The 2011 College Football Awards No One Wants to Receive

Wisconsin loved winning the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game so much the players gave the trophy a little smooch after the game.

But not every player, coach or team can experience such euphoria at the end of the season.

So Bleacher Report has come up with 25 awards no one wants to receive.

Be warned: This is not pretty.

Most Overrated Player

Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones may be a first- or second-round pick in the NFL draft, but this was supposed to be his year.

He was a preseason Heisman favorite and was expected to lead the Sooners into the BCS National Championship.

Instead, he was part of the problem in losses to Texas Tech, Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Let's be fair, he did throw for 4,302 yards and 28 touchdowns. But he also had 14 interceptions.

Don't Believe Your Preseason Hype (Individual)

Virginia Tech's Jayron Hosley led the nation in interceptions in 2010.

This season he wasn't the dominant corner everyone expected, as the Hokies' defense was an average unit.

Hosley had to fight through a nagging hamstring injury, but he wasn't even Virginia Tech's best defensive back this season.

Still, it looks like Hosley will leave early for the NFL. He could have really used a stronger season, though.

Don't Believe Your Preseason Hype (Team)

I'll admit it, I bought into the Mississippi State hype.

I also thought Dan Mullen was the next great coach. He still may be, but the Bulldogs couldn't win a meaningful game all season.

After destroying Michigan in the Gator Bowl last year you would have thought that Mississippi State would be the one playing in a BCS bowl game, not Michigan.

Least Classy Coach

Todd Graham preached to his players at Pittsburgh about loyalty and building something great.

Less than 12 months after taking the job he bolted for Arizona State.

Then his former Pitt players ridiculed the former coach on Twitter (via Rivals.com).

It has to make you wonder why any program would want a coach who will bolt so quickly from job to job.

Unluckiest Player

Knile Davis had a huge 2010, and he looked primed for an even better 2011.

Well, Davis' season was over before it ever began. He suffered a serious injury to his left ankle in preseason drills, and he didn't see the playing field again.

Let's hope Davis doesn't get this award in 2012.

Biggest Choke

Cade Foster missed three field goals in Alabama's 9-6 loss at home to LSU.

He did make one from 46, but his missed kicks are why the Tide didn't win the SEC West.

Will he be able to handle the pressure if a kick is on the line in the BCS National Championship?

Most Embarrassing Play

Georgia's Aron White scored a touchdown against New Mexico State, but in the process he leaped over a xylophone and got stuck in the hedges.

I guess if you score it's OK to need a little help getting up.

Worst Hire of the Year

Maryland was in such a hurry to push Ralph Friedgen out the door after a 9-4 season that the Terps landed Randy Edsall.

At the time, it didn't look like a bad hire. Edsall had established a strong reputation for his work at Connecticut.

Then he barely said goodbye to his players and friends.

Hello, karma. Edsall went 2-10 with a Maryland team stocked with talent.

Controversy of the Year

There were plenty of options for this award, but Penn State is the clear winner.

The shocking and embarrassing revelations about the alleged conduct of former coach Jerry Sandusky, followed by accusations of a cover-up that eventually led to Joe Paterno's firing.

Of course, about 5,000 students responded by rioting.

This ugly story is still ongoing, and no one is really sure when it will end.

Penn State hasn't even found a replacement for Paterno yet.

Lamest Conference Commissioner

It was a dead heat between the Big East's John Marinatto and the Big 12's Dan Beebe.

Then Beebe was ousted, and he edged out Marinatto for the award.

Most Disappointing Rivalry Lost to Realignment

With another round of conference realignment occurring this season, the college football world will potentially lose some great rivalries.

Most of us won't miss the Kansas-Missouri game, and there are more who will miss Pittsburgh and West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl.

But the biggest rivalry game that we have probably lost is the Texas-Texas A&M game.

Glass Jaw Award

Football is played by tough guys.

They play through pain, and they never want their opponents to see them hurt.

Then there is Penn State's Matt McGloin, who got knocked out in a locker-room fight with teammate Curtis Drake.

McGloin said he started the fight that resulted in him suffering a concussion and a seizure.

Now it's not clear if he'll play in the TicketCity Bowl.

Worst Coaching Job

Dennis Erickson owns two national championships from his days as the coach of the Miami Hurricanes.

Erickson had a talented group at Arizona State this fall, and the Sun Devils looked primed to win the Pac-12 South.

ASU opened the season by winning six of its first eight games, and the Sun Devils were bowl eligible on Oct. 29.

Then they lost to UCLA 29-28, and the season went into a spiral of five straight losses.

First-Half Wonder Award

It seemed like Texas A&M always led at halftime, and then anything could happen to the Aggies in the second half.

A&M led eventual Big 12 champion Oklahoma State 20-3 at one point in the first half. The Aggies also lost five other games in which they had double-digit leads.

Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas State and Texas all overcame the deficit to defeat Texas A&M as the Aggies finished 6-6.

This was a team that many felt was a top-10 program.

Now do you see why Mike Sherman isn't coaching at A&M any longer?

More Chances Than You Deserve Award

Stephen Garcia was suspended and reinstated to the South Carolina football team about as many times as he got starts in 2011.

After five suspensions, Garcia was finally kicked off the team by Steve Spurrier for good in October.

Garcia was a talented player, but he just couldn't stay out of trouble.

Worst Debut in a New Conference

There were only a handful of changes in 2011, and it would be easy to point the finger at Colorado.

The Buffaloes went 3-10 in their first season in the Pac-12, but no one was expecting much from Colorado.

Utah, however, was expected to compete for the South Division and even the conference crown.

Instead, Kyle Whittingham's team lost its first four conference games and finished 7-5 overall.

Worst Loss (Regular Season)

Oklahoma State was on a roll.

The Cowboys were riding a 10-game winning streak and outside of a close game with Kansas State, had not been challenged.

All that stood between them and a date in the BCS National Championship was rival Oklahoma.

Wait a minute.

No one told Iowa State, and the Cyclones pulled out a 37-31 win in overtime.

Bye, bye national championship.

Worst Loss (Postseason)

All Houston had to do was beat Southern Mississippi, and the Cougars were assured a spot in a BCS bowl.

Conference USA would reap millions of dollars that would come with it.

Instead, Southern Mississippi dominated the CUSA championship game, and Houston never really had a chance.

Now Houston gets Penn State in the TicketCity Bowl.

What a bummer.

Begging for Acceptance Award

With so many programs jockeying for position in conference realignment, we got to see the ugly side of college sports.

Connecticut and Rutgers begged the ACC to take them along with Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

West Virginia sent out feelers to the ACC, SEC and Big 12, before landing in the Big 12.

But in the end, the honor goes to Louisville for getting a senator involved and trying to hijack WVU's spot.

Early Season Firing Award

Hey, it's a way to talk about former New Mexico coach Mike Locksley again.

Worst Play Call (Regulation)

Pittsburgh was rolling against Iowa in Iowa City.

Up 27-17 with about eight minutes to play, Todd Graham decided to go for it on 4th-and-3 from the Iowa 36.

Yes, it was too far for a field-goal attempt, but a punt would have been the better option—pin the Hawkeyes back and make them drive the length of the field and eat up clock.

Instead, Pitt's Tino Sunseri threw another incomplete pass, and the Iowa comeback was ignited.

Worst Play Call (Overtime)

Every play Alabama called on offense in its overtime loss to LSU—even trying for the long field goal was probably a bad call.

Worst Football State

While Florida is a fertile recruiting ground, the Sunshine State's college programs didn't have their finest year.

Only Florida State and Florida International had winning records.

But nothing tops Arizona and the dismal seasons endured by the Wildcats and Sun Devils.

Their seasons were so bad, both programs fired their coaches.

Saving Timeouts for No Reason Award

For some reason Oregon’s Chip Kelly refused to use any of his timeouts in the closing minutes of the Ducks' loss to USC at Autzen Stadium.

So instead of having more time and giving his offense a chance to get better field position, Kelly forced his kicker to go for a tougher field goal. Of course, he missed it, and USC won.

While this benefited USC's Lane Kiffin, we shouldn't forget it was Kiffin who held onto a timeout in regulation against Stanford. Instead of going for a game-winning field goal, the Trojans lost to the Cardinal in OT.

Vontaze Burfict Sportsmanship Award

It's time to rename the Worst Sportsmanship Award after Arizona State's Vontaze Burfict.

Naturally, Burfict wins the inaugural eponymous award.

Burfict's inconsistent play, coupled with an endless amount of unsportsmanlike penalties, have probably cost him millions of dollars in the NFL draft.

He's immature and can't control his temper.