The most dominating single-game team performances of the year

Bear in mind that women's college basketball consists of four ten-minute quarters. Now consider that the score after the first quarter of this first-round matchup was 55-19 in favor of the Huskies. It's not inconceivable that UConn could have topped 200 points in the game had they been motivated to do so. UConn was up 94-31 at the half, and finished the game with a 24-4 final quarter to provide the final score, a jaw-dropping 140-52. Even by Connecticut's lofty standards, this was an incredible performance.

"In the NBA, everyone makes a run." At least, that's what many who follow the sport like to say. That wasn't true of a March 22nd tilt between the Hornets and Grizzlies. Charlotte was up 23 after one quarter, 33 at the half, and instead of the Grizzlies making things interesting with a big third quarter, they were trailing by 55 entering the final frame. When the dust settled, the final was 140-79. Kemba Walker paced the winning effort with 46 points for the Hornets.

Rare is the game in which a team scores 20 runs but doesn't have a single player drive in more than three, but that's what happened for the Diamondbacks when they hammered the Padres on July 7th. David Peralta led the way with five hits, and Arizona reached the 20-5 final margin in remarkably consistent, efficient fashion—they scored in every inning but the fifth, and actually notched more runs than hits. Arizona may have collapsed down the stretch, but in this one, the good times were rolling.

Few blowouts are as humiliating as those in baseball. For one, the game seems to drag on forever, and as the score gets worse, the game descends into a total farce. That's what happened in Washington on July 31st. The score was 7-0 after one inning, 19-0 after five, and a six-run eighth got the Nationals to 25 runs. Three Mets runs in the top of the 9th made the final 25-4, but things got so bad that Jose Reyes pitched an inning for New York. Unlike some position players, who do surprisingly well on the mound, Reyes gave up those six eighth inning runs—but hey, he did record three outs, at least.

Baltimore's defense is perennially good, and the Bills were trotting out Nathan Peterman and Josh Allen at quarterback. It was a recipe for disaster, and disaster is exactly what Buffalo got. The Ravens held them to 153 total yards, picked off Peterman twice, and notched six sacks. The game was never close, and it was arguably the most one-sided game of the entire NFL season. The 47-3 final truly didn't do justice to how completely dominated and outclassed the Bills were. 

You know a beating is out of hand when the coach of the team administering said beating apologizes for it afterward. That was the case when FCS South Dakota State demolished Arkansas Pine-Bluff 90-6. Things got so bad that the coach of the Jackrabbits, John Stiegelmeier, apologized for the way he handled the game, though considering he played every player on his roster, it's hard to imagine what he could have done differently. Sometimes the opponent is simply that overmatched.

Boston rolled to a World Series title in 2018, and they were as dominant as their 108-54 record indicated. The Orioles were at the other end of the spectrum, as they were a truly putrid 47-115. On September 26th, Rafael Devers' six RBI fueled a truly epic stomping, as the Red Sox won the first half of a doubleheader by a final score of 19-3. The game was 5-3 after three innings, then Boston scored in every remaining inning to provide the final margin. The Orioles won the nightcap 10-3, but that was probably a small consolation.

Offense is the order of the day in the NFL, so much so that any good defensive performance tends to get recognized, even if it comes against a mediocre offense. The Titans aren't exactly a lethal, explosive outfit, but what Baltimore did to them in Week 6 was spectacular regardless of era or opponent. The Ravens held Tennessee to 106 total yards, thanks in large part to their 11 sacks of Marcus Mariota, that caused a net loss of 66 yards. Tennessee's yardage total was the lowest for any NFL team in a game this year.

Ohio State only has one blemish on their record, but it was a big one, and it was enough to keep them out of the College Football Playoff. Rondale Moore was the big star for the Boilermakers, catching 12 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Purdue took a 21-6 lead into the fourth quarter, and only piled on from there, finishing the game in style with two late touchdowns to provide the final 29-point margin. Not bad for a team that finished a mere 6-6 on the season. 

The Bulls might as well have been called the Washington Generals when they matched up with the Warriors in late October. Not only did Klay Thompson set the single-game three-pointers record in less than 30 minutes of action but Golden State also dominated in spectacular fashion in the first half. The Warriors were up 92-50 at the half, and then went into full cruise control mode. The final score was 149-124, but make no mistake, had the Warriors wanted to, they could have scored 175 points in this one. 

Alabama is occasionally criticized for playing a soft schedule, but the Crimson Tide answered all doubters with what they did to LSU in Baton Rouge in early November. Alabama silenced the third-ranked Tigers, never letting them get into the game offensively, and rolled to a 29-0 statement win. What's more, the game was played under the lights at night, an atmosphere long thought to be the loudest, most intimidating in all of college football. The Tide held LSU to 12 yards rushing, and turned what was supposed to be a possible game of the year into a laugher.

Blowouts are part of the deal in college football. The talent disparity is such that they're going to happen with some frequency. Still, having 77 points put on you is a different thing altogether. That's what happened to Louisville against Clemson. The Tigers thrashed the Cardinals 77-16, outgained them 661-312, and even got Dabo Swinney's son a touchdown. The beating was the worst of nine straight losses for the 'Ville. Syracuse routed the Cardinals the next week, and very shortly thereafter, Bobby Petrino was fired. That's a pretty bad beating, indeed. 

Michigan's late-season tilt with Penn State was supposed to be a showdown of Big Ten powerhouses, though the Wolverines had more to lose than did the Nittany Lions, who entered the game with two losses. Turns out, only one team really showed up. Michigan obliterated Penn State from the opening whistle, opening up a 42-0 lead, and only surrendering points inside the final two minutes. Penn State turned the ball over three times, and failed to crack 200 yards of offense. It was as comprehensive a thrashing as any Big Ten team received all season—even though the Wolverines would be on the wrong end of a beating from Ohio State not long after.

Thursday night games are always a tall order for the road team, and though both teams came into the game at 6-2, the Panthers, despite an opening-drive touchdown, were quickly overwhelmed by the Steelers. Pittsburgh responded to that 7-0 deficit with three touchdowns in a five and a half minute span, and never looked back, taking a 31-14 lead into halftime, before putting Carolina away with 14 third-quarter points. Jaylen Samuels' fourth-quarter touchdown gave the Steelers 52 points, which was at that point the high water mark for any team all season. The loss had a lasting effect on the Panthers, as they have not won a game since.

The Coastal champion Panthers notched a big win on their way to that division crown against Virginia Tech, and they did so in overwhelming fashion, pummeling the Hokies, in particular on the ground. Pitt rolled up 492 yards rushing on just 36 carries, averaging almost 14 yards per carry. Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall combined for 421 of those yards on 23 carries, and also had four touchdowns between them. The 52-22 thrashing was a humiliating defeat for Bud Foster's typically stout defense.

Three days after the Steelers crushed the Panthers, the Saints put an even bigger hurting on the Bengals, hammering them 51-14. The game was tied 7-7 after one quarter, then New Orleans exploded for 28 second-quarter points, and kept right on scoring right until the game's end. Drew Brees threw for three touchdowns, Alvin Kamara topped 100 yards rushing, Mark Ingram scored two touchdowns on the ground, and Michael Thomas caught two scores. Cincinnati's humiliation was so complete that defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was fired the day after the game.

This game was a garden variety rout through three quarters. Dallas was winning by 25 points, but that wasn't particularly out of the ordinary. What was unusual was how bad things got in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks outscored the Jazz 34-9 in the final frame, turning the game into a total debacle, and making the final margin a truly awful 50 points. Dallas' win was a true team effort—no one Mavericks player scored 20 points in the game.

The Philadelphia Eagles still have plenty of talent, and they are the defending champs--and when they rolled into New Orleans, they were desperate. None of that mattered. The Saints absolutely annihilated the Birds, racing out to a 24-7 halftime lead, and then piling on with 24 more unanswered points in the second half. On the ground, in the air—New Orleans was dominant in every facet. They outgained the Eagles 546-196, and intercepted Carson Wentz three times. It was a loud statement that made abundantly clear what most observers already knew--you don't want to see the Saints in the Superdome come playoff time.

The Buckeyes turned what seemed on paper like it would be a powerhouse showdown and turned it into a laugher. They drubbed the fourth-ranked Wolverines from start to finish, overcoming a late first-half turnover that kept things close at the half to eviscerate Michigan's defense in the final 30 minutes. Dwayne Haskins poured it on in the second half, and finished the game with five touchdown passes. While the loss completely derailed Michigan's College Football Playoff aspirations, it wasn't enough to get Ohio State into the national title picture.

The Saints have been responsible for some of the biggest laughers in the NFL this season, but they were on the receiving end of a punch in the mouth from the Cowboys in Week 13. Dallas held New Orleans' high-powered attack to a mere 176 yards and 10 points, and shut them out in the first half. That marked the first time the Saints had been shut out in the first half since Week 4 in 2014, also against the Cowboys, a span of 71 games.

Clemson was supposed to win this game, and they did, 42-10. The contest was competitive for maybe two minutes, but not much more. What was so dominant about their effort was what they did to the Panthers passing attack. Pitt was known as a run-heavy team, but Clemson truly made them one-dimensional. The Panthers had more punts (9) than passing yards (8). Couple that with the fact that Clemson scored on their first play from scrimmage, and this was a beat down that more than made up for Pitt's shocking upset in Death Valley during the 2016 season.