The 20 most overhyped college football teams of the last 20 years
Because high preseason rankings lead to disappointment every year, we explore the 20 most overhyped college football teams of the last 20 years.
It’s that time of year. The 2017 college football season will kick off later this month, but the hype machine has been burning since the Clemson Tigers hoisted the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy.
After a long offseason, the preseason Coaches Poll is out, and the Associated Press Top 25 should drop soon. As is the case with preseason polls, 25 teams have been singled out somewhere between good, great and championship-caliber despite not playing a single game. The ratings assigned are predictions (guesses) based the results of years past, the number of returning starters from last season, as well as the yards they gained or allowed last season.
Invariably, several of those initial Top 25 teams will fail to meet expectations. At least one will fail miserably — probably missing a bowl game, possibly falling to 3-9 or worse.
Will it be No. 1 Alabama? It wouldn’t be the first time the Crimson Tide entered a season with championship aspirations only to sink like a stone out of the rankings, or the first top-ranked preseason squad to suffer.
Perhaps defending champion Clemson? The Tigers wouldn’t be the first to celebrate a title one season and fall apart the next. Or will it be a dark horse pick like No. 11 Oklahoma State — a playoff contender according to Sports Illustrated — or No. 13 Auburn, who pinned its hopes on a transfer quarterback, that falters?
Time will tell. But as we wait for the season to begin, we take a look back at the 20 most overhyped college football teams of the last 20 years.
1997: Colorado Buffaloes
Several blueblood programs entered the 1997 season highly ranked only to sputter. Among them, Miami and Texas were ranked in the Top 15 in the preseason AP Poll and finished unranked after recording a losing record. Notre Dame was also a Top 15 team before the season that ended up on the outside of the Top 25 looking in, after a 7-6 season.
But the biggest disappointment of the season was the Colorado Buffaloes. Colorado entered the 1997 season following three consecutive double-digit winning seasons, each accompanied by a Top 10 finish in the AP poll. The Buffs had been to nine straight bowl games, posted eight consecutive Top 20 campaigns, and won the national championship in 1990.
Simply, Colorado was one of the most consistent and successful college football programs of the decade. Naturally, expectations were high for the 1997 season, and the Buffs were ranked No. 8 in the preseason AP Top 25.
But the schedule was brutal. Colorado beat No. 24 Colorado State 31-21 in the season opener in Boulder, but dropped a Week 2 showdown with No. 14 Michigan 27-3 in Ann Arbor. The Buffs survived a visit from Wyoming in Week 3, but were beaten by ranked opponents – No. 21 Texas A&M and No. 20 Oklahoma State in back-to-back weeks, which knocked the Buffs out of the Top 25 for the first time since 1988.
Colorado responded with three wins in four games against unranked opponents, but an upset loss to Missouri set the tone for a disappointing final month to the season. After losing to No. 10 Kansas State 37-20 on the road and No. 2 Nebraska 27-24 at Folsom Field, the Buffs finished 5-6 – the first losing season for the program since 1984.