College Football’s 6 Most Disappointing Teams: From Virginia Tech to Florida State

There are 25 undefeated FBS teams left, with seven still looking for their first win of the season.

Few teams have been bigger surprises than BYU, Duke, Indiana, Illinois and Pittsburgh, which have all started the season 4-0 despite being predicted to finish last in their leagues in the preseason.

But others have had disappointing starts. Can these seasons be salvaged? Has hope been completely dashed?

Here are the six most disappointing teams of the college football season, in reverse order, through Week 4:

Record: 2-2

The Hokies’ hopes of winning the ACC title and beating the BetMGM over/under for wins (8.5) are still very much alive, but Brent Pry’s team disappointed with an overtime loss to Vanderbilt in Week 1 and then a 26-23 home loss to Rutgers last weekend. Virginia Tech was the favorite in both of those losses.

The good news from the weekend is that Virginia Tech’s run defense fared much better (153 yards allowed on 52 attempts) against the Scarlet Knights than it has in recent weeks. Rutgers is 3-0, and Vanderbilt just gave a top-10 Missouri its all. The Hokies enter ACC play Friday at eighth-ranked Miami (4-0) as a 17-point underdog. Maybe playing spoiler is more Pry’s team’s cup of tea.

Record: 2-2

Shawn Clark’s team got hammered by Clemson 66-20 on Sept. 7, but it was Thursday’s surprising 48-14 home loss to South Alabama that catapulted the Mountaineers onto our list. It was the most points App State had given up since 2017 and the third straight game the Mountaineers had trailed by multiple touchdowns before their offense got going.

Quarterback Joey Aguilar — the Sun Belt’s preseason offensive player of the year — ranks 84th among FBS quarterbacks and ninth in his league. But the worst has been App State’s defense, which is last in the league in points allowed (35.8) and second in yards allowed per play (7.03).

Things don’t get any easier this week as 4-0 Conference USA leader Liberty heads to Boone. The Flames are three-point favorites, and a loss would essentially eliminate App State from the race for the only Group of 5 spot up for grabs in the 12-team College Football Playoff. Clark’s team needs to get its act together quickly.

Record: 2-2

Poor quarterback play and turnovers are why the Tigers are in danger of falling short of expectations and their over/under for wins (7.5) in Hugh Freeze’s second season. Auburn lost its first SEC game 24-14 to Arkansas amid five turnovers. That came two weeks after Cal went to Jordan-Hare Stadium as a double-digit underdog and turned the ball over five times in a 21-14 victory. Auburn is tied for last among all FBS teams with Temple in minus-10 turnovers on the season, and the Tigers’ 14 turnovers are tied with East Carolina for the most.

Freeze has shuffled quarterbacks Payton Thorne and Hank Brown in and out of the lineup, but he hasn’t yet solved the dilemma. Now another team with quarterback issues, Oklahoma, visits Saturday as a three-point favorite.

Record: 2-2

Remember when Dave Doeren’s team started the season ranked 24th by the Associated Press and people were calling the Wolfpack the ACC underdogs with Grayson McCall at quarterback? It’s shaping up to be a pretty normal season in Raleigh after Clemson and Tennessee took turns beating the Wolfpack this month.

What happened to Tony Gibson’s defense? NC State lost star linebacker Peyton Wilson to the NFL, but Sean Brown, Caden Fordham and Aydan White shouldn’t have let things get so bad so quickly. One major problem is the lack of pass rush (four sacks in four games). Meanwhile, a battered McCall watched as freshman C.J. Bailey started in his place against Clemson. Bailey is one of the few bright spots going forward. Northern Illinois, which beat Notre Dame, visits Raleigh this weekend as an 8.5-point underdog. The season can still be salvaged, but losing to NIU would be a bad blow.

Record: 1-3

The over/under on Kansas wins this season is 8.5, and the Jayhawks were considered a real contender to win the Big 12 with a preseason ranking of No. 22. But outside of a 48-3 win over Lindenwood on Aug. 29, things haven’t gone well in tough losses to Illinois, UNLV and West Virginia. The Illini and Rebels remain unbeaten, but last weekend’s loss to West Virginia really stings: It was a league loss, and the Jayhawks were up by 11 points midway through the fourth quarter.

A healthy Jalon Daniels was expected to be the difference-maker for Lance Leipold’s team this season. But Daniels has been a turnover machine. His seven interceptions are second among Power 4 quarterbacks, behind Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles (eight). If there’s any reason for hope, it’s Kansas’ defense. The Jayhawks are allowing just 4.83 yards per play (seventh in the Big 12) and 20.3 points per game (eighth in the league).

If Daniels can protect the ball, Kansas could turn its season around. TCU visits Kansas this weekend, and the Horned Frogs are 1.5-point underdogs.

Record: 1-3

Mike Norvell’s team put an end to his misery, dissolving Calgorithm with a 14-9 victory over the previously unbeaten Bears over the weekend in Tallahassee. But make no mistake, the Seminoles, who were ranked 10th in the preseason — and picked by the media to repeat as ACC champions — are virtually assured of that spot for the rest of the season, barring a spectacular turnaround.

It took seven sacks to keep Cal and quarterback Fernando Mendoza from rallying the Bears to victory Saturday. Adam Fuller’s defense disappointed, giving up 190 yards to Georgia Tech and 263 the following week in another loss to Boston College. But DJ Uiagalelei and the Seminoles’ offense were anemic at best. He’s the worst-graded quarterback in the ACC, and FSU ranks 126th in scoring (15.0 points per game) and 126th in yards per game (276.5). Unless the Seminoles’ offense comes alive, Florida State won’t beat SMU on Saturday or win many of its remaining games on the schedule.

(Top photos of DJ Uiagalelei (left) and Jalon Daniels: Charles McQuillan, Ed Zurga/Getty Images)