Worst loss in recent program history?

[appvette]

People seem to think the Liberty loss was the worst one in recent program history. What do you say was the worst (most embarrassing) loss in the last several years? For me, it was easily the 52-28 loss to The Citadel at home in 2012. At least the Liberty game was close and we took it to overtime. The Citadel hadn't won in Boone in 20 years and it was 31-0 before halftime and was 45-7 in the third quarter.

NC A&T and Chuck South were both close games last year and both teams ended with strong records.

[t4pizza]

I go with Liberty simply because we have moved up to FBS and couldn't beat them. At least all of our previous bad loses were on equal footing with the victors. If we were still FCS, it would have been a bad loss but not the worst. The difference is now we not only have better talent, we have more of it.

[appvette]

I would agree if the loss happened in several years but I don't think one FBS class of freshmen should make a difference. On average, upper tier FCS seniors are much better than lower teir FBS freshmen.

[appst89]

For me, it's Liberty because we are FBS now. I think it's the low point of the 30 years I've been watching App. Nowhere to go but up, I hope.

[bigdaddyg]

I put the NC A&T and Citadel losses ahead of Liberty. I see very little difference in our team (currently) and our team last year- talent wise. Just because we are now FBS we are still playing like an average FCS program. The WORST loss in recent memory, for me, is the Illinois State loss in the 2012 playoffs. A blocked extra point that prevented us from having a chance to win in overtime and possibly adavance in our last playoff scenario- that hurt!

If we really want to point to a time when the slide began it was then. Beginning of the bad kicking mojo.

[The Rock]

A few that stick out to me if you are talking margin of victory:
Villanova, Maine, va. Tech, citadel(2012).

If we are talking close, but bad losses
A&t, charleston southern , Chattanooga (13) really bothers me for some reason,
Southern Mississippi, because we shot ourselves in the foot so many times, and liberty.

I'm inclined to agree that liberty feels the worst because we are FBS, have more scholarships and this loss showed we really were not consistently improving week to week.

[Saint3333]

Citadel 2012. That is when I knew we were in trouble. They were about as good as Liberty is this year and beat us worse than USA did this year.

[MAD Doctor]

For me, it was definitely Liberty. It was a blatant, scary example of how far we haven't come. What made it worse was that they were a mediocre, (still) unranked FCS team that fully expected to take our lunch money, and there was nothing we could do about it. Yes, the game went into overtime, but the entire game it just felt like we'd find a way to blow it- and of course, we did.

[SpeedkingATL]

I'm an older guy and losses to terrible winless VMI and terrible WCU teams in the past have cost App dearly. Liberty loss was an embarrassment but means little in the big picture. I would even argue that losses to Nova and Maine at home in the playoffs were more embarrassing, not to mention the Va Tech and Citdog thumping's that have already been mentioned.

[APPARJ]

Liberty was embarrassing, for sure.

But I've never been more ashamed than after the VT game in 2011.

We weren't even supposed to sniff victory in that game and I was still humiliated. Horrendous effort.

[HkyMtneer]

Liberty was embarrassing, for sure.

But I've never been more ashamed than after the VT game in 2011.

We weren't even supposed to sniff victory in that game and I was still humiliated. Horrendous effort.

I was thinking the same thing. I went to Blacksburg that day on the fan bus, aka "Chip's Charter Service", and I remember the sun coming out a bit before halftime and baking Lane Stadium. With the way we were playing on the field I was already to my brink. I remember walking out of the gates not even half-way (I think) through the 3rd Quarter, head down, completely depressed. I made it back to the bus, which was parked on the other side of Cassell Coliseum to find the bus already half full. By the middle of the 4th very few empty seats remained and we rolled out minutes, literally, after the game concluded. The most exciting that happened that day was when the bus was struck by lightning (or sure sounded/felt like it was) while making a quick stop at a travel center on 81. That's how bad the VT game of 2011 was.

[WER4ASU]

Yeah, VT worst, Cit worser but none can top the VMI loss in the early 90's. Fla A&M pretty bad too. As sad about the whole mess as I am, continued non-recruiting and waiting to take what was left has caught up with us. We have few seniors this year, had few seniors last year and the year before. Looks like few seniors next year. A new, first time head coach, green asst. coaches, playing bigger and generally better teams and no senior leadership is not a good combination.

[WVAPPeer]

I think you might need to specify "Worst" and "Most Embarrassing" - simply because they can be 2 very different types of games/opponents ---
The "worst loss" for me was the semi-final loss at Montana in 2009 - It was an end of an era and that season should have ended with another National Championship - I was really sad after that game - more so than any other I can remember ---

As for "embarrassing loss" I would say VA Tech, Maine (2nd time), WCU (2004) and I would include Liberty (as mentioned, in reality it means nothing)

[appvette]

I don't see how a good P5 team blowing us out at their home is worse than The Citadel blowing us out a our house.

[WVAPPeer]

I don't see how a good P5 team blowing us out at their home is worse than The Citadel blowing us out a our house.

Again - "worst loss" or "most embarrassing loss"? ---

[HkyMtneer]

I don't see how a good P5 team blowing us out at their home is worse than The Citadel blowing us out a our house.

Again - "worst loss" or "most embarrassing loss"? ---

Good point, WV. When you say it like that I guess I felt more embarrassed than anything after the VT loss. Why? I guess after Michigan in 07' I felt (and still do) like lightning could strike twice and when we just didn't show up for our "money game" in 11' I thought it really set us back in regards to being the big school's upset alert. As far as saddest or "worst"...yeah, I can get on board with the Montana loss on the road or the Maine loss at home, simply because it was do or die playoff time.

[APPARJ]

I think you might need to specify "Worst" and "Most Embarrassing" - simply because they can be 2 very different types of games/opponents ---
The "worst loss" for me was the semi-final loss at Montana in 2009 - It was an end of an era and that season should have ended with another National Championship - I was really sad after that game - more so than any other I can remember ---

As for "embarrassing loss" I would say VA Tech, Maine (2nd time), WCU (2004) and I would include Liberty (as mentioned, in reality it means nothing)

Oh man. Great point.

In that case, Montana in '09 is far and away the worst loss for me. I couldn't move for 10 minutes. I just sat there. Mainly because I knew that was the last time Armanti Edwards would be our QB. App State changed forever after that game.

I still have only seen a replay of the Quick drop in the endzone one time. I hope I never see it again.

Man. Brutal.

[JTApps1]

The VMI game in 94 is still worse. They were 0-10 while we were (I believe) 8-2. That loss cost us a conference championship and a home playoff game. The Liberty game was bad and much more visible thanks to us being FBS now, but it was another bad loss during a bad year.

[kickass143]

Man all those "L's" suck don't they? The losses that stick out in my mind as far as being bummed about the way we played were (not necessarily in this order):
The Citadel Pounding at home
The defenseless Liberty L
The No Show V.T. game
The surprising Beat Down in Missoula last year
The Fumblefest in Furman last year (heck we fumbled twice on one play as if fumbling once per play was not enough!).
These are all losses that I left feeling really down about the way we performed on the field.

[ASUMountaineer]

I think you might need to specify "Worst" and "Most Embarrassing" - simply because they can be 2 very different types of games/opponents ---
The "worst loss" for me was the semi-final loss at Montana in 2009 - It was an end of an era and that season should have ended with another National Championship - I was really sad after that game - more so than any other I can remember ---

As for "embarrassing loss" I would say VA Tech, Maine (2nd time), WCU (2004) and I would include Liberty (as mentioned, in reality it means nothing)

Oh man. Great point.

In that case, Montana in '09 is far and away the worst loss for me. I couldn't move for 10 minutes. I just sat there. Mainly because I knew that was the last time Armanti Edwards would be our QB. App State changed forever after that game.

I still have only seen a replay of the Quick drop in the endzone one time. I hope I never see it again.

Man. Brutal.

Montana '09. I DVR'd the game, and it sat on my DVR for over a year. I never could replay it. We played a very well game for the most part. I was devastated. Not only did we lose to Montana...again (I was a sophomore the first time), but it was AE's final game. That game was P A I N F U L.

The LU game was bad, but as mad as I was about it, I wasn't genuinely shocked. The FAMU game, the Maine gameS, and the Villanova games were brutal as well. The Illinois State game was bad, but was made worse after the fact due to discovering that it was JM's last game--another end of an era.

I'll also throw out the '08 JMU game as an honorable mention. Up 21-0 at the half, and then blowing the game.

With that said, the '09 Montana game was by far the worst loss in recent history, IMO.