5 Storied College Football Teams That Have Fallen on Hard Times

It seems like every decade a new team rules the college football landscape. In the 1980’s it was Penn State. In the 1990’s it was Nebraska. In the 2000’s it was USC. In the 2010’s it was Alabama. But sometimes teams that are perennially contenders in one decade fall into obscurity in the next era. One year a team’s betting odds to win it all are 5-1, the next they could be 100-1 longshots. Here are the 5 teams whose fortunes have fallen the furthest in recent years:

5. Texas : A far cry from the Vince Young Days

The Texas Longhorns have won four national titles, including one as recently as 2005 during the epic Vince Young season, but right now it feels like they are light years away from returning to the promised land. Mack Brown was run out of Austin in 2013 for failing to deliver a perennial contender, but what Texas fan wouldn’t sign for the glory days of winning at least nine games every season from 1998 to 2009? Nowadays, Texas is a longshot to beat Oklahoma let alone the national title. Tom Herman has at least rebounded Texas from the lows of the Charlie Strong era that featured three straight losing seasons, but it does not seem like the team is back on a championship path yet.

4. Florida St. : All of a sudden Jimbo Fisher is looking good

Seminoles fans pine for the days of Bobby Bowden, but they should really be willing to settle for a return to the Jimbo Fisher era. Jimbo left town without ever having a losing record in Tallahassee, and since he left the team has yet to have a winning record. The Willie Taggart era was extremely short-lived, and instead of spending big bucks on a sure-fire replacement, the ‘Noles hired Mike Norvell form Memphis and the early results can only be described as nightmarish, as FSU has gotten off to a 2-6 start in Norvell’s first season at the helm. The Seminoles have a lot of work to do before they are again a bowl game contender, let alone an Orange Bowl caliber team again. One thing is certain, college football betting is much more fun when the Seminoles are winning.

3. Tennessee : Can Pruitt Do It?

Can you name all of the Tennessee coaches in the post-Phillip Fulmer era? Here they are: Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley, Butch Jones, Jeremy Pruitt. After over thirty years of stability with Johnny Majors and Fulmer, the Vols went through four coaches in one decade. Is the newest hire, Jeremy Pruitt, the answer? Well, the good news is Kiffin and Dooley never managed to go 8-5 which Pruitt pulled off in 2019. The bad news is the Vols aren’t exactly national title contenders yet, after getting off to a miserable 2-4 start in 2020. It remains to be seen if the Tennessee fan base and the athletic department will give Pruitt enough time to try to build something special in Knoxville, but the early results are not exactly promising.

2. Miami (FL) : A hurricane of disappointment

It’s not necessarily how far Miami has fallen, but how high they once were at their peak. In the early 2000’s, the Hurricanes were what Alabama is now. Their backups became starters in the NFL. They weren’t just better than every other team, they were coolers than every other team. But you know what’s cool? Winning. With Miami just another okay team in an ACC conference dominated by Clemson, many people have speculated if the ‘Canes can ever get back to the college football throne. How is new coach Manny Diaz doing? Well, among recent Hurricanes coaches, Randy Shannon went 7-6 in his second season, Al Golden went 10-3, and Mark Richt went 10-3. Diaz actually looks like he might outpace his predecessors as he has “The U” in the top ten of the CFB rankings at 7-1. What are the chances that Miami can ascend back to glory this season? It’s not impossible, but the betting odds say it’s not likely yet.

1. Nebraska : Frost on the hot seat

From 1961 until 2004 the Nebraska Cornhuskers never had a losing season. Then they had another losing season in 2007, and 2015, and 2017, and 2018, and 2019. Scott Frost runs the risk of doing the unthinkable and ending his head coaching career at Nebraska without ever having a winning season. If Nebraska, which is currently 1-2 and showing few signs of immediate improvement, ends the season with more losses than wins again, what are the moneyline odds that Frost sees another season? Is it even possible that any coach can return the ‘Huskers back to greatness or is this a program that made a fatal error by moving to the Big 10? Can Nebraska even afford to fire Frost and pay out the rest of his massive contract and buyout? These are all great questions, but no one seems to have the answers. One thing is certain, though: Frost would be wise to close at least 3-1 against Nebraska’s remaining schedule of Illinois, Iowa, Purdue and Minnesota.