The Outliers of Mediocrity

The BSC Jacks, the ‘16-‘19 Portland Rippers, the ‘17-‘21 Austin Outlaws/Twin City Bootleggers, the ‘19-present Charleston Bombers, hell the present Nashville Riflemen. “Wait, isn’t this supposed to be an article about the Tucson Javelinas winning their second Victor Bowl?” Just hold on a second, I promise it will get there. What do the aforementioned collection of franchises all have in common? Let’s just say they’re easily forgettable. But now let's dig deeper as to why that is the case. If you have been tuning into the Watermelon Sugar Podcast for the past several years, you have heard Trent use the term “mediocre” to describe several of those franchises. The Oxford Dictionary describes the term “mediocre” as “of only moderate quality; not very good”. That definition truly embodies those franchises. Notice, those franchises never are actually in the complete basement, but they are often on the outside looking in. Maybe they crack the playoffs, but never with the firepower to truly compete for a title. They are/were in a purgatory shackled by the heavy chains of mediocrity.

Now let’s take a look at the true basement dwellers of the past 4 years prior to this year: the ‘21 Rovers, the ‘22 Riflemen, the ‘23 Cutthroats, and the ‘24 Javelinas. Of those four teams, three of them went to a Victor Bowl within the two following seasons, with two of them achieving FCS glory in winning the whole thing. A point of discussion this season for the league was how to fix our tanking problem. I am confident we are going to put together a solution for this, but credit needs to be given to all those teams who have applied the tanking strategy because it works. I can say this with confidence: The Tucson Javelinas are the most striking example of it we will ever see.

The Javies entered the ‘24 season with reasonably high expectations. A slow start and some bad luck (emphasis on the bad luck), led to a breaking point around week 5. Should the Javies continue to push the envelope and try to sneak in the playoffs? I don’t think it was near as outlandish of an option as it sounded despite their 1-4 record. Bijan Robinson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Trey McBride were all already on the roster. The roster had firepower. However, the decision was not really a decision for Trent. He was not going to do the balancing act of keeping one foot out the door. Mediocrity was not an option. He threw in the towel. I don’t need to go into detail about how exactly he did that. I can simply say that this man started Ja’Lynn Polk for three straight weeks in which he posted scores of 0, 0, and 0. The ‘24 Javelinas went on to lose an FCS record 11-straight games and finished with a 1-12 record. That’s not easily forgettable or mediocre. That is the worst team in FCS history.

Committing to the tank was not without a vision. In the nightmare of the ‘24 season, Tucson re-obtained their ‘25 first round pick from the Reno Cutthroats. This gave them top odds in the lottery. Despite some bad luck in other aspects of our league, the lottery seems to always be kind to Tucson— and kind it was. Tucson won the lottery and was in the driver’s seat to take consensus 1.01 Ashton Jeanty. Some offseason trade savvy led to a keeper room of Joe Burrow, Bijan Robinson, Travis Etienne, Ja’Marr Chase, Brian Thomas Jr., Jaxon Smith Njigba, Jayden Reed, and Trey McBride. Tucson entered the year as the clear favorite out West and appeared to be on a collision course for a Victor Bowl against the two-time Champions Little Rock Capitals.

The ‘25 Tucson Javelinas cashed in on some of their bad luck from last season in exchange for some good luck to begin the year. The team was not firing on all cylinders to start the year. Joe Burrow suffered a long-term injury and Ashton Jeanty and Brian Thomas proved to be major disappointments. Despite the issues, Tucson continued to win. In the past, Trent may have been criticized for his inaction during the year. The Javies have proven to really value contract control. Trent knew this team was different and he was in the driver's seat. He could not afford to not take action to address the issues. He went all in at the expense of some contract control. He turned Burrow, Jeanty and Thomas Jr. into Josh Allen, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Rashee Rice. 

During The DC Anarchy’s ‘24 Victor Bowl run, the real takeaway was that Zach correctly identified the league as vulnerable. He saw a path to a championship midway through the year, rolled the dice on his team, and willed his way to a Victor Bowl. There simply was no path to take for a team to make a mid year decision like that in 2025. There were juggernauts. The Capitals controlled the East the entire year. The Portland RIppers have been a thorn in the Javies side in the recent past. The Rippers boasted a formidable roster, but were no match for Tucson in 2025 with Tucson winning the Watermelon Bowl in all three matchups. Tucson controlled the West. The Victor Bowl collision course was imminent, and it happened. Despite high expectations, the Little Rock Capitals entered the Victor Bowl as heavy underdogs against the Javies. The Caps showed some fight, but this Tucson team left no room for error and pulled away.

Points Champions, Gauntlet Champions, Victor Bowl Champions— a triple crown, something that has never been seen before. But maybe most importantly, there was not one blemish. An undefeated season. Mediocrity was not an option for the Javelinas. How do you follow up the worst season in FCS history? How about with the best season in FCS history. It is hard to ever envision this being duplicated. The ‘25 Tucson Javelinas have etched their names in FCS lore. A second Victor Bowl, but this one had to feel the sweetest. Congrats to the Champs.