The Biggest Disappointments of the 2025 College Football Season After Week 7

For every shocking surprise college football gives us, there's another dud out there who everybody thought would do big things but instead is struggling.

This year, it seems there are even more of those "what the heck is going on" situations than normal. The prime example is the nation's preseason No. 2-ranked team already firing its coach.

With James Franklin out at Penn State, we're setting up for an even wackier coaching carousel offseason than in 2021 when big names such as Lincoln Riley, Brian Kelly, Mario Cristobal, Dan Lanning, Marcus Freeman and others moved around.

From top-rated teams that have tanked to coaches who have flopped to players primed for big seasons but are slumping, what we thought we knew heading into the year has been turned on its head.

As we approach the midpoint of the season, here are the biggest flops so far during 2025.

Penn State Nittany Lions

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Less than three weeks ago, ESPN's College GameDay was in Happy Valley for a buzzworthy game between Penn State and Oregon that ended in an overtime victory for the Ducks.

At that point of the season, the narrative was whether the Nittany Lions and coach James Franklin could finally get over the winning-the-big-game hump and keep their surge toward competing with Ohio State for the Big Ten title.

Now, they're looking for his successor.

Penn State has dropped back-to-back games against bottom-dwellers UCLA in Pasadena and Northwestern at home, leading to Franklin's exit. It lost starting quarterback Drew Allar for the season along the way, and even though the senior wasn't playing well, he had a ton of ability to help the Lions turn things around.

Now, there's no telling when or how the season will bottom out. 

Did we expect Franklin to ultimately lose some marquee games this year? Sure, because that's what he's done his entire career. But nobody predicted the fall this far, this quickly.

Bill Belichick

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College football fans everywhere were fascinated when North Carolina decided to replace veteran coach Mack Brown with legendary NFL coach and septuagenarian Bill Belichick this offseason.

At first, headlines centered on Belichick's unique approach, such as employing a general manager to handle NIL, recruiting, and more. Later, coverage shifted to his tabloid-fueled relationship.

Nowhere in there were there any signs that his coaching prowess would translate to this level, and it hasn't. The Tar Heels are 2-3 with wins over Charlotte and Richmond, but any time they've played a Power Four team, they're uncompetitive.

Finding another win on the remaining schedule is a challenge, and Belichick already has been forced to squash rumors about negotiating an exit from UNC.

Oh yes, things are just rosy in Chapel Hill. Except for the exact opposite.

SEC Officiating

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The Southeastern Conference likes to tout itself as the best conference in all of college football.

Every year, the league brings in the most talented players, and there is more depth and parity in the league than any other.

So why can't commissioner Greg Sankey fix the officiating?

The SEC's officials have been terrible for a long time, but it's coming under the microscope this year because of some major mishaps. Auburn has been on the bad end of a few.

Already this season in AU's loss to Oklahoma, the SEC apologized when the crew "did not properly interpret the action as a hideout tactic" that resulted in a touchdown for the Sooners. 

Then, last week in a prime-time game between rivals Auburn and Georgia, the league inexplicably upheld a ruled fumble on the goal line in a review that was clearly a touchdown. They also let Georgia coach Kirby Smart play them on a timeout call.

Auburn's in the spotlight for the wrong reasons here, but the officiating crews in the SEC have stunk it up for years. Some fans cry favoritism and others bemoan grudges. However, it really seems to boil down to constant incompetence. 

Clemson Tigers

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What happened to the 2025 Clemson Tigers?

This team is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, grabbed one of the best coordinators in all of football by luring Tom Allen from Penn State and looked poised for a huge run through the ACC to the College Football Playoff.

Instead, they are mired at 3-3 and coach Dabo Swinney has constantly gone on his squirming rants against fans and critics, pointing to a decorated history long in the past when the Tigers were national title contenders.

The bottom line is the program hasn't been at that top-tier level in a long time, and with NFL prospects all over the field at quarterback, wide receiver and especially on the defensive front, this was supposed to be a "return to glory" season for the Tigers.

However, they're just mediocre. And even though they've rebounded a bit with gaudy wins over bad North Carolina and Boston College teams, even if they win out, they'll be a disappointment.

This team had no business losing three games, and with SMU, Duke, Florida State, Louisville and South Carolina remaining, they may not be done losing.

Supposed Top-Tier Quarterbacks

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There are plenty of quality quarterbacks across the nation this year. In most cases, though, they just aren't the ones experts expected they'd be.

Truthfully, the most widely discussed and overhyped signal-callers this offseason have stunk it up in 2025.

At the top of the NFL draft class, everybody was raving about the potential of supposed senior stars Garrett Nussmeier at LSU and Cade Klubnik at Clemson. They've combined for 20 total touchdowns and 10 interceptions so far.

In the SEC, the star power was ballyhooed with so much hype surrounding South Carolina redshirt sophomore LaNorris Sellers, Texas redshirt sophomore Arch Manning and Florida true sophomore DJ Lagway. None of those guys are near the top of the conference passing stats. 

That trio has combined for 14 interceptions, and while Lagway has been historically horrible in a couple of games, Sellers—who was projected by some to be the top overall pick in next year's draft—has consistently struggled. Manning hasn't gotten untracked, either.

This has been a bad year for the so-called experts in predicting who would shine under center.

Billy Napier

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Sure, Florida's daunting 2025 football schedule would give anybody pause in predicting a major rebound season for the Gators. 

However, after finishing 2024 with a four-game winning streak, including victories over LSU, then-playoff-bound Ole Miss, rival Florida State and a bowl against Tulane, there were high hopes coach Billy Napier was turning things around.

Instead, the 2-4 Gators started the season horrifically on offense (more on that later), battling horrific coaching decisions and even losing at home to the AAC's South Florida Bulls. Yes, that's a good team, but Florida had no business losing to them in the Swamp.

Florida did beat Texas a couple weeks ago, but went on the road to a strong Texas A&M team and got doubled up, 34-17.

There are still hopes the Gators can turn things around the way the offense has gotten a bit better in recent weeks, but Napier's margin for error is paper-thin. At this point, his tenure is hanging on, and he continues to barely get by at a program desperate to get back to winning ways.

He could be the next coach to go.

Kansas State Wildcats

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You may think Arizona State belongs here after making it to the College Football Playoff last year and only sitting a 4-2 at this early-season stage. But one of those Sun Devils' losses was with an injured quarterback Sam Leavitt.

No, the big blunder in the Big 12 is Kansas State.

The Wildcats were picked to win the league in the preseason and began the year rated 17th nationally, but their season has been an effort in disappointment spanning two continents. 

A frustrating Week Zero showing in Dublin against rival Iowa State led to the season's first loss, and Kansas State is now 3-4 with additional defeats to Army, Arizona and Baylor. 

Even more maddening is coach Chris Klieman's 'Cats beat TCU 41-28 last weekend, showing what could have been.

The Big 12 has been turned upside down this year with Texas Tech, BYU, Utah and Houston playing well, and Arizona State and TCU experiencing ups and downs. But K-State shouldn't be as bad as they are. This is the league's biggest shocker.

Big Ten Depth

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You don't necessarily have to agree with Nick Saban (or want to agree with him), but the man knows football. So, when he says things like he said last week, you may find yourself nodding your head.

The Big Ten currently holds national bragging rights with back-to-back national champions, and the Ohio State Buckeyes look like the class of the country again this year, but the bottom line is the league doesn't have the depth of power as the SEC.

Saban called them out on it recently.

On one hand, if you don't already believe in the Indiana Hoosiers after their road win at Oregon, consider yourself in the vast minority. Curt Cignetti's team can play, and they are deserving of the clout. Despite the loss, the Ducks are a national title contender, too.

Beyond the Buckeyes, Hoosiers and Ducks, though what do you have? Michigan is mid this year, and while Washington has some star power, the Huskies haven't consistently been great. USC and Nebraska have shown flashes, too.

However, Penn State's tumble has been a black eye for the conference. It's time for the league bragging about its nine-game conference schedule to quit touting it on paper and make it worthy of chest-puffing on the field.

Mike Norvell

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Florida State's whole recent collapse is a colossal disappointment, but this all falls on Mike Norvell's failed formula in Tallahassee.

The Seminoles have chosen to build their program through the transfer portal, which worked brilliantly in 2023 when some additions to an already strong roster led to an undefeated season. But FSU's attempted reload last year fumbled to a 2-10 record.

Again, Norvell went portal-heavy this offseason and also made waves by hiring UCF head coach Gus Malzahn to lead his offense and hand-picking Tommy Castellanos from the portal. A season-opening home win over Alabama set the ceiling high and had some talking about playoffs.

Everything has fallen apart the past three weeks, much like at Penn State.

After a wild overtime loss at Virginia, Florida State's frantic comeback attempt against Miami fell short, but the Hurricanes are a good team. But when Pittsburgh came to Doak Campbell Stadium last weekend and upset the 'Noles, that's a big deal.

Why is Norvell's team suddenly falling apart? Where's the continuity, and why can't the coach dial up the right way to motivate his team? It's time to start asking tough questions that could result in a change.

Texas Longhorns

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Coach Steve Sarkisian's team's tumble hasn't been anywhere near the level of Penn State or even Clemson, but when you consider just how highly the Longhorns were thought of, it's puzzling.

Last week's dominant win over previously unbeaten rival Oklahoma will be the salve for the season's struggles for a bit, but Texas has plenty of issues, despite being 4-2.

The Longhorns opened the season with a loss at Ohio State in a battle of potential powerhouses, but afterward, Arch Manning and an offense devoid of difference-making players blundered their way through wins. Then, they went to the Swamp and laid a massive egg in a loss to Florida.

Now, this looks like a team capable of winning (or losing) most of the remaining games on its schedule. When you've got an inconsistent offense that struggles to score points, it's anybody's guess what's going to happen in the SEC.

At least coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski's defense has been strong throughout the year, but Sarkisian has to focus on fixing the offense if this team is going to compete for the SEC title. This isn't what was expected with a preseason No. 1 ranking.

UCLA (During the DeShaun Foster Era)

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DeShaun Foster

One quarterback not mentioned on the slide with the other disappointments is UCLA's Nico Iamaleava, who took a large brunt of the criticism during the Bruins' 0-4 start, and rightfully so.

After his unceremonious departure from Tennessee that was much-publicized—and not much of it good for Iamaleava's camp—the spotlight was focused on how he'd perform in Westwood. And it was truly awful early on.

However, when the Bruins fired coach DeShaun Foster, the dark cloud over the program began to lift.

Interim coach Tim Skipper has turned things around. Offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel replaced Tino Sunseri and has rejuvenated Iamaleava, who has thrown for 346 yards and five scores and run for 131 and three more scores in back-to-back wins over Penn State and Michigan State.

This team was left-for-dead because of just how poor of a coach Foster was. A new regime has breathed new life into a program that looks dangerous.

UCLA is staring directly at a gauntlet of Maryland, Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio State, Washington and USC remaining. The Bruins likely won't be favored again after this week. But this team was horrible after four games, and now, it isn't that bad.

It's disappointing just how awful the Foster era was.

Auburn's Revamped Offense

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Things aren't OK in the loveliest village on the Plains, where third-year coach Hugh Freeze is feeling toasty and the 3-3 Auburn Tigers are winless in three league games and staring straight at another losing season.

The culprit—once again—is offense, just as it's been in recent memory for Auburn.

That's an issue, however, considering the Tigers were big offseason spenders in the portal, going out and plucking guys like quarterback Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma) and receiver Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech).

Singleton was widely considered one of the top playmakers in the portal. Arnold was considered a prize who needed a change of scenery and has been a disappointment throwing the ball.

While the Tigers are competitive because of their defensive prowess, Auburn is 97th nationally and 14th in the SEC, converting less than 37 percent of its third-down conversions. They are 112th nationally in total offense, so things don't look like they're getting better anytime soon.

This is not what Freeze or the proud Auburn brass itching to get the program back on the map envisioned at all as they built the 2025 roster. Sure, they've been tough-luck losers so far, but that doesn't matter in the win column. Patience is wearing very thin.