The 20 most overhyped college football teams of the last 20 years

2009: Oklahoma Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners rose to No. 1 in the AP Poll early in the 2008 season, and earned a spot in the BCS Championship after a 12-1 season. Quarterback Sam Bradford won the Heisman Trophy, two Sooners running backs gained over 1,000 yards on the ground, and two receivers brought in double-digit touchdowns.

Following a hard fought 24-14 loss to Florida in the title game, OU entered the 2009 season ranked No. 3 in the nation. Bradford passed on an opportunity to enter the NFL Draft as a third-year sophomore, and both 1,000-yard rushers returned, as did a talented defense. Expectations were high, and rightly so.

Though Oklahoma was expected to compete for a national championship again, the Sooners were upset 14-13 by No. 20 BYU in Week 1 and Bradford left the game with an injury. Two weeks later, with Bradford out of action, Oklahoma was beaten by a single point again, falling to No. 17 Miami 21-20.

OU’s third loss came at the hands of No. 3 Texas, 16-13 in Dallas. Bradford returned to the field a week earlier, and started against the Longhorns, but suffered another injury that cost him the rest of the season.

After improving to 5-3 and hanging on to a spot in the Top 20, the Sooners lost another narrow decision, this time 10-3 on the road against an unranked Nebraska squad. Oklahoma won two of their final three regular season games, including an impressive 27-0 win over No. 11 Oklahoma State, to earn a spot in the Sun Bowl. The Sooners beat No. 19 Stanford 31-27 to end the season on a high note, but the season as a whole fell far short of expectations.