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Top Five most disappointing teams of the last 25 years?
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:13 am
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:13 am
Meaning...teams that entered a season with the expectations for great things but ended up vastly underwhelming and failing to meet those expectations. The five that immediately come to my mind:
2000 Alabama - Came into the season ranked #3 and finished the year with a 3-8 record.
2003 Auburn - Many had them on their national championship shortlists before getting blown away in their first two games (USC and Georgia Tech). They finished the season 8-5 and unranked.
2005 Tennessee - Came into the regular season ranked #3 and were thought of as legitimate national championship contenders and ended the year unranked and 5-6.
2008 Georgia - While they finished 10-3 and ranked in the Top 10, this was supposed to be the team that finally got the Bulldogs over the hump. They opened the season ranked #1 before getting blown away by both Alabama and Florida.
2020 LSU - The LSU Tigers followed up what was arguably the greatest season in modern college football history unranked and right at .500.
2000 Alabama - Came into the season ranked #3 and finished the year with a 3-8 record.
2003 Auburn - Many had them on their national championship shortlists before getting blown away in their first two games (USC and Georgia Tech). They finished the season 8-5 and unranked.
2005 Tennessee - Came into the regular season ranked #3 and were thought of as legitimate national championship contenders and ended the year unranked and 5-6.
2008 Georgia - While they finished 10-3 and ranked in the Top 10, this was supposed to be the team that finally got the Bulldogs over the hump. They opened the season ranked #1 before getting blown away by both Alabama and Florida.
2020 LSU - The LSU Tigers followed up what was arguably the greatest season in modern college football history unranked and right at .500.
This post was edited on 7/16/21 at 10:14 am
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Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:15 am to RollTide1987
Bama 2000....
Crash and Burn Huh, Mav?
Crash and Burn Huh, Mav?
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:15 am to RollTide1987
The key injuries before the 2008 season should have tempered the expectations before the season even started, and the winning of 10 games simply makes the inclusion even more trolley.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:15 am to RollTide1987
2015 Auburn. Top-10 preseason---->Birmingham Bowl
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:17 am to RollTide1987
I remember that tennessee team. We somehow beat LSU at their place. Should have been 4-8. We had no offense
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:18 am to RollTide1987
2012 - Arkansas.
Started year at #10. Got up to #8. Lost to Louisiana Monroe. Finished with a losing record.
Started year at #10. Got up to #8. Lost to Louisiana Monroe. Finished with a losing record.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:19 am to RollTide1987
quote:
2005 Tennessee
What a waste of a great defense. Fulmer’s mismanagement of the QB position doomed the season.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:20 am to RollTide1987
quote:
2003 Auburn
That's the most disappointing on my list. That was on Ensminger/Nall for not capitalizing on three 1st round draft picks in the backfield.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:21 am to Glorious
quote:
2015 Auburn. Top-10 preseason---->Birmingham Bowl
One of the two bowls Gus actually won
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:22 am to RollTide1987
2009 Ole Miss- #4 preseason and blown out by SCar
2016 Ole Miss- #11 preseason and blew tremendous leads in opener against Fl State and later against Bama
2016 Ole Miss- #11 preseason and blew tremendous leads in opener against Fl State and later against Bama
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:22 am to RollTide1987
I'll throw out a few more. Most align with a coach leaving.
2014 South Carolina - 3 years in a row in the top 10 then to go 7-6 and pretty much never recover.
2010 Florida - 26-2 over the last 2 years. Preseason #4. 8-5 (4-4) with an Outback Bowl win. Good Bye Urban.
2012 Arkansas - #5 in 2009. Preseason #10. But a back motorcycle accident later and some John L smiles leave the pigs 4-8.
2013 Georgia - Fresh off another SECE division titles and #5 finish, the dawgs get passed up by the Mizzou Tigers. Preseason #5 to 8-5. Richt would only last 1 more year.
2014 South Carolina - 3 years in a row in the top 10 then to go 7-6 and pretty much never recover.
2010 Florida - 26-2 over the last 2 years. Preseason #4. 8-5 (4-4) with an Outback Bowl win. Good Bye Urban.
2012 Arkansas - #5 in 2009. Preseason #10. But a back motorcycle accident later and some John L smiles leave the pigs 4-8.
2013 Georgia - Fresh off another SECE division titles and #5 finish, the dawgs get passed up by the Mizzou Tigers. Preseason #5 to 8-5. Richt would only last 1 more year.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:22 am to RollTide1987
I think of disappointing teams as those which had a lot of returning contributors and very high expectations. LSU 2020 in a Covid year was mildly disappointing but only those wearing purple and gold glasses should have expected the Tigers to be a top 10 team last season.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:33 am to RollTide1987
2011 Aggies. Sherman manages to spit the bit in so many games and snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. Maybe it's for the best; we may not have come to the SEC without his final season at A&M.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:34 am to Farmer1906
quote:
2014 South Carolina - 3 years in a row in the top 10 then to go 7-6 and pretty much never recover.
That ended up being statistically the worst defense we've ever had. People forget that it also was one of the best statistic offenses we've ever had but they couldn't outpace how bad the defense was. I don't think it was too unlike what Ole Miss was seeing last year.
It was also during this season that Spurrier said that he was only going to be around for 2-3 more years - which absolutely imploded our recruiting class which put us in the hole that we're still trying to climb out of.
This post was edited on 7/16/21 at 10:35 am
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:34 am to Mulkey Man
2001 State was really rough. Preseason Top
20 team picked to finish first or second in the West, they went 3-8 and started nearly a decade run of the program being arguably the worst in the Power 5.
2018 State was probably the most frustrating. Ultra talented defense that was statistically the best in the country, went 8-5 and averaged a whopping 4.0 points per game offensively in their four SEC losses. Then lost to an average Iowa team in the bowl game.
20 team picked to finish first or second in the West, they went 3-8 and started nearly a decade run of the program being arguably the worst in the Power 5.
2018 State was probably the most frustrating. Ultra talented defense that was statistically the best in the country, went 8-5 and averaged a whopping 4.0 points per game offensively in their four SEC losses. Then lost to an average Iowa team in the bowl game.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:36 am to Mulkey Man
quote:
LSU 2020 in a Covid year was mildly disappointing but only those wearing purple and gold glasses should have expected the Tigers to be a top 10 team last season.
There is a lot of room between top 10 and 5-5.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:41 am to RollTide1987
2016 Tennessee seemed like a dark horse national title contender, then stumbled and needed a relative miracle to beat App State in the season opener. Rebounded by crushing Virginia Tech in the biggest college football game ever, finally beat Florida, then won the Georgia game on a crazy double Hail Mary sequence... only to lose 4 of their last 7 regular-season games and miss out on a trip to Atlanta/NY6 bowl.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:46 am to Captain Falcon
I'll also toss in 2007 South Carolina:
Spurrier's 1st Year in 2005: Gamecocks go 7-5 with closes losses to UGA (which would've won us the East) and Clemson. Huge wins over UT and UF
Spurrier's 2nd Year in 2006: Gamecocks go 8-5 with first bowl win in 5 years.
Spurrier's 3rd Year in 2007: Wild season of college football. Gamecocks start 6-1 and are #7 in the polls. Beat #11 in Athens. We lose the next 5 games. Finish 6-6 and no bowl.
Losses include a last second field goal by Clemson to lose 23-21, tying UT in Knoxville after being down 21-0 only to fall in OT, our first loss vs Vandy since the 0-11 season, and filling up McFadden and Tebow's Heisman highlight reels in back to back weeks.
Spurrier's 1st Year in 2005: Gamecocks go 7-5 with closes losses to UGA (which would've won us the East) and Clemson. Huge wins over UT and UF
Spurrier's 2nd Year in 2006: Gamecocks go 8-5 with first bowl win in 5 years.
Spurrier's 3rd Year in 2007: Wild season of college football. Gamecocks start 6-1 and are #7 in the polls. Beat #11 in Athens. We lose the next 5 games. Finish 6-6 and no bowl.
Losses include a last second field goal by Clemson to lose 23-21, tying UT in Knoxville after being down 21-0 only to fall in OT, our first loss vs Vandy since the 0-11 season, and filling up McFadden and Tebow's Heisman highlight reels in back to back weeks.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:47 am to Farmer1906
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2013 Georgia - Fresh off another SECE division titles and #5 finish, the dawgs get passed up by the Mizzou Tigers. Preseason #5 to 8-5. Richt would only last 1 more year
Crippled by injuries.Started out with some great offensive performances (LSU,SC) then lost multiple WR's and RB's for the year.Could have been a GOAT offense.
2014 was more disappointing.Beat 4 ranked teams (final AP) by an average of 29 points including the SECE champ 34-0. Lost to unranked UF and SC.
Richt lost his job following 2015 BTW but the loss to UF in '14 was the 1st nail in the coffin.
Posted on 7/16/21 at 10:49 am to Farmer1906
quote:
2013 Georgia
Was rolling until fricking Neyland stadiums garbage turf single handedly destroyed our entire receiving corps and Keith Marshall.
We lost to Mizzou the next week in large part because we were playing walk ons at starting receiver
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