Most teams have completed at least one-third of their season. Now is a good time to take a look at who has disappointed based on the expectations they had coming into the year. Here are the six most disappointing teams in college football so far in 2013:
Boise State Broncos (3-2) – Chris Petersen has built a powerhouse out in Boise. Last year was considered a "down" year for the Broncos and yet they finished 11-2. Coming into this season, Petersen had a career winning percentage of over 90%. Five games into this season, the Broncos are sitting at 3-2 and wondering if their hold on the Mountain West Conference is about to come to an end. The Broncos victories have come against Southern Miss, Tennessee-Martin and Air Force. Those teams have combined to go 4-9 with UTM having three of those four wins. In Boise's two toughest games, they got blown out by Washington and they got toppled by upstart Fresno State. Boise's season is far from over but you have to wonder if this is the beginning of the end of the dominance for Boise State. The key game for Boise's season will take place in two weeks when the Broncos travel to Romney Stadium to face Utah State.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-2) – Heading into the National Championship Game, the Irish had won 12 straight and were rolling. They were finally "back". Since then they've gone 3-3 including a 3-2 start this season. While 3-2 is not horrible, it's still a big disappointment considering the way they've played and the teams that beat them. Michigan and Oklahoma are no slouches but last season the Irish beat the Wolverines and pounded the Sooners. After the loss of Everett Golson it was expected that the Irish would take a step back on offense but the front seven of their defense was lauded as one of the best in college football. So far in 2013, the defense has allowed 23.8 point per game. That puts them in the middle of the pack in college football and is a far cry from the 12.8 ppg that they allowed last year (and the 7.8 ppg they had allowed at this point of the year in 2012). Like Boise, there is still time for the Irish to bounce back but with Arizona State, BYU, Pitt and Stanford still on the schedule this team could go from contending to a National Championship to losing five or six games.
Texas Longhorns (2-2) – Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. That's what most of the college football media and Longhorns fans are thinking after watching this team in 2013. Ever since Texas hit rock bottom in 2010 with a 5-7 record, they've been slowly clawing their way back to respectability. Last year they won nine games and looked poised to compete for the Big 12 Championship this season. Four games into the year they've already fired their DC, Manny Diaz, and they've been blown out by BYU and Ole Miss. Now the Big 12 gauntlet awaits the Longhorns and it's a test that I don't think they are ready for. I would be shocked if Mack Brown was coaching the Longhorns in 2014.
UNC Tar Heels (1-3) – Larry Fedora debuted last year in Chapel Hill by taking the Heels to an 8-4 record. This season the Heels were expected to compete for the ACC Coastal Division crown and at least maintain the level they were at last season. That hasn't happened and the loss to East Carolina this weekend was a sign of the direction the team is headed, at least for this year. With Virginia Tech and Miami (FL) up next, the Heels have a chance for redemption or they could be looking down the barrel of a 1-5 start.
USC Trojans (3-2) – Lane Kiffin went from being on top of the world before the 2012 season, with many predicting a National Championship for USC, to being fired shortly after allowing Arizona State to put 62 points on the board. USC was recently the standard bearer in the Pac-12. Now they sit at 0-2 in the conference and searching their schedule in hopes of wins. It's going to get worse before it gets better for the Trojans.
USF Bulls (0-4) – The Bulls actually made this last last year, so how is it possible that they make it for the second consecutive season? Willie Taggart took over as head coach this year and he had people believing that the program was headed in the right direction. Since then, they lost to McNeese State by 21 (that's not a misprint), Michigan State by 15, FAU by 18 (not a misprint either) and Miami (FL) by 28. USF only won three game last season so expectations weren't high this season but you want to see progress when you have a new coach. The Bulls have shown everything but that so far this season.
Also considered: Louisiana Tech, Purdue, San Diego State, Tulsa and West Virginia
Come back later this week and we will fill our glass half-full and look at the six most surprising teams of 2013.
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