Phil Sears/Associated Press
For many college football programs, all is not well.
Things are not fine.
And no matter how many times a coach or athletic director tells you that things are pointed in the right direction, they most certainly are not.
The good news? Misery loves company, and right now, college football is jam-packed with formerly successful college football programs that are doing some serious soul-searching. Or, more specifically, they are looking at current leaders and deciding whether a change is needed.
Have you Googled the buyout amount for your head coach in the past year?
Do you feel dread each moment you visit your team-centric message board of choice?
You are not alone. The list of CFB programs that used to win a lot more than they have of late is mounting. To explore this list even deeper, we asked B/R readers to tell us which schools they believe are in the greatest amount of disarray as we roll through the regular season.
Here are the responses.
From Title Town to Yikesville
Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
User: @kevinbroughton
Response: The LSU implosion is about to begin in earnest.
We begin in a timely place. Coming off a loss to Auburn at home—the second defeat of a young season—the murmurs surrounding head coach Ed Orgeron and his future have grown louder.
The Tigers’ schedule doesn’t get any easier. In fact, it’s downright gross.
LSU plays at Kentucky, against Florida, at Ole Miss, at Alabama and against Arkansas over the next five games.
Unless something unexpected happens, it feels likely LSU will lose more games than it wins in this stretch. If that is the case, a change could be made.
That’s the bad news. In a sport as demanding as this—and at a program equally demanding—you can be fired less than two years removed from a national title.
While unique, it also doesn’t scream rebuild. This is a program overflowing with talent, and that pipeline will stay open with this head coach or another. That’s what LSU does.
Yeah, this season might be lost, and last season wasn’t great, either. But of all the teams mentioned here, this is the one I am least concerned about long term.
The competition is brutal, but LSU will continue to be a force.
It’s All About the (Massive Rebuild at) The U
Michael Reaves/Associated Press
User: @feenr
Response: Miami… looks lost.
Here, on the other hand, is a program in desperate need of, well, anything.
Miami used to be synonymous with excellence. While Alabama has produced some all-time teams over the past 10 years, the Miami rosters of the 1990s and early 2000s were littered with future NFL All-Pros and remain iconic even now.
But now? The Hurricanes are 2-3 and missing last-second field goals to lose to programs like Virginia at home. (That happened last week.)
And worse than that, Miami has won 10 games once since 2003. That’s pretty telling.
There have been teases along the way that things are changing. Under Mark Richt, Miami had momentum in 2016 and 2017. But now, even after a solid 8-3 season in 2020, the Hurricanes feel a bit broken.
As a result, Manny Diaz’s status with the team certainly feels in jeopardy, especially if the losses continue to mount. While Miami has a lot of the key ingredients necessary to be a big-time program once again at some point, it’s been nearly 20 years since relevancy.
I don’t think ‘The U’ will ever be what it was. That said, the Hurricanes play in a state with a ton of talent and can lean into the nostalgia that grew this program. Maybe they just need the right hire.
That right hire? Lane Kiffin.
Bring your popcorn. And your checkbook.
Trojan Trouble
Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press
User: @poopfat13
Response: USC fan here. It’s USC. We can’t [expletive removed] up another coaching search, yet we seem to have another administration ready to [expletive once again removed] it up again. We should be one of the more dominant programs in the country, yet we have one of the absolute worst patterns of coaching hires. It’s turned us into a laughingstock also-ran.
I have to say, @poopfat, you bring up a good point. That’s not a sentence I ever thought I would type, but here we are.
Now, I had to remove those expletives to make this whole thing PG-13, but the passion certainly comes through. It’s also hard to argue with any of it.
There really isn’t any reason for USC to be as bad as it is. With so much talent in that state to pull from, the product cannot be this inconsistent. Period.
Also, as part of this rant, too much of that high school talent is leaving the state to go play somewhere else. Bryce Young and Bijan Robinson, two of the biggest stars in all of college football, grew up loving USC. Both also decided, very smartly I might add, to attend other schools, including Young picking Alabama after previously committing to USC.
At a time when the Pac-12 has been there for the taking, USC has failed to take advantage.
With Clay Helton gone, this next hire is vital. Things can get better in a hurry, and any chance at a turnaround begins with the person who will take over as USC’s next coach.
Extreme Seminoles Makeover
Chris Carlson/Associated Press
User: @evilmikefreeman
Response: I think Florida St took the biggest fall from grace
The fall has been spectacular. There is no other way to put it.
Florida State was once the symbol for consistency in college football. Now, the program is struggling to beat Syracuse and win a single game.
Between 2012 and 2014, FSU lost a grand total of three games. This year alone, Florida State has lost four times.
It’s hard to pinpoint where exactly the blame begins, although the hires at head coach have simply not worked out. Jimbo Fisher’s exit was certainly a turning point, although I liked the hire of Willie Taggart. I also liked the hire of Mike Norvell. Neither has meshed well, at least thus far.
What’s most stunning, however, is just how bad things have gotten. No team has fallen faster out of relevancy than this one, and it’s likely going to be a while before it returns to form.
Somewhat surprisingly, FSU is assembling a decent recruiting class this cycle. At least thus far, the results haven’t swayed players from reassessing their commitments. A coaching change, if one is made, could certainly alter this course.
Like Miami, Florida State has an abundance of talent to recruit in its home state. And like Miami, it can celebrate the results and accolades of teams from decades past.
But goodness, there is work to be done. This is not a quick fix, even if the situation isn’t a lost cause. This is going to require some serious elbow grease and many, many millions of dollars.
Clemson Fans, Sound the Alarm
Hakim Wright Sr./Associated Press
User: @WAREAGLE22
Response: Clemson. Their whole team is heading in the wrong direction.
To be clear, @WAREAGLE22 was not the only person to mention Clemson. While this feels wildly premature, let’s assess what is taking place and if it will continue.
Clemson is at a much different place when it comes to struggling compared to other teams mentioned. For starters, the Tigers have won at least 10 games every year since 2010.
And from 2015 until 2019, the Tigers lost five games in five seasons. Incredible.
The run was Alabama-like, and it included wins over Saban on the biggest of stages as the Tigers bested the Crimson Tide to claim the national championship in both 2017 and 2019. These moments weren’t long ago, though sometimes it feels that way.
Yes, the 2021 team is nothing like what we thought we were getting. The offense has really struggled, and injuries certainly haven’t helped. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei hasn’t been the player we expected—at least not yet—and perhaps we expected too much too soon.
For now, however, I can’t look at the 2021 season as anything but an outlier. Clemson has recruited better than just about any other school, and the roster is still incredibly talented.
Plus, the ACC isn’t exactly overflowing with talent. Heck, this is the third team we’ve mentioned from the conference. That says quite a bit.
If we arrive at this exact point next season, you have my permission to panic. But for now, let’s see if this is merely a lost season and nothing more.
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