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

1998: LSU Tigers

The most disappointing team of 1998 is a toss-up. Coming off a 9-3 season, Arizona State opened the campaign ranked No. 8 in the AP Top 25, but Bruce Snyder’s team struggled to a 5-6 finish that set the program back several years. But LSU, also 9-3 in 1997 and ranked in the Top 10 in the preseason, was arguably a bigger disappointment.

LSU made quick work of Arkansas State, Auburn (on the road) and Idaho in the first three weeks of the season and rose to No. 6 in the polls before hosting No. 12 Georgia. The Bulldogs scored a 28-27 upset, but the Tigers only dropped to No. 11 ahead of the following week’s trip to Gainesville. No. 6 Florida beat LSU 22-10, which was understandable. However, the 39-36 loss to Kentucky the next week was not. At 3-3 overall and 1-3 in the SEC, the Tigers dropped out of the Top 25 for the first time in three years.

LSU rebounded for a 41-6 blowout victory over No. 24 Mississippi State, but the Tigers lost four in a row to finish the season. Ole Miss beat LSU 37-31 in Oxford, and an unranked Alabama beat the Tigers 22-16 in Baton Rouge. With bowl eligibility on the line, LSU gave a valiant effort in South Bend against No. 10 Notre Dame, but fell 39-36. Despondent, LSU was drubbed 41-14 by No. 13 Arkansas in Little Rock in the season finale.

If there’s a silver lining, LSU’s 4-7 finish in 1998, followed with a similarly disappointing 3-8 record in 1999 put the Tigers in position to lure Nick Saban to Death Valley to replace Gerry DiNardo as head coach. And, just four years later, the Tigers won the BCS National Championship.