The 20 most overhyped college football teams of the last 20 years
2003: Auburn Tigers
Three of the Top 10 teams in the preseason AP Top 25 entering the 2003 season – No. 6 Auburn, No. 9 Virginia Tech and No. 10 Pitt – stumbled to 8-5 records and finished the season unranked. The Hokies and Panthers were both up-and-comers looking to take the next step toward competing for a national title, but the Tigers, back in the preseason Top 25 for the first time since a disastrous 1998 campaign, were expected to compete for a championship under Tommy Tuberville.
Auburn won nine games in 2002 and finished ranked 14th in the country. Led by players like Cadillac Williams, Brandon Jacobs and Ronnie Brown at running back, quarterback Jason Campbell, cornerback Carlos Rogers and linebackers Karlos Dansby, Dontarrious Thomas, optimism was high. In fact, Thomas and Dansby graced the cover of the ESPN The Magazine college football preview issue and The Sporting News ranked the Tigers No. 1.
But, Auburn faced a brutal schedule. In addition to a tough conference slate that included crossover games against SEC East heavyweights Tennessee and Georgia, the Tigers opened on the road against No. 8 USC and against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The Trojans beat Auburn 23-0, and Tech shut down the Tigers 17-3.
Auburn won its next five games, including wins against No. 7 Tennessee and at No. 7 Arkansas in back-to-back weeks, but losses at No. 9 LSU (31-7), at home versus No. 20 Ole Miss (24-20) and at No. 7 Georgia (26-7) kept the Tigers out of the polls.
However, Auburn picked up some momentum with a 28-23 win over Alabama in the Iron Bowl and beat Wisconsin 28-14 in the Music City Bowl. And, the disappointment of 2003 gave way to one of the best seasons in Auburn football history in 2004 when Tuberville led the Tigers to a perfect 13-0 record and a No. 2 final ranking (which, of course, provided its own disappointment).