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The underachiever tiers of college football

Posted on 8/9/21 at 1:30 pm
Posted by Champs
Geaux Tigers
Member since Feb 2008
11760 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 1:30 pm
cant link...ESPN+

Georgia finally nuber one...Fggie, close second


Tier I: The Dawghouse

Georgia

Full disclosure: I'm typing this while wearing a Georgia hat. I bought it during a 2018 trip to cover a game against Tennessee, my first fall visit to Sanford Stadium. It was amazing. Everyone should see a game between the hedges. Georgia has it all -- the stadium, the fan base, the finances, the town, the access to talent, the SEC. And yet a national championship continues to elude the Bulldogs.


Since 1980, when Herschel Walker helped the Vince Dooley-coached Bulldogs to a 12-0 record and a consensus national title, Georgia has been maddeningly unable to reach the sport's pinnacle. The Bulldogs came so close in 2017 before Tua Tagovailoa broke their hearts in Atlanta, and might have won it all in 2012 if they got past Alabama in the SEC title game. But Georgia went 20 years without an SEC title, from 1982 to 2002, and owns only one league championship since 2005 (the Bulldogs do have six East Division titles since then).

TIER II: The I-10 tier
Texas A&M, UCLA, Texas


Texas A&M: Texas A&M doesn't enjoy quite as many advantages as Georgia, but its lack of championships might be even more shocking. The Aggies have gone twice as long without winning a national title (1939) and own just one league title since the Southwest Conference fell apart. Texas A&M can throw money at everything, as evidenced by coach Jimbo Fisher's $75 million guaranteed contract and its sparkling facilities in College Station. There's no major program located closer to Houston, a top national recruiting area. Fisher undoubtedly has the team on a promising trajectory, as Texas A&M finished No. 4 in 2020. But it marked only the Aggies' second top-five finish since 1939. Texas A&M had only one AP top-10 finish between 1994 and last year.


UCLA: If there was a SimCFB game, you might build UCLA, a top public university with a broad and powerful tradition of athletic success, located in one of the nicest parts of Los Angeles. Anyone who has walked UCLA's campus in Westwood knows that the place sells itself. And yet UCLA hasn't won a conference title in 23 years! The Bruins have only two Pac-12 division championships, one AP top-10 finish and zero New Year's Six bowl appearances during the span. There has been some laziness involved, as UCLA until recently had some of the worst facilities in the Power 5. The lack of an on-campus stadium hurts, but UCLA also plays its home games at the Rose Bowl, not some soulless NFL venue. Other than a stretch under coach Terry Donahue in the 1980s, UCLA hasn't been a consistently relevant program.


UCLA may play its home games at the Rose Bowl but the Bruins haven't made an appearance in the bowl game since 1999. Alika Jenner/Getty Images

Texas: I initially had Texas in the "lost-glory" tier of underachievers, but the Longhorns honestly belong here, alongside their old friends the Aggies. Texas owns a national title in somewhat recent memory (2005) and actually won league titles during this millennium (2005, 2009). But the extended runs of mediocrity both before and after coach Mack Brown's tenure enhance Texas' status as an underachiever. The team has just one 10-win season since 2009, and has yet to make the CFP. Like UCLA, Texas is an elite public institution in a great location. Unlike UCLA, Texas isn't lacking for resources and carries one of the most powerful brands in college sports. Texas is undeniably a top-five job. While also a complex job, Texas has no excuse not to win at a much higher level than it has been.

TIER III: Location, location, location
Well-located schools that can't break through.

North Carolina, Arizona State, Maryland


North Carolina: Mack Brown's return to Chapel Hill has helped UNC flash its potential again -- interestingly enough, Brown is the only coach to pry two programs on this list (North Carolina, Texas) out of underachiever status, but he can't erase the past 20 years. UNC is a basketball school and always will be, but football should be much stronger there, given the local recruiting area, the appeal of the university and even some of its hoops connections such as the Jordan brand. No conference titles since 1980 and only one ACC Coastal Division title is unacceptable. North Carolina has only two AP Top 25 finishes since 1997, which marked its last top-10 finish in the final year of Brown's first go-round as coach.


Arizona State: In the 1970s, Arizona State emerged as college football's newest Western power, recording five AP top-13 finishes, five Fiesta Bowl wins and a No. 2 final ranking in 1975 under coach Frank Kush. ASU recorded No. 4 finishes in 1986 and 1996, but no top-10s since and only four poll finishes since 1997 (none in the past six years). Despite an appealing location in a growing city, increased resources and a massive student body/alumni network, ASU remains a sleeping giant. The Sun Devils haven't won a league title since 2007 and own only one South Division title (2013). Other than consecutive 10-win seasons in 2013 and 2014, they haven't won more than eight games since 2007.


Maryland: Anyone who follows recruiting knows about the DMV -- D.C., Maryland, Virginia -- and the talent it produces annually. Maryland is the closest major program to the DMV region, located right outside the Washington city limits, and has had little trouble recruiting over the years. But the Terrapins have just one conference title since 1985, only one AP Top 25 finish since 2003 and no top-10 finishes since 1976. Other than a 31-8 stretch under coach Ralph Friedgen from 2001 to 2003, Maryland has eclipsed seven wins just three times since 1985. Maryland is a basketball-first school and has not invested enough in football until recently. But a school located so close to a major talent hub should deliver more success.
This post was edited on 8/9/21 at 1:35 pm
Posted by thatguy45
Your alter's mom's basement
Member since Sep 2017
18897 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 1:33 pm to
quote:

he unironically has ESPN+

Wow what a nerd
Posted by AUCE05
Member since Dec 2009
42582 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 1:34 pm to
I'd put AU tier 1 with UGA. Revenue rich and surrounded by talent. AU can't get out of its way at times.
Posted by Old Sarge
Dean of Admissions, LSU
Member since Jan 2012
55670 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 1:40 pm to
Hire Dennis Fanchione and see how that works out for you
Posted by MetroAtlantaGatorFan
Member since Jun 2017
15598 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 2:30 pm to
quote:

North Carolina: Mack Brown's return to Chapel Hill has helped UNC flash its potential again -- interestingly enough, Brown is the only coach to pry two programs on this list (North Carolina, Texas) out of underachiever status, but he can't erase the past 20 years. UNC is a basketball school and always will be, but football should be much stronger there, given the local recruiting area, the appeal of the university and even some of its hoops connections such as the Jordan brand. No conference titles since 1980 and only one ACC Coastal Division title is unacceptable. North Carolina has only two AP Top 25 finishes since 1997, which marked its last top-10 finish in the final year of Brown's first go-round as coach.

I've been hearing about UNC being a "sleeping giant" now for almost 30 years. They'll have some solid teams that win 10+ games (96, 97, 15) thanks to a lousy schedule while still getting blown out by FSU or Clemson.
Posted by Pulparindo
Go Dawgs, Georgia
Member since Jul 2021
305 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 2:39 pm to
I'd like to see the Tsunami Tier. This would have Tennessee, Nebraska and possibly Michigan. Programs who were once great but will likely never be again for the foreseeable future due to a huge shift in recruiting geographies:

Tennessee where teams like Alabama, Georgia and even Auburn (even fricking Auburn) will probably out-recruit them in their past traditional areas no matter what they do. And will lose to UK and Vandy fairly regularly even if they do somehow get a little better.

Michigan who is in a conference where only one team (Ohio State) can lure the players to come to this shitty area of the country.

Nebraska who is in well ... Nebraska. You get the picture.

There are also the Washington's and Arizona's too who are too buried in a terrible conference. In fact, you could just about add any team from this conference to this tier.
Posted by ImayGoLesMiles
Baton Rouge, La
Member since Feb 2015
12709 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 2:41 pm to
I don't get what some people see in Georgia. They haven't underachieved, they are what they are. With all of the so called talent in Georgia, they aren't the only school in Georgia that doesn't win titles. Georgia tech isn't a football power either within the same state and recruiting the same footprint, yet in a much easier conference than the sec. I think Georgia hs football is vastly overrated due to atl being a huge media hub and that's why uga and gt don't win shite. The hs players in Georgia are highly esteemed and are on the map bc of their proximity to Atlanta and getting more coverage by the media than others that are better, but aren't near atl and are from other states. GA hs football isn't the hotbed that it's made out to be. Why do the other states with great talent produce nattys in their home state schools, yet GA doesn't? LSU, Florida, Florida state, Texas, USC, have all won titles with the talent in their state multiple times since uga won their 1980 title. OU, clemson, Bama, auburn, tennessee, and others have won a titles since then as well without the supposed in state talent that GA has. It's bullshite. Which is why everyone keeps waiting on UGA to win a natty and they simply can't.

From an LSU fans perspective, I've seen LSU kick ugas arse alot more than the other way around, and LSU obviously had much more talent on its teams than uga had, despite uga supposedly out recruiting LSU by a slim margin in the last 5 years according to the recruiting sites and were recruiting fairly well compared to LSU in rankings since Mark richt was there. It's total crap. The talent gap between uga and LSU in 2019 was glaringly noticeable in LSUs favor. UGa is right where they should be and will always be...the sixth best team in the sec behind Bama, LSU, Florida, Auburn, and Tennessee all time.
This post was edited on 8/9/21 at 3:08 pm
Posted by DabosDynasty
Member since Apr 2017
5179 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 2:53 pm to
How are Michigan and Southern Cal not mentioned given their last decade and a half?
Posted by bigDgator
Dallas, TX
Member since Oct 2008
42145 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 3:04 pm to
Florida is the biggest underachiever. Forever the largest school in the SEC in the middle of the most talented high school athletes and have to watch Bama create a dynasty. We should be ashamed. Texas is right there with us. What a bunch of fricking pussies.

But hey we're in the top 30 national universities. oh em gee!!!

We are too chickenshit to do the dirty work, and consider oursleves above it all with our fricking stupid arse olympic medals. Whoopty friggin' do!
Posted by TN Dawg2
Knoxville
Member since Jun 2021
529 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 3:24 pm to
The entire UGA AD underachieved.

Forget the Nattys in football for a moment, it's almost inconceivable for UGA to continually suck as bad as they do at basketball.

I'm also unclear on why Notre Dame, USC and Oklahoma don't appear on that list. If losing in the playoffs is failure, then ND and OK are failures right along with UGA. USC is also a long way removed from the ultimate success.
Posted by starkvingrad
Florida
Member since Apr 2021
5837 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 3:40 pm to
Please limit paragraphs to 3 sentences. I don't read good!
Posted by JetDawg
Los Angeles/USC Trojans fan/alum
Member since Oct 2020
7393 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 3:52 pm to
I must agree that UGA has to be #1 in this.

Extremely close calls to winning the national title in 1982, 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017...it's almost like UGA's under a curse of some sort.

2021..."Everybody, loves a winner....till somebody loved me....maybe this time, maybe this time I'll win..."
This post was edited on 8/9/21 at 4:33 pm
Posted by DawgsLife
Member since Jun 2013
59018 posts
Posted on 8/9/21 at 4:31 pm to
ESPN+?

Crap dude. You really had to reach for this one.
Posted by AidenKleeberg
Member since Aug 2021
3 posts
Posted on 9/1/21 at 9:29 pm to
Posted by CGSC Lobotomy
Member since Sep 2011
81253 posts
Posted on 9/2/21 at 4:59 pm to
No Michigan State? Minnesota? MICHIGAN?!!
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