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

2000: Alabama Crimson Tide

It would be difficult to find a more disappointing team in college football history than the 2000 Alabama Crimson Tide.

After a disastrous 4-7 record in his first season as head coach in 1997, Mike DuBose rebounded to lead Alabama to a 7-5 record in 1998 and a 10-3 finish in 1999 – highlighted by a 34-7 win over No. 5 Florida in the SEC Championship Game. Following a dramatic 35-34 loss to No. 8 Michigan in the Orange Bowl, Alabama entered the 2000 season ranked No. 3 in the preseason AP Top 25 – the highest preseason ranking for the blueblood program since 1993, when it was coming off a national championship.

DuBose had to replace star running back Shaun Alexander, who finished seventh in the voting for the Heisman Trophy after posting 1,383 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior in ’99, but returning quarterback Andrew Zow, playmaking receiver Freddie Milons and a talented defense gave the Tide the look of a championship contender.

And then it all came crashing down. UCLA upset Alabma 35-24 in the season opener in the Rose Bowl. After a 28-10 victory over Vanderbilt in the SEC opener, the Tide lost an unthinkable 21-0 to No. 25 Southern Miss in Birmingham. Another loss at Arkansas followed, and after back-to-back SEC victories over No. 23 South Carolina and Ole Miss seemed to give Bama momentum heading into the second half of the season, the Crimson Tide lost five in a row, including three losses to unranked teams, including a 40-38 loss to UCF. DuBose was fired the following week.

The Tide lost at LSU, at No. 15 Mississippi State, and No. 18 Auburn shut out Alabama 9-0 to cap a miserable 3-8 season. It was the worst performance for Alabama since 1957 – the year before Bear Bryant was hired – and no Tide team has matched it since.