13-9. Jeremy Ito. 48 straight points.
Some losses are so painful that the mere mention of a name, phrase or score instantly brings back horrible memories. Today, as part of ESPN.com's House of Pain series, I'm going to list my nominees for the most painful loss in school history for each Big East team.
CINCINNATI: For years, Cincinnati wasn't good enough to have many painful losses. But one sticks out: Ty King returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown with 19 seconds left as rival Miami (Ohio) beat the Bearcats 23-16 in 1995.
CONNECTICUT: The 2009 season was full of heartache for the Huskies. No game hurt more than the loss to Rutgers. UConn had seemingly won the game in the final minute, but the Scarlet Knights scored on an 81-yard pass from Tom Savage to Tim Brown to ruin the Huskies' first home game since Jasper Howard' death.
LOUISVILLE: Cardinals fans still rue the 2006 loss to Rutgers that kept their team from a possible BCS title game appearance. Louisville led 25-7 in the first half but would not score again. Ito drilled the 28-yard game winner with 17 seconds left after William Gay jumped offside on the kicker's first, missed attempt.
PITTSBURGH: Pitt has never had a more talented team than the 1981 edition. The Panthers were undefeated and ranked No. 1 when they took a 14-0 lead over Penn State in the season finale. But the Nittany Lions then scored the final 48 points in a loss that still perplexes Pittsburgh fans.
RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights just had to beat a Pat White-less West Virginia in the 2006 season finale to claim the Big East's BCS bid. Instead, backup Jarrett Brown led the Mountaineers to a 41-39, triple-overtime win that sent Rutgers to the Texas Bowl.
SOUTH FLORIDA: Bulls fans were beside themselves when the young program climbed to No. 2 in the polls in October 2007. It all came crashing down on a Thursday night in Piscataway, N.J., when Rutgers dashed South Florida's dream season with a 30-27 win, aided by a fake field goal for a touchdown.
SYRACUSE: The eighth-ranked Orange had a chance to knock off No. 1 Miami in 1992 for a Sugar Bowl berth. They trailed 16-10 and were threatening to score, but tight end Chris Gedney was tackled 2 yards short of the end zone as time expired.
WEST VIRGINIA: Do we even need to explain? West Virginia fans were booking their tickets to the BCS title game before the 2007 season finale. One problem: Pitt -- which entered the game with a 4-7 record -- pulled off a shocking 13-9 upset in Morgantown that changed the course of both programs.
Which losses are the most painful for you? Remember to send me your comments and memories to this link. I'll highlight the best entries in a post on Friday.
Some losses are so painful that the mere mention of a name, phrase or score instantly brings back horrible memories. Today, as part of ESPN.com's House of Pain series, I'm going to list my nominees for the most painful loss in school history for each Big East team.
CINCINNATI: For years, Cincinnati wasn't good enough to have many painful losses. But one sticks out: Ty King returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown with 19 seconds left as rival Miami (Ohio) beat the Bearcats 23-16 in 1995.
CONNECTICUT: The 2009 season was full of heartache for the Huskies. No game hurt more than the loss to Rutgers. UConn had seemingly won the game in the final minute, but the Scarlet Knights scored on an 81-yard pass from Tom Savage to Tim Brown to ruin the Huskies' first home game since Jasper Howard' death.
LOUISVILLE: Cardinals fans still rue the 2006 loss to Rutgers that kept their team from a possible BCS title game appearance. Louisville led 25-7 in the first half but would not score again. Ito drilled the 28-yard game winner with 17 seconds left after William Gay jumped offside on the kicker's first, missed attempt.
PITTSBURGH: Pitt has never had a more talented team than the 1981 edition. The Panthers were undefeated and ranked No. 1 when they took a 14-0 lead over Penn State in the season finale. But the Nittany Lions then scored the final 48 points in a loss that still perplexes Pittsburgh fans.
RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights just had to beat a Pat White-less West Virginia in the 2006 season finale to claim the Big East's BCS bid. Instead, backup Jarrett Brown led the Mountaineers to a 41-39, triple-overtime win that sent Rutgers to the Texas Bowl.
SOUTH FLORIDA: Bulls fans were beside themselves when the young program climbed to No. 2 in the polls in October 2007. It all came crashing down on a Thursday night in Piscataway, N.J., when Rutgers dashed South Florida's dream season with a 30-27 win, aided by a fake field goal for a touchdown.
SYRACUSE: The eighth-ranked Orange had a chance to knock off No. 1 Miami in 1992 for a Sugar Bowl berth. They trailed 16-10 and were threatening to score, but tight end Chris Gedney was tackled 2 yards short of the end zone as time expired.
WEST VIRGINIA: Do we even need to explain? West Virginia fans were booking their tickets to the BCS title game before the 2007 season finale. One problem: Pitt -- which entered the game with a 4-7 record -- pulled off a shocking 13-9 upset in Morgantown that changed the course of both programs.
Which losses are the most painful for you? Remember to send me your comments and memories to this link. I'll highlight the best entries in a post on Friday.
TOP 25 SCOREBOARD
Saturday, 12/17
Final Temple 37 Wyoming 15 Final Ohio 24 Utah State 23 Final San Diego State 30 Louisiana-Lafayette 32
Tuesday, 12/20
Wednesday, 12/21
Final 18 TCU 31 Louisiana Tech 24
Thursday, 12/22
Saturday, 12/24
Final Nevada 17 21 Southern Miss 24
Monday, 12/26
Tuesday, 12/27
Final Western Michigan 32 Purdue 37 Final Louisville 24 North Carolina State 31
Wednesday, 12/28
Final Toledo 42 Air Force 41 Final California 10 24 Texas 21
Thursday, 12/29
Final Florida State 18 Notre Dame 14 Final Washington 56 12 Baylor 67
Friday, 12/30
Final Brigham Young 24 Tulsa 21 Final Rutgers 27 Iowa State 13 Final Mississippi State 23 Wake Forest 17 Final Iowa 14 14 Oklahoma 31
Saturday, 12/31
Final Texas A&M 33 Northwestern 22 Final/OT Georgia Tech 27 Utah 30 Final Illinois 20 UCLA 14 Final Cincinnati 31 Vanderbilt 24 Final Virginia 24 25 Auburn 43
Monday, 1/2
Final 19 Houston 30 22 Penn State 14 Final Ohio State 17 Florida 24 Final/3OT 17 Michigan State 33 16 Georgia 30 Final 20 Nebraska 13 9 South Carolina 30 Final 10 Wisconsin 38 5 Oregon 45 Final/OT 4 Stanford 38 3 Oklahoma State 41
Tuesday, 1/3
Final/OT 13 Michigan 23 11 Virginia Tech 20
Wednesday, 1/4
Final 23 West Virginia 70 15 Clemson 33
Friday, 1/6
Final 8 Kansas State 16 6 Arkansas 29
Saturday, 1/7
Sunday, 1/8
Monday, 1/9
TOP PERFORMERS

- G. Smith West Virginia - QB
- 32-43, 407 yds, 6 tds
- @ CLEM | Final

- T. Ganaway Baylor - RB
- 21 car, 200 yds, 5 tds
- vs UW | Final

- J. White W Michigan - WR
- 13 rec, 265 yds, 1 td
- @ PU | Final



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