them on this list, but sorry wifey, your alma mater has a horrible football team.

Since the university began playing college football in Bloomington in 1887, they have had nine bowl game appearances. Yes, you saw that correctly, NINE! These nine bowl games go along with just two Big Ten conference titles in 1946 and 1967.

Their bowl game record over those memorable nine games is a staggering 3-6, with the last bowl game coming in 2007 against Oklahoma State.

Vanderbilt Commodores, SEC

Vanderbilt is a program that is, um, how can we say, screwed.

Now that maybe a harsh word to attach to a program that has never done anything wrong academically or on the field; it is just that they are screwed by playing in the best conference in college football, the SEC.

Since the Commodores began play in the SEC in 1934, they have only been able to make four bowl games while winning the conference zero times.

The SEC has had the BCS National Champion from their conference the last five years. But in those five years, the Vanderbilt program has only had one winning season (2007 with a 7-6 record).

Baylor Bears, Big 12

Much like the Vanderbilt Commodores, this Baylor team is just a victim of bad location. The Bears' campus is in the middle of Texas, where the only recruits they get are kids that Texas, Texas A&M and now TCU don't want.

They have had some pretty good players come through the program in the last five years. But, they have played offensive line. Sure it is a vital position to have, but it's not going to win you spots in BCS games.

They did however make some strides by making a bowl game last year for the first time in what seemed like forever. Maybe this little program in Waco, Texas can start to build on something? 

South Florida Bulls, Big East

The South Florida program just started so it is hard to knock them for not being a football school. They have made some great strides since joining the Division I-A ranks.

In their six years as a member of the Big East, the Bulls have made a bowl game every year. They seem to start off hot, but when they start to play those northeastern schools in November and December, their play starts to drop off.

The only thing that is holding this program back has to deal with the bigger schools in Florida stealing away their recruits.

Washington State Cougars, Pac-10

This Washington State program was once a very proud and very good football program. In fact their last Pac-10 championship was just in 2002—that's just nine years ago. In that year, they represented the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl. Sure, they lost to Oklahoma, but hey, they made one of the best bowl games in college football.

So what happened since then to put them as a team that will not get back to a BCS bowl game?

One coach left by the name of Mike Price, and the school has never been the same.

Since the coach's departure the school is 35-61, with their current head coach's record at 5-32 after three seasons.  In those three years, his teams have gone 2-11, 1-11 and 2-10.

Washington Huskies, Pac-10

Let's stay up here in the great state of Washington, shall we?

Now it's easy to pick on these two schools, as just recently these two competed in a game where both teams were with one win apiece. Oh and these two teams play in the last game of the season on their respective schedules.

But like their in-state rival, this Washington team was once a great football school. Just earlier in the 00's, they played a Drew Brees-led Purdue team in the Rose Bowl.

But since then, it's been sporadic bowl games and quarterbacks who have not fulfilled their potential (see Locker, Jake pictured left).

Now that Jake is gone, so are the hopes for the Huskies alumni and fanbase that they can see their team on Jan. 1 playing in the Rose Bowl.

Hawaii Warriors, WAC

The Hawaii team plays on an island in paradise with a built-in bowl game at their home stadium.

Would you want to travel to New Orleans, Phoenix, Pasadena or Miami for a BCS bowl game?

Heck no, you would just want to win seven to nine games a year, enough to make some team come down and play you in another home game for you.

However, this Hawaii team caught fire in the 2008 season, making their way to the Sugar Bowl to face Georgia. In that game they were blown out by a UGA team that had a short trip from Athens to New Orleans.

Stay at home, Hawaii.

Kansas Jayhawks, Big 12

Kansas seemed like a team that was on the rise just three or four years ago. They had a good program building under then head coach Mark Mangino. They had a Orange Bowl appearance after a 12-1 record against Virginia Tech.

The following year, not as good as the one before, but still a 8-5 record and a bowl game.

But then that year, allegations of misconduct to the players forced Mangino from the program and sent the program into a tailspin where it finds itself now.

Under current head coach, Turner Gill, the program is heading into a year where they finished 3-9 and last in the Big 12.

The year Kansas played in the Orange Bowl they did not play Oklahoma and Texas. Now with the two divisions gone from the Big 12, Kansas can no longer get by with an easy schedule like in 2007.

Minnesota Golden Gophers, Big Ten

The Big Ten conference has not been kind to this football program. Since 1967, the Gophers have had zero Big Ten championships. Since 1960, the Gophers have had zero national championships. Since 1962, the Gophers have had zero Rose, Orange or Sugar bowl appearances.

What does this all mean?

That in the next 10 years the Gophers will have zero BCS appearances!

And they play in a stadium that's outdoors in November and December!

That has nothing to do with their chances at making a BCS game, but sweet cheese and rice, that has to be uncomfortable.

Michigan Wolverenes, Big Ten

Hear me out, Michigan fans, before you go and spew why I should no longer write on this website. This program was going along quite nicely under the watch of Lloyd Carr. Then a black cloud came over your program, a black cloud from the University of West Virginia named Rick Rodriguez.

He has just wrecked this program and has left the current head coach (left) Brady Hoke quite the clean-up job. Yes, Brady has starting quarterback Denard Robinson to lead this offense. But, how much can Denard's body put up with his style of play? We saw last year that over a course of a game, he was prone to breaking down.

Usually it takes a program three to five years of rebuilding. Do you, the Wolverine fanbase, have that time and patience to give to Brady?

If not, it may be five years and then another five years of another head coach to bring his style of players along to be ready to bring this program back.

Texas Tech Red Raiders, Big 12

This program has had one good year in the history of their program, that year being 2008.

And yes, Tech fans, you can see Texas Featured Columnist and say there are sour grapes for the '08 Crabtree game. It says columnist, not Texas Featured Fan boy. You have one great game to hang your bragging rights on against a Texas Longhorn program that has won the majority of times they have played Tech. Congrats on one year and a couple of weeks atop of the rankings.  

Sorry, where were we? Ah yes, Tech not making a BCS game in the next 10 years. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1997, they have never won the conference or have made a BCS game.

So why now when there are only 10 teams in the conference should their fortunes change?

UCLA Bruins, Pac-10

This UCLA program has been in the shadow of the other Southern California college team for what has seemed like the better part of the last 10 years. USC has dominated the UCLA program and has kept this Bruins program from owning the Los Angeles area.

The last time the Bruins made a Rose Bowl appearance was in 1998. The last time that UCLA had a season of 10 wins or more was in 2005, but still finished second to USC and had to settle for a Sun Bowl postseason game.

What do the next 10 years hold for the UCLA Bruins? Well, if they stick with current head coach Rick Neuheisel, it will be 7-6 or 4-8 records and no bowl games.

Northwestern Wildcats, Big Ten

A mediocre program with a mediocre past get's a mediocre write-up.

This Northwestern team had its share of Big Ten championships in the late '90s and in 2000. But whenever this team makes a postseason game, they lose.

In their last eight bowl games, they have lost every one. The start of this slide of bowl games started in 1996 in the Rose Bowl. From there seven bowl games spanning from 1997 till 2010 have ended up in two overtime losses and three defeats of 20 points or more.

Their last bowl victory was the Rose Bowl in 1949 against the University of California.

North Carolina Tar Heels, ACC

North Carolina has played in two of the BCS bowl games in the past. Twice they have been featured in the Sugar Bowl, and they have lost both games. Those games, however, were in 1947 and '49.

Since then you might be wondering? 

Zero major bowl games and a lot of losing. 

Now, under head coach Butch Davis (pictured left), the program is under a litany of NCAA sanctions for misconduct with potential and current players. Who knows what the program is going to look like after they make their rulings. 

Duke Blue Devils, ACC

Fact: The Duke program has not been ranked in the AP since 1995.

Fact: The Duke program has not had a bowl victory since 1961.

Fact: The Duke program has never been ranked No. 1 in any poll. 

Fact: There have been 253 straight AP Polls without the Duke team in them.

Fact: This team will never appear in a BCS bowl game. 

Iowa State Cyclones, Big 12

The Iowa State Cyclones have not had more than nine wins in any of their football seasons. None, zero, nada, zip, NOTHING! 

Actually only twice have the Cyclones won nine games in 1909 and 2000. That's 91 years in between a nine-win season, let alone a major BCS bowl game. 

The only bowls that this program has ever been to have been the Insight.com, Peach or Independence. 

Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Big East

The Scarlet Knights have won one national title in their long history of college football. It was a shared title with Princeton, and it was in 1869. 

Since that championship season in 1869, they have had zero championships and zero major bowl games and only six bowl games in general. 

True, four of the last six games were wins, but six bowl games in the last 100-plus years of college football is pretty embarrassing. On a positive note, since 2005 this Rutgers team has just one sub-.500 record. But still zero major bowl games. 

Unless you think the PapaJohns.com Bowl is a major deal. 

Kentucky Wildcats, SEC

Fitting in this picture to the right it is a Kentucky offensive player getting tackled by a Vanderbilt defensive player. Both teams in this picture were probably playing for a sixth or seventh spot in the SEC. 

Kentucky, much like Vanderbilt, is just another team that is a homecoming or senior recognition game for most of the SEC. 

Their last Sugar Bowl game was in 1950 and their last SEC Championship was in 1973. 

However, the program has had five straight winning seasons that have ended up in a bowl game for the program. Just as long as they play in the SEC, there is no chance they will be playing in an BCS game. 

New Mexico State Aggies, WAC

This team will never, ever, EVER, come close to a BCS game. From the New Mexico State's Wikipedia page: "The 1988-90 NMSU team is ranked the ninth worst college football team of all time by ESPN. The Aggies were also featured in the Aug. 31, 1992 issue of Sports Illustrated in a piece that chronicles a tradition of losing games. The longest active losing streak in Division I-A football is a title the Aggies have owned multiple times in recent decades."

Their last bowl game was in 1960, ending a three year span of three straight Sun Bowl games. 

This past year under a new head coach they went 3-10. 

The Aggies are the definition of cupcake team as every major conference school tries to get this team to start their season. 

So that's all for this week my College Football friends. Come back next week for more fun from your favorite Featured Columnist. Can't wait till next week well come follow my thoughts at Twitter.