Ranking the four most unbelievable losses in college football's last 30 years

We’ve already seen what extraordinary things can happen in the final second, or even an extra second, of a college football game when Michigan somehow avoided defeat with a Hail Mary to defeat Western Michigan in Week 1.

Saturday at Vanderbilt, NC State added its name to the ignominious list of college football teams that turned a sure-fire win into a loss with an unforgettable blunder.

Here are four of the most painful college football losses in the past 30 years. None involved a Hail Mary ending, but unlikely prayers were indeed answered for the winning teams.

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1999 - UNLV 27, Baylor 24

Baylor coach Kevin Steele only needed to take a knee at the UNLV eight-yard line with under 20 seconds remaining and his team leading 24-21, but he foolishly decided to take one more crack at the end zone, calling for a running play up the middle.

Running back Darrel Bush took the handoff, tried to break a tackle and had the ball stripped at the one-yard line. UNLV safety Kevin Thomas picked up the ball on one bounce and returned it untouched down the sideline for a 99-yard fumble recovery touchdown on the final play of the game.

It was Steele’s second game as coach at Baylor. The Bears would finish 1-10, and he would be fired after four years and a 9-36 record.

In 1999, Baylor led UNLV 24–21 with 4 seconds left, had the ball at the UNLV 1-yard line, and UNLV had no timeouts. Baylor could simply kneel. Instead, coach Kevin Steele called a run to try to score again. Darrell Bush fumbled at the goal line and UNLV’s Kevin Thomas returned it… pic.twitter.com/UrDfWVzo6e

— Texas Football Life (@txfblife) August 21, 2026

2015 - Michigan State 27, Michigan 23

Michigan led 23-21 and had the ball at Michigan State’s 48-yard line on fourth down with 10 seconds left. All Jim Harbaugh’s team needed to do was punt the ball cleanly and prevent a big return. Unfortunately for Michigan fans, there was trouble with the snap.

Michigan punter Blake O’Neill dropped the snap, scooped it up and tried to kick before being swarmed by the Michigan State defense. The ball popped up in the air, and Jalen Watts-Jackson grabbed the loose ball at the Michigan 36-yard line and returned it into the end zone as time expired, shocking the home crowd.

Michigan State went on to win the Big Ten and reach the College Football Playoff, while Michigan finished 10-3.

— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) October 17, 2023

2026 - Vanderbilt 35, NC State 31

The Wolfpack were six seconds from a 31-28 victory, facing a fourth down at their own five-yard line. NC State coach Dave Doeren decided to try to take a safety and run out the clock rather than punt.

Quarterback CJ Bailey ran back into the end zone, tried to avoid tacklers but got stripped before going down. Vanderbilt’s Cayden Daniels recovered the ball for the winning touchdown with one second left.

“It’s a play where you hold out and you don’t get tackled and you try to burn as much time as you can, and then fall on your own, protect the football,” Doeren said. “The plan was to take a safety and run out the clock if we can, but there’s no intent to run the football and get hit on that play.”

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 19, 2026

2023 - Georgia Tech 23, Miami 20

Like Kevin Steele, Miami coach Mario Cristobal was in position to kneel on the ball and let the clock run out with Georgia Tech out of timeouts and less than a minute to play with Miami leading 20-17. But the Hurricanes ran up the middle, and Donald Chaney Jr. was stripped. Georgia Tech recovered the fumble with 27 seconds left on its own 26-yard line.

The Yellow Jackets quickly moved to the Miami 44 with 10 seconds left, and then quarterback Haynes King found Christian Leary on a long touchdown pass with one second remaining.

“We should have taken a knee,” Cristobol admitted later.

Miami was up 20-17 on Georgia Tech with 34 seconds left on 3rd down and 10 with Georgia Tech having NO TIMEOUTS remaining. Instead of victory formation they run it with Donald Chaney Jr and this happened pic.twitter.com/qBdm3YGYQK

— Mike (@MikeDonaghy7) October 8, 2023