If the college football community gave an award to the team that has most underperformed their AP Preseason Poll ranking across the past three decades and a half, the unanimous winner would be Texas football. According to 247Sports, using a recent study from Stassen, Texas is the nation’s biggest underachiever regarding annual preseason poll ranking compared to the final standings.
Even though Texas earned a College Football Playoff birth last season, the Longhorns had a rough stretch in the mid to late 2010s, with underwhelming stints from head coaches Charlie Strong and Tom Herman. Last season, Texas finished ahead of their preseason poll ranking for only the second time in 16 seasons.
Texas Football: Marked Nation’s Biggest Underachievers
Per 247Sports, the Texas football program is the most overrated team in the past 35 years. Texas has dropped a record 138.5 spots from the AP Preaseon Poll to the final ranking from 1989 to 2023. Texas transitioned to the Big 12 conference in 1996, mainly living up to or exceeding expectations for the first 14 seasons. Texas made two BCS National Championship games during that span, including winning in 2005. However, after a title game appearance in 2009, Texas went 5-7 the following season, albeit being ranked in the top five of the preseason poll.
247Sports has ranked Texas as the No. 1 most overrated program over the last 35 years. pic.twitter.com/JqruqxLESk
— The REF (@KREFsports) August 5, 2024
Texas bounced back nicely in 2010 and 2011, but in 2012, their final with longtime head coach Mack Brown failed to finish the season ranked despite placing 15th in the AP Preseason Poll. Brown’s successor, Charlie Strong, could not finish any of his lone three seasons ranked before passing the torch to frontman Tom Herman. The longtime Houston head coach spent four seasons in Austin, Texas, with the Longhorns earning a preseason poll ranking each year. However, Texas football only finished ahead of their preseason ranking once, while finishing the season unranked in 2017.
247Sports: Other Overrated Teams
Among the most overrated teams of the last 35 years, Texas arch-rival Oklahoma finished third with 118.5 spots of drop-off during that span. 247Sports writes that “three trips to the College Football Playoff without a single victory” has hurt the usually highly preseason-ranked Sooners. Oklahoma routinely struggled on the biggest stage under head coach Lincoln Riley from 2017 to 2021. His newest team, the USC Trojans, finished sandwiched between Texas and OU with 127 total spots dropped from the preseason poll to the final rankings since 1989.
Following the departure of legendary head coach Pete Carroll to the NFL, the Trojans struggled to replicate his success. Current Ole Miss bench boss Lane Kiffin struggled in the four seasons following Carroll, while existing Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian massively underperformed in the subsequent two years despite massive preseason expectations. Clay Helton followed Sarkisian and, after two relatively successful campaigns, labored from 2018 to 2021 before his release.
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