Losing streak - wikipedia Losing streak This article is about the term. For the Less Than Jake album, see Losing Streak. For other uses, see Streak. In sports, a losing streak or cold streak is an uninterrupted string of contests ( whether games, matches, etc. ) lost by a team or individual. A losing streak is thus the opposite of a winning streak. A losing streak can last as few as two games, or it may last much longer. Shimer College basketball coach celebrates game 37 of his team 's record - setting losing streak in 1963. Contents 1 Existence and causation 2 Distinction from winless streak 3 Longest losing streaks 3.1 American football 3.2 Association football 3.3 Australian rules football 3.4 Auto racing 3.5 Canadian football 3.6 Baseball 3.7 Basketball 3.8 Cricket 3.9 Hockey 3.10 Lacrosse 3.11 Rugby League 3.12 Tennis 3.13 eSports 3.14 Wrestling 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Existence and causation Most quantitative studies of winning and losing streaks, and the associated concept of psychological momentum, have failed to find any evidence that `` streaks '' actually exist, except as a matter of random chance. A team with low ability is more likely to lose frequently, and a team with high ability is more likely to win, but once ability is controlled for, there is no evidence that a `` winning '' or `` losing '' streak affects the result of the match. In fact, one study of European association football matches using a Monte Carlo methodology found that once ability was accounted for, a team was actually slightly less likely to win or lose when it had experienced the same result in the previous match. Despite the apparent nonexistence of streaks in quantitative terms, many scholars in the field have pointed to the importance of understanding qualitative, psychological aspects of streaks. A series of losses can have a negative effect on team morale even if it has no direct effect on the outcome of the next game. Studies in sports management suggest that some managers are able to interrupt losing streaks ( and prolong winning streaks ) through managerial strategies such as changing the lineup or rotation of players. Similarly, effective mental strategies may enable individual athletes to resist the psychological effects of a `` losing streak '' by staying focused on the task at hand. In team sports, effective strategies for combating negative momentum may include team cohesion activities and increasing the use of positive body language. To the extent that they exist, losing streaks may arise from the loser effect : an increased probability of losing at time T, based on losing at time T − 1, T − 2, etc. This means that one has a slightly higher probability of losing the next match because one lost the previous one. The outcome of a match does not solely depend on the strength of the opponents, but also on how much effort one or the other is willing to invest. The loser effect rises from the tendency to hold back on the next match after losing. On the other hand, the winner effect encourages the opponent who won the previous match to invest more in the next fight. This phenomenon is well known in the study of animal behavior, where the winner and loser effects help to keep the level of conflicts low in group living animals. Distinction from winless streak A losing streak and a winless streak are distinctively different, as a winless streak may include : tie games or draws in first - class cricket, unfinished matches in association football, ice hockey and some field hockey leagues, and depending on the definition of `` loss '' used by the observer, overtime or shootout losses. Tie games can also be included in an unbeaten streak, as in soccer. Longest losing streaks List of the longest individual losing streaks of all time in each sport : American football NFL football : 29 games -- Chicago Cardinals : ( 1942 -- 1945, counts ten losses the team incurred as half of the merged Card - Pitt franchise in 1944 ) 26 games -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers : ( 1976 -- 1977, post-merger era record and record for one continuous team ) NCAA Football Division I ( FBS ) : 34 games -- Northwestern Wildcats : ( 1979 -- 1982 ) NCAA Football Division I ( FCS ) : 80 games -- Prairie View A&M Panthers : ( 1989 -- 1998 ) NCAA Football Division II : 52 games -- Lock Haven Bald Eagles : ( 2007 -- 2012 ) NCAA Football Division III : 53 games -- Earlham College : ( 2013 -- present ) Sprint football : 106 games -- Princeton Tigers ( 1999 -- 2015 ). Streak includes at least four forfeits, and ended upon the program being shut down. Semi-professional football : 59 games -- York Lions ( 1990 -- 1995 ) Association football MLS soccer : 12 games -- New York / New Jersey MetroStars : ( 1999 ) USL Pro Soccer : 26 games -- Antigua Barracuda FC : ( 2013 ) Thai League : 27 games -- Super Power Samut Prakan F.C. : ( 2017 ) Premier League : 15 games -- Sunderland : ( 2002 / 2003 ) Australian rules football VFL / AFL : 51 matches -- University in 1912 -- 1914 ( dropped out of league and folded at end of 1914 ) SANFL : 56 matches -- Glenelg in 1921 -- 1924 WAFL : 27 games -- West Perth in 1938 -- 1939 and Peel Thunder in 1997 -- 1998 and 1998 -- 2000 Auto racing NASCAR Cup Series : 653 races -- J.D. McDuffie ( died in a fatal crash on the fifth lap of the 1991 Budweiser at The Glen ) Canadian football CFL Football : 16 games -- Hamilton Tigers / Tiger - Cats : ( 1948 -- 1950 ) CIS Football : 49 games -- Toronto Varsity Blues : ( 2001 -- 2008 ) Baseball MLB Baseball : American Association : 26 games -- Louisville Colonels : ( 1889 ) National League : 24 games -- Cleveland Spiders : ( 1899 ) American League : 21 games -- Baltimore Orioles : ( 1988 ) Federal League : 9 games -- Baltimore Terrapins : ( 1915 ) Baseball Pitcher National League : 27 consecutive losing decisions -- Anthony Young : ( 1992 -- 1993 ) Japanese Baseball League : 16 games -- Dai Tokyo : ( 1936 ) Nippon Professional Baseball : Central League : 16 games -- Yakult Atoms : ( 1970 ) Pacific League : 18 games -- Chiba Lotte Marines : ( 1993 ) KBO League : 18 games -- Sammi Superstars : ( 1985 ) Basketball Professional Basketball NBA Basketball : 28 games -- Philadelphia 76ers : ( 2014 - 15, 2015 - 16 ) WNBA Basketball : 20 games -- Tulsa Shock Korean Basketball League : 32 games -- Daegu Tongyang Orions : ( 1998 - 99 ) Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional : 32 games -- Volcanes del Estado de México : ( 2011 - 12 ) Collegiate Basketball NCAA Basketball : Division I, men : 41 games -- Towson Tigers : ( 2011 -- 2012 ) Division I, women : 59 games -- Chicago State Lady Cougars : ( 2016 - 2018 ) Division II, men : 46 games -- Olivet Comets : ( 1959 -- 1961 ) ; Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs ( 1971 -- 1973 ) Division II, women : 70 games -- Notre Dame de Namur Argonauts Division III, men : 207 games -- Caltech Beavers : ( 1996 -- 2007 ) ( record for all divisions, men or women ) Division III, women : 83 games -- Schreiner Mountaineers, ( all - division record for women ) Note : New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders lost 51 games ( 2007 -- 2009 ) while in the process of becoming a Division I program, but is not an official record. NAIA Basketball Division I, men : 100 games -- STLCOP Eutectics Cricket Test Cricket : 21 matches -- Bangladesh -- ( 2001 -- 2004 ) One Day International cricket : 23 matches -- Bangladesh -- ( 1999 -- 2002 ) Twenty20 International : 12 matches -- Bangladesh -- ( 2007 -- 2012 ) Combined international cricket : 28 matches -- Bangladesh -- ( 10 tests, 18 ODIs, 2003 -- 2004 ) Twenty20 club or domestic : 19 matches ( tie ) -- Quetta Bears -- ( 2005 -- present ) ; Sydney Thunder -- ( December 2011 -- January 2014 ) Hockey NHL hockey : 17 games ( tie ) -- Washington Capitals : ( 1974 -- 75 ) ; San Jose Sharks : ( 1992 -- 93 ) Lacrosse NCAA Lacrosse Division I : 29 games -- Wagner College : NCAA Lacrosse Division III : 92 games -- City College of New York : Rugby League NSWRL and NRL rugby league : 42 games -- Sydney University rugby league team Rugby League in England : 61 games -- Runcorn Highfield ( 1989 -- 1991 ). The run consisted of 55 Division Two, 2 Challenge Cup, 2 Regal Trophy, and 2 Lancashire Cup - ties. Tennis NCAA Men 's Tennis Division 1 : 59 matches -- Wagner College ( 2007 -- 2012 ) ATP : 21 consecutive matches -- Vince Spadea eSports Overwatch League : 40 matches -- Shanghai Dragons ( 2018 -- ) Wrestling Curt Hawkins : 220 matches -- WWE ( 2016 -- ) See also List of Major League Baseball longest losing streaks List of National Basketball Association longest losing streaks Imperfect season Winning streak ( sports ) References ^ Jump up to : Crust, Lee ; Nesti, Mark. `` A Review of Psychological Momentum in Sports : Why qualitative research is needed ''. Athletic Insight. 8 ( 1 ). ^ Jump up to : Dobson, Stephen ; Goddard, John ( 2003 ). `` Persistence in sequences of football match results : A Monte Carlo analysis ''. European Journal of Operational Research. 148 : 247 -- 256. doi : 10.1016 / S0377 - 2217 ( 02 ) 00681 - 1. Jump up ^ Peterson, Dan ( 2008 - 10 - 06 ). `` The Reality of Momentum in Sports ''. Live Science. Jump up ^ Fort, Rodney ; Rosenman, Robert ( 1999 ). `` Streak management ''. Sports Economics : Current Research. p. 119. ISBN 9780275963309. Jump up ^ Crust, Lee. `` Sports psychology : the role of momentum in sports performance ''. Sports Performance Bulletin. Jump up ^ Cotterill, Stewart ( 2012 ). `` Momentum in Sport ''. Team Psychology in Sports : Theory and Practice. p. 117. ISBN 9780415670579. Jump up ^ `` Winner and loser effect ''. Fighting the Sharks. Retrieved 30 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Winning, losing, and reaching out ''. Behavioral Ecology. Retrieved 30 May 2014. Jump up ^ NCAA FBS Records, 2012 ^ Jump up to : `` 2013 Earlham Football Schedule ''. Earlham Athletics. Retrieved 20 October 2018. Jump up ^ Albright, Bill. `` Lock Haven Skid at 50 after Last - Second TD ''. Retrieved 3 November 2012. Jump up ^ http://www.sprintfootball.com/single-post/2016/04/12/Princeton-drops-Sprint-Football Jump up ^ http://www.semiprofootball.org/minor/records/teamgame.htm Jump up ^ `` Finally a win for Super Power ''. Bangkok Post. 16 October 2017. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017. the victory ended their 27 - match losing streak Jump up ^ https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/6-most-disastrous-premier-league-runs-all-time Jump up ^ St Kilda also lost 51 consecutive matches in 1896 -- 1899 : their last three matches in the VFA and their first 48 matches in the VFL. Jump up ^ This was Glenelg 's first 56 matches in the SANFL competition. Jump up ^ WAFL Footy Facts : Consecutive Games Lost Jump up ^ Death of J.D. McDuffie Jump up ^ `` Regular Season All - Time Records - CFL.ca - Official Site of the Canadian Football League ''. CFL.ca. ^ Jump up to : `` Games Lost by Teams Records ''. Baseball Almanac. Jump up ^ `` 1915 Baltimore Terrapins ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Jump up ^ Longest losing streaks in sports history - Cheat Sheet.com Jump up ^ Scherr, Rich ( 28 January 2012 ). `` Towson men 's basketball team ends record losing streak ''. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 28 January 2012. Jump up ^ http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22310228/chicago-state-sets-d-women-record-59th-loss-row. Missing or empty title = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` Caltech ends 26 - year league drought ''. NCAA.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012. Jump up ^ `` Inside Schreiner : Women 's Basketball ''. Inside Schreiner. Retrieved 10 January 2012. Jump up ^ Garcia, Marlen ( 6 January 2012 ). `` Towson 's losing streak reaches record proportions ''. USA Today. Retrieved 5 January 2012. Jump up ^ `` Saint Louis College of Pharmacy ''. www.eutecticsports.com. Jump up ^ `` DakStats WebSync ''. www.dakstats.com. Retrieved 2018 - 03 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Memorable Losing Streaks ''. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 12 January 2012. Jump up ^ http://www.rugby-league.com/the_rfl/about_the_rfl/history__heritage/all_time_records Jump up ^ Suffered a 21 - match losing streak which dropped to 237th in the rankings and earned the nickname `` the Charlie Brown of tennis ''. External links Sports Illustrated Photo Gallery of the most memorable losing streaks Forbes ' Worst Losing Streaks in Sports Worst college football teams of all time Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Losing_streak&oldid=866369753 '' Categories : Terminology used in multiple sports Hidden categories : Pages with citations lacking titles Pages with citations having bare URLs Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 29 October 2018, at 22 : 53 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: what college football team has the longest losing streak
Answer: Princeton Tigers