College Football Teams Who Wish They Could Have a Restart to 2015 Season
If you ever played the NCAA Football video game, you probably hit the reset button the moment you found yourself down 21-0 in the first quarter.
Real life, of course, doesn't have that reset button. The constant challenge football teams face is to overcome adversity when things don't immediately go their way. Oftentimes, that doesn't happen right away. It can take weeks, months, even years for a program to get going in the right direction. In the interim, there's a lot of frustration.
The following teams know what that's like. Whether it's a complete housecleaning rebuild or simply a matter of not living up to expectations, these are the programs wishing some way, some how, they could restart the 2015 season.
Record alone isn't the only indicator, though. For example, Arizona State and Louisville got off to terrible starts, but recorded huge wins in Week 5 against UCLA and North Carolina State, respectively. Had we posted this a week earlier, the Sun Devils and Cardinals would have made the list, but now there's reason for optimism with both teams.
Rather, we'll look at trends as well. Did a team get off to an unexpectedly slow start? How have the losses piled up? Is a team consistently coming up just short, knowing things could have been different if a few plays had gone their way? Is it blowing leads? Or is it just getting blown out? Even winners can make this list, as you'll see with one program.
Variety is the spice of this list. Sadly, the spice is bitter and no one likes the way it tastes.
Auburn
1 of 8
In the prediction business, you're inevitably going to get some things right and some things wrong. It happens. Goodness, though, did a whole bunch of people (yours truly included) miss on Auburn.
If the warning signs weren't there in a 31-24 win over Louisville in Week 1, they definitely were the following week against Jacksonville State. The Tigers needed a come-from-behind, overtime victory to beat their Football Championship Subdivision opponent.
Then the conference losses began piling up. LSU running back Leonard Fournette ran for 228 yards in a 45-21 win—this after Auburn defensive back Rudy Ford said defending Fournette "shouldn't be that much of a challenge."
Auburn followed that up with a 17-9 loss to Mississippi State. The only relief has been 35-21 win...over San Jose State.
Quarterback Jeremy Johnson has been benched and receiver Duke Williams has been dismissed from the team. Things certainly look bleak. The only break on the schedule for the rest of the year is a cupcake against Idaho in November. Three more wins and bowl eligibility could very much be a stretch.
Nebraska
2 of 8
How's this for heartbreak? Nebraska has lost on a Hail Mary to BYU, via a 23-point fourth-quarter comeback that fell short in overtime against Miami and a go-ahead touchdown pass with 12 seconds left against Illinois.
And we're just now entering the second weekend in October.
Making matters worse, Huskers offensive lineman and captain Alex Lewis apparently told fans, "I'm sorry we suck," while walking off the field following the Illinois loss. That incident has been corroborated by Dan Hoppen of Huskeronline.com. However, head coach Mike Riley has said that Lewis will remain a captain, per Brian Rosenthal of the Lincoln Journal Star.
Nebraska was getting routinely blown out under former head coach Bo Pelini, so this is a new kind of disaster under Riley. It's going to take time for things to get going in the right direction, but Nebraska has been so close a number of times and hasn't been able to finish. A win over Wisconsin this weekend would be the Huskers' first over a Power Five opponent this year.
Central Florida
3 of 8
There are five winless teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Central Florida is one of them. That's astonishing given that the Knights beat Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl two years ago. Last year, UCF still finished a respectable 9-4.
2015, however? It's been an unmitigated disaster. The Knights lost to Florida International by one point on a blocked field goal to open the year. Two games later, UCF lost to FCS opponent Furman. It followed that up with back-to-back double-digit losses to South Carolina and Tulane.
Early last month, Dan Wolken of USA Today reported headed coach George O'Leary was strongly considering stepping down at the end of the season to become the program's full-time athletic director. (He was named the school's interim athletic director in June.) For what it's worth, O'Leary has denied that report.
A bowl game appearance looks impossible, and getting a single win might be a stretch as well.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Texas
4 of 8
The above photo says it all.
Unless Texas is able to pull off the upset against Oklahoma this weekend, the Longhorns will be 1-5, the worst start for the program since 1956, per Jeff Howe of 247Sports. 2015 has seen a smorgasbord of problems. The Longhorns have been blown off the field by playoff-caliber teams Notre Dame and TCU. However, they've also come agonizingly close to beating Cal and Oklahoma State.
Texas and its fanbase has seen it all this year, and none of it has been good. The offense, led by redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard, has the potential to be exciting, but is limited in its effectiveness. The defense is young and full of promising players, but lacks experience and fundamentals in the meantime. The special teams, of course, have been a disaster.
It's too early to call for head coach Charlie Strong's job. As Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated writes:
"Strong is safe right now. The people who make the decisions at Texas, from the influential boosters to the interim athletic director to the school president, have voiced their support for the second-year coach. If Strong's team fights—the opponent, not itself—that support probably won't waver.
"
What we're seeing right now, however, is the worst-case scenario coming to fruition. It's going to get worse before it gets better for Texas.
Tennessee
5 of 8
This was supposed to be the breakout year for Tennessee. Even if the Vols didn't win the SEC East, 2015 was supposed to represent the giant step forward the program has craved for so long.
It hasn't happened. Tennessee has been the textbook definition of a team that struggles when placed on the biggest stage. All three losses—to Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas—have come as a result of Tennessee blowing at least a 13-point lead. To put that into context, according to Sports 56 WHBQ's Peter Edmiston, six teams have held a 13-point lead in every game this season: Baylor, Florida State, LSU, Navy, Temple and Tennessee. The first four are all undefeated; Tennessee is 2-3.
Talent isn't the problem. Head coach Butch Jones has done a masterful job on the recruiting trail. What he hasn't been able to do is coach a game that reflects the confidence he should have in his roster.
There have also been personnel issues. Per Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports, receiver Pig Howard has been dismissed from the program for violating team rules.
The Vols have been rebuilding for what seems like eons. Eventually, this program has to turn a corner. For one more season at least, Tennessee has been unable to do so.
Oregon
6 of 8
The post-Marcus Mariota era is proving to be difficult for Oregon. Of course, Mariota was a once-in-a-generation type of player for the Ducks—maybe the best ever. A drop-off of some sort—be it in the win column, offensive efficiency, etc.—should have been expected.
Still, there are myriad problems on both sides of the ball. The pass defense is the worst in the Pac-12, and among the worst in major college football, as no team has given up more touchdowns (16) or yards per game (287.2). Transfer quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. hasn't been a game-changer, though he has been hindered by a finger injury.
On that subject, injuries have taken out key components of the offense, including receiver Byron Marshall (unknown leg injury) and Thomas Tyner (shoulder). Getting blown out by Utah at home 62-20 was an ultimate low point. That left the Ducks unranked for the first time since 2009.
2009 also carries important historical context that could determine Oregon's destiny. As Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports wrote, teams that have lost Heisman winners dating back to '09 have all gone 8-5 the next year. At 3-2 entering the halfway point of Oregon's season, 8-5 is certainly realistic.
Ohio State
7 of 8
Wait a minute. Ohio State is 5-0 and the No. 1 team in the country, according to both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls. What gives?
This is all true. The Buckeyes are still a national championship contender. But if we looked at record alone, we'd miss that something...just...hasn't...quite...clicked for Urban Meyer's team. As Matt Hinton of Grantland.com opines, "it’s becoming harder and harder to shake the sinking feeling that something about the no. 1 team is...off." He continued, saying:
"For most teams, a 5-0 record would speak for itself. But most teams — even most defending champions — don’t enter the season boasting an historic quarterback depth chart, the preseason Heisman favorite, the likely no. 1 pick in next year’s draft, and the expectation that they breeze through a mediocre schedule from start to finish. By those standards, Ohio State has barely resembled a burgeoning juggernaut. So, are the Buckeyes merely victims of unfair expectations while still working out the kinks? Or is it time to worry?
"
What's wrong with the Bucks? It's hard to pinpoint exactly, but there are a few curious things.
The offense is definitely out of sync. Quarterback Cardale Jones hasn't been sharp at all, but the play-calling hasn't exactly catered to his strengths, either. There's no real deep threat in the passing game (i.e. no Devin Smith), but the coaches aren't asking Jones to unload a ball 75 yards downfield like he's capable of doing.
Instead, Jones has been asked to do things like run the zone-read and speed option, neither of which are his strengths. Running back Ezekiel Elliott, despite entering the season as a Heisman favorite who was brilliant against Indiana in Week 5, has been almost an afterthought at times.
Defensively, Ohio State is still excellent, but star defensive end Joey Bosa has been quieter than normal. Ohio State may yet get this thing running smoother—the talent is certainly there—but this has looked like anything but the nation's No. 1 team.
Arkansas
8 of 8
Similar to Tennessee in the SEC East, Arkansas was hoping to have a breakout season in the SEC West. Five games in, however, that next step still looks like it's at least a year away.
An unexpected Week 2 loss to Toledo started a three-game slide for the Hogs, which was incidentally snapped in Week 5 by coming from behind to beat the Vols (and we've already covered that mess). During that span, however, Arkansas lost to Texas Tech and had a deja vu moment against Texas A&M.
Though Arkansas has had a statistically excellent rushing attack, the absence of Jonathan Williams, who is out for the year with a foot injury, has been noticeable.
And yet, the toughest games lie ahead for Arkansas. The Razorbacks must travel to Alabama in Week 6 and get Ole Miss and LSU on the road in November. Even going 1-3 against the SEC West's top teams would be an accomplishment at this point.
One of the biggest SEC questions coming into the 2015 season was whether Arkansas could take that next step under head coach Bret Bielema. Barring a massive turnaround, the answer has been "no."
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
