Thursday, November 6, 2008

Underachievers

Here is my list of the biggest underachieving programs in college football. Remember that I am basing this not only on this year but on the past few seasons. Here it is:



University of Washington


It's surprising that a team from a good area for recruiting isn't able to bring in the talent to compete in the Pac-10. It's also surprising that with a stadium that seats over 72,000, the Huskies haven't even played in a bowl game since 2002's Sun Bowl (which they lost). Prior to the start of this season, since 2004, the Huskies are a combined 12-36 over those 4 years. That is horrendous. Things aren't looking much better either. The Huskies are currently 0-8 and fired coach 'Ty' Willingham midway through their awful season. With all of the factors in their favor, its surprising to see Washington is, and has been, the bottom feeder in the Pac 10.




Texas A&M University


Texas A&M has been unable to take the next step. They have been mediocre for a long time. Prior to this season, are 28-21 over the last 4 years. That may sound decent but with talent that the Aggies bring in year after year, they should be a serious contender in the Big 12 South. They have been able to bring in good talent because of the rich tradition and a great stadium in Kyle Field not to mention the state of Texas produces tons of great players. Unfortunately, Texas A&M seems content on being mediocre. They are currently 4-5 and have not looked for a great coach to lead this team to a Big 12 title (Mike Sherman is not the answer).




UCLA


Similar to Texas A&M, UCLA has been unable to take that next step. UCLA consistently brings in top 25 recruiting classes but is rarely and plays rarely like a top 25 team. UCLA is probably the most underachieving football program in my opinion. With a gorgeous campus, a 91,500 capacity stadium, one of the best if not the best recruiting state, UCLA has only been able to muster up an average of 7 wins per season. Currently, they are 3-5. Very underachieving if you ask me. UCLA has the talent level but cannot find a way to put it all together. Maybe they should take a few pointers from rival USC on how to get to the next level (picture on the left).




Syracuse University



Syracuse is one of the finest universities in the state of New York. They should be able to attract good talent and put together top 25 recruiting classes but they have not. The only bright spot in Syracuse football in recent years is in 2001 when they finished the season 10-3. Since then, the Orangemen have put together seasons of: 4-8, 6-6, 6-6, 1-10, 4-8 and 2-10. The talent just isn't there for Syracuse to be a serious contender in the Big East. Syracuse will always be remembered as a 'basketball school' unless they can attract better talent and win some ball games!





University of Miami


'The U' were the most dominant team in college football just awhile ago. From 2000-2003 over those 4 seasons, Miami posted records of: 11-1, 12-0, 12-1 and 11-2. Not only were they winning games but they were outscoring their opponents by a ridiculous amount. Miami attracted the best talent and sent the most players to the NFL. Since then, Miami is still attracting the same level of talent but they have just not been able to be as dominant as they used to be a short while ago. It got bad last year when Miami lost to Virginia 48-0 at home! They also failed to qualify for the postseason. Despite their pitiful season, Miami still brought in the #3 ranked recruiting class according to Athlon. Talent has never been a problem at Miami who arguably have the best area to recruit from with barely any competition. The problems at Miami have been escalating at Miami with attitude problems and even a player being killed (Bryan Pata). Randy Shannon needs to control his players if Miami has any chance at returning to their 'glory days'.


If you somehow missed it, here is a good video of the brawl between Miami and FIU.

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