The regular season is one-third of the way through. Now is a good time to look at some teams that have underperformed based on their pre-season expectations. Here are the five most disappointing teams in college football so far:
Arkansas– They were our pre-season #11 team and it seemed like almost everybody had them in the top ten or fifteen. With a senior leader coming back at QB and Knile Davis healthy, expectations were high. Yes, Bobby Petrino got canned and the defense lost some key players but the Razorbacks were still expected to be the third best team in the SEC West. After winning their opener against Jacksonville State, the Hogs have lost three straight to ULM, Alabama and Rutgers to start the season 1-3. Three losses is more than the Hogs had last year and matches their loss total from 2010.
Iowa– Maybe I could just put the entire Big Ten here but I choose Iowa as my poster child. At this point in their schedule they should be 4-0 but they lost at home to Iowa State (9-6) and Central Michigan (32-31). Good thing for them they survived against NIU (18-17) and Northern Iowa (27-16).
Utah– The expectation for Utah this year was to challenge USC for the Pac-12 South title or at least come in a distant second. The general thought was that the Utes defense was good enough for them to be a factor this season. They still could do that but they have two really bad losses on their record. They lost at Utah State (27-20) and then got rolled this weekend at Arizona State (37-7).
USF– After five straight winning seasons of eight or more wins, the Bulls dropped to 5-7 last year. Many expected a big comeback this season and for the Bulls to compete for the Big East title. While that’s still possible, it’s not probable after dropping an early game to Rutgers and then getting upset by Ball State.
Houston– With how Houston played two years ago without Case Keenum, there was no doubt there would be a drop-off for the Cougars this season. That being said, no one expected them to drop their opener to Texas State in a 30-13 blowout. Since that loss, they’ve also lost to Louisiana Tech and got blown out by UCLA. The Cougars were 13-1 last year. So far this year they are 0-3.
Also receiving consideration: Auburn, California, Georgia Tech, Southern Miss, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin
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