The 10 Most Overrated College Football Players

It's less than two weeks to kick-off, and that means fans from Seattle to South Florida are bragging about their school's star player.

On message boards, texts to friends, and boasts in sports bars, the arguments will be given to why our guy is the real deal. We'll recite the video game-like stat numbers and bring up the highlight reel plays that made SportsCenter. We'll delve into intangibles and cliche-it-up by mentioning their "character" and "heart."

We love our stars, but that doesn't mean they're not a product of too much hype.

Like tailgate parties and spread offenses, college football always guarantees us a group of ballyhooed players who don't perform to our expectations. Here's a quick look at 10 whose buzz may burn out by bowl season.

10. Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Oregon State

The 5'7" mighty mite burst onto the national landscape as a freshman when he punked then No. 1 USC on national television with his 186 yard, two touchdown breakout performance.

While playing for a school that forever lives in the shadow of the Ducks and their Nike dollars, this Beaver has made many take notice by going off for 1,440 yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore. He was so good in fact that the school has released a Heisman Trophy hype video asking "Do you believe?"

Sorry, not yet.

Against Cincinnati he had 20 rushes for 73 yards. With the Rose Bowl on the line in the annual Civil War game against Oregon, he was held to 64 yards. In their consolation bowl, the Beavers lost to BYU with Rodgers netting 63.

In comparison, Mark Ingram by rushed for 229 yards with five touchdowns against Florida and Texas in his final two games. Those are the kind of numbers Heisman voters believe in.

Make no mistake, Rodgers has skills. He proved it against Stanford (189 yards, four TDs). Now let's see if he can do that consistently against quality defenses.

9. Julio Jones, WR, Alabama

I'm scared to even mention anyone from Alabama on this list. But at the risk of literally being rolled by Tide fans, I'll make my case to why their dynamic wideout lacks luster.

It's no secret Alabama didn't exactly pass its way to a national title. When you have a Heisman Trophy-winning running back and a defense that could up-end an Abrams tank, it just wasn't that necessary to air it out.

As a result, he had 43 receptions for 596 yards and four touchdowns. Go further into to the stats and it shows he had two games all year with more than four receptions.

Yawn. If he wasn't wearing Crimson, would we have even noticed?

There's no doubt he has potential; many of the experts agree on that. Problem is, all potential gives us is hype and hope until it's actually fulfilled.

8. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State

So, just how does a legitimate Heisman contender who passed 3,536 yards and 39 touchdowns with a 161.5 passer rating last season make an overrated list?

It's simple: He plays in the WAC.

Aside from the Broncos beating Oregon in last year's season opener, Boise didn't play a single team from a BCS conference for the rest of the season. Sure, they won the Fiesta Bowl, but it was against TCU. And in both those games, Moore looked average.

As for the rest of his season, you'd need an Excel spreadsheet to track his numbers. But many standout quarterbacks could also put up bonkers stats against San Jose State, Nevada and Fresno State. If he played weekly against teams in a power conference, those superhuman totals would likely diminish.

Then again, we get our litmus test in Week 1 this season. Boise opens against No. 10 Virginia Tech and also plays Oregon State in its non-conference schedule.

Considering it's a given he'll surgically dismantle the WAC, these games will prove if he truly is worthy of Heisman chatter.

7. Von Miller, DE/LB, Texas A&M

When Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay do their annual invasion of ESPN for NFL draft coverage, there's no doubt they'll be arguing about what team picks up Miller.

He led the nation in sacks last season and it garnered him All-American honors from both Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News. That's in addition to a whole bunch more accolades that make his official bio on the Aggies website "War and Peace" long.

That's what taking down a quarterback 17 times in one season will do.

But look at the jerseys those signal callers were sporting and some of the sheen wears off. He tallied three against New Mexico and Utah State and a pair playing UAB. The biggest and best offensive lineman recruits don't decide to attend college in Logan, Utah or Albuquerque.

Miller is invaluable to the Aggies. He didn't play against Oklahoma or Georgia in the Independence Bowl, and his team was waxed in both games. But adding one hybrid player into a 3-4 scheme probably won't be the necessary key to undoing a 65-10 or 44-20 loss.

6. Robert Marve, QB, Purdue

Maybe saying goodbye to "The U" will end up being the best thing that ever happened to Marve, who was named the starting quarterback for the Boilermakers a couple weeks back.

But he's got a lot of work to in West Lafayette, Ind. to shake the reputation he made for himself in one season in South Beach.

After a stellar high school career that made college coaches drool on their polo shirts when watching his film, Marve signed with a maligned Miami team and was average.

In his one year on the field, he threw nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions with 1,293 yards passing. Though far from spectacular, it still helped the Hurricanes reached the Emerald Bowl, where Marve didn't play because of grades.

He has been arrested, though.

So, he's never been in a bowl game, but has been in the back of a cop car. As a quarterback, that's not exactly the embodiment of "leader." He's still got a long way to go to establish himself at a school that once had Drew Brees and Bob Griese taking snaps.

5. Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio State

Millions watched him arrive in last year's Rose Bowl, as he became the star Jim Tessel always thought he could be.

The volatile Ohio State fans who wondered on a weekly basis whether their sweater-vested coach was insane for sticking with Pryor had an epiphany as they watched the power forward-sized QB cut down Oregon. When it mattered most, Pryor shined in Pasadena by going 23 of 37 for 266 yards, another 72 on the ground, and two touchdowns.

It was impressive. It was also just one game, and now he's Sports Illustrated's Heisman favorite?

In an anonymous poll of Big 10 players, Pryor was voted the conference's most exciting player. But he was also named the most overrated.

Call the players haters, but they may be onto something. Pryor has to prove that he can come up roses in every game.

4. Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame

It would be nearly impossible to make a list of college football's most overrated players without having at least one person from South Bend on the list.

Compare on the team's on the field performance to amount of media attention garnered, and there is no program that gets more of the latter with with so little of the former.

So, unfortunately, Kyle Rudolph is the man given the task of representing the Irish.

Appearance wise, he's a specimen; the type of player destined for Myoplex and Under Armor commercials after college. He's also Rivals' No. 1 tight end in the country entering this season. It's a ranking he earned in part with 364 yard receiving and three touchdowns.

Add in his other, non-statistical contributions and he's solid. But the problem is that Jimmy Clausen is gone and he will have a new quarterback behind him.

Though Brian Kelly's offense may bode well for Rudolph, right now he's a returning player that has to adapt to a new coach and quarterback.

3. Jared Crick, DT, Nebraksa

He's a preseason All-American and All-Big 12 pick from myriad media outlets. He had nine sacks and 73 tackles last season.

But to replicate that success, he's going to have to do it without the best rushing mate in college football.

For 2010, they'll be no Ndamukong Suh punishing the passer on the same line. Suh was superlative and worthy of the accolades—AP player of the year, Heisman finalist, No. 2 overall NFL draft pick—bestowed upon him.

Suh also drew double and triple teams on the line, freeing up room for Crick's carnage.

But there's a problem there, too. Of his nine sacks, five came against Baylor, which finished its season 1-7 in Big 12 play.

Let's see if he can do that against Texas without Suh.

2. Jeremiah Masoli, QB, Ole Miss

There probably aren't too many grad students out there who can avoid a blitz.

There also probably aren't too many grad students who've been busted for stealing Mac Book's from a frat house, given a second chance to play for one of the best programs in the country, then blew that chance by driving on a suspended license with marijuana in the car.

Jeremiah Masoli, you're an enigma. You're also No. 2 on this list, because you have a lot to prove.

Before his off the field implosion, Masoli helped lead Oregon to the Rose Bowl, where he was resoundingly shut down. There wasn't a Duck fan around that would of expected he would go 9 of 20 for 81 yards and have six rushes for nine yards.

Ouch.

Plus, what sometimes gets forgotten in Oregon's awful offseason is that he had LaMichael James in the backfield. 

Now, with one year left to repair his shattered reputation, he's going to have to show he's legit against SEC defenses. Sorry, Jeremiah, even the bottom feeders of this conference are strong by comparison to what's out West. 

There are no Washington State's in the South. Just mountainous expectations.

1. Tate Forcier, QB, Michigan

He was billed as the Wolverines' spread offense savior, the one who would finally make Richard Rodriguez's scheme work in Ann Arbor.

As we enter this season, Michigan is still in disarray, Rich Rod is on a hot seat constantly cranking up in temperature, and as for Forcier ...

Well, he just finally got his helmet wings back.

Seriously. The yellow decorative decals on the QB's headgear were stripped by Rodriguez for undesirable performance in practice. It's a move you'd see in high school, not a program that thinks as highly of itself as the Wolverines do.

As for on the field stats, he threw for 2,050 yards with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. That equates to an average of 170 yards a game. That's not going to vault Michigan back into national legitimacy.

Forcier is young and has plenty of time to grow. Problem is, he's at a program shrouded with NCAA-issues and a cantankerous fanbase that's sick of losing seasons.

It could be another cold winter for the kid from San Diego.