Patrick Higgins had already built himself a cushion. Then the season asked him to use all of it and more.
Texas Tech powered his NCAAF card to 35th, the Dodgers kept October at 68th, and the Hurricanes later delivered 63rd in the NHL. Those were sturdy pieces.
The collapse came in separate waves: 220th in the CFP, 231st in March, the World Cup falling to 197th, and golf to 215th. No single miss did it; the accumulation did.
The bill came to 189th, 1078.5, and 61 lost places. The early cards were legitimate. They were simply outnumbered when the calendar got long.