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

2001: Oregon State Beavers

The 2000 season was a fairytale for the Oregon State football program. After head coach Dennis Erickson led the Beavers to their first winning season since 1968, and the first bowl game appearance for the program since 1964, Oregon State stormed to 11-1 and finished with a No. 4 final ranking after thrashing No. 10 Notre Dame 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Riding high with the momentum of the first double-digit winning season ever, Erickson’s Beavers entered the 2001 campaign ranked No. 11 in the nation. It was the first preseason ranking for the team since 1968 and just the fourth ever for the school. Although, Oregon State fell to No. 19 Fresno State 44-24 on the road in the season opener. A 38-7 loss to UCLA in Week 3 dropped the Beavers out of the rankings altogether, and the team never earned its way back into the Top 25.

With the talented running back duo of Ken Simonton and Steven Jackson leading the charge, Oregon State proved to be a dangerous opponent, however. The Beavers beat Arizona 38-3, topped Cal 19-10, and upset No. 8 Washington 49-24. However, the Beavers were highly inconsistent, and often played poorly on the road as evidenced by a 34-27 loss at Washington State, and a 41-24 loss at Arizona State. Oregon State fell to USC 16-13 on the road, and with bowl eligibility on the line in the season finale, failed to upset No. 4 Oregon in the Civil War in Eugene.

When the dust settled on a once-promising season, Oregon State sat at home with a 5-6 final record, including a 1-5 record away from Corvallis.