15 College Football Programs Being Shown Up by Their Basketball Teams
Every once in a while you'll see a fight break out between members of college sports teams at the same university.
Maybe a star basketball player has a beef with a guy on the football team, or maybe a baseball player slept with a soccer player's girlfriend.
But it sometimes results in a war between the two teams.
That's a rarity, though.
Oftentimes there is already a friendly battle going on between a school's top two programs: usually football and basketball.
Who will have the better season? Who can win an NCAA title?
Sometimes one team flourishes while the other flounders (or at least doesn't perform as well as the other team).
Just like this year.
Here are 15 college football programs being shown up by their basketball teams.
15. Louisville
1 of 15
In Charlie Strong's first season as head football coach at Louisville, the Cardinals were mediocre across the board.
They went 7-6 in a down Big East, but ended their season with a nice bowl win over Southern Miss.
For a team that was thinking BCS just a few years ago, though, that just won't cut it.
And Louisville's football program will continue to live in the shadows of Rick Pitino and the school's basketball team.
The Cardinals are currently 15-4 and are ranked in the top 25 of both major polls.
14. Notre Dame
2 of 15
It was a step in the right direction for Notre Dame football in its first year under Brian Kelly.
The Fighting Irish went 8-5 and capped off their season with a very impressive Sun Bowl win over Miami.
But this is Notre Dame football we're talking about, and eight-win seasons won't cut it there.
Especially if the the Fighting Irish football players continue to be outshined by the men in the gym.
Post-Luke Harangody, Notre Dame's basketball team is currently 16-4, it is ranked in the top 15 of both major polls and it is undefeated at home.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
13. Utah State
3 of 15
Utah State has never exactly been a football powerhouse, but in 2010 the Aggies were nothing short of terrible.
They finished at 4-8, with three of those wins coming against lowly WAC opponents—San Jose State, New Mexico State and Idaho State.
Now to make matters worse, Utah State's basketball team has gotten off to an incredibly hot start at 18-2.
Like the football team, the Aggies don't have much of a schedule, but their only two losses have come against BYU and Georgetown, both of which are ranked in the top 25 of both major college basketball polls.
.png?w=256 "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship")
12. Purdue
4 of 15
When you go 4-8 and score 111 fewer points than you've allowed, that's not necessarily hard to top.
But that's how bad Purdue's football team was this season, and now the Boilermakers' basketball squad is rubbing it in a little bit.
Yeah, Purdue is coming off a blowout loss against Ohio State, but they're still ranked 12th in the nation in both major polls and are in second place in the Big Ten.
The Boilermakers will move down considerably this week thanks to the loss.
But let's be real—anything's better than winning four games all season.
11. Florida
5 of 15
After Florida football had so much success in its first five years under Urban Meyer, the Gators limped to a disappointing 8-5 season in 2010.
Not a bad season, but not Florida football good either.
The Gators basketball program, on the other hand, has won three straight games, it is 16-4 overall and sits atop the SEC.
Though the SEC hasn't been a great basketball conference in recent years, there's still something to be said for being the best.
And unless Will Muschamp turns Florida back into a legit SEC title threat next season—and he probably will—the Gators basketball team will be the better current sports program at Florida.
10. Washington
6 of 15
Despite all the publicity surrounding Jake Locker, Washington's football team needed a bowl win to finish above .500.
Yeah, the Huskies won that game and ended the season at 7-6, but much bigger things were expected at the beginning of the season.
The Washington football program will continue to lag behind the school's basketball program, which is consistently one of the better ones in the nation.
So far this season, the Huskies are 15-4 overall, 7-1 in Pac-10 play, have won three straight games and are ranked 17th in the Coaches Poll and 18th in the AP Poll.
Washington looks like the team to beat in the Pac-10 in 2011.
9. Minnesota
7 of 15
Minnesota football's 2010 season went a little something like this: 3-9 with the firing of Tim Brewster in-season and a humiliating loss to South Dakota.
Yep, that about covers it.
As for the Golden Gophers basketball program, they're headed in the opposite direction.
Minnesota is 15-4 overall, has won three straight games and is currently the No. 15 team in the AP poll.
8. Vanderbilt
8 of 15
The 2010 Vanderbilt football team was about as bad as bad can get, going 2-10 while scoring a measly 16.9 points per game.
The Commodores scored 14 points or less in all but three games. Wow.
Well, not that this is a phenomenal accomplishment, but Vanderbilt's basketball team is better than the football team.
Shocking, I know.
The basketball version of the Commodores are 14-4 and ranked 22nd in the AP poll.
7. Pittsburgh
9 of 15
Pittsburgh's football team entered the 2010 season as a preseason favorite to win the Big East, but the Panthers struggled to a 7-5 regular season record and missed out on the BCS.
Then, after Dave Wannstedt resigned as head coach, Pitt replaced him with Mike Haywood, who lasted all of two weeks before getting fired after a domestic violence issue.
Meanwhile, the Panthers basketball team is currently ranked second in the nation and sits at 19-2 overall and atop the crowded Big East at 7-1.
Just think how good Pitt would be if DeJuan Blair was still there.
6. Connecticut
10 of 15
Just when you thought Connecticut's football program might take another step closer to the school's basketball program, the Huskies football team was brought back down to earth.
After a surprising 8-4 regular season, UConn got destroyed by Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, and Randy Edsall bolted for Maryland.
Rough ending, huh?
Though Connecticut's overall season was pretty good, it doesn't rival that of the Huskies basketball program.
Jim Calhoun's team currently sits at 17-2 overall, is ranked fifth in both major polls and has arguably the best player in the country in Kemba Walker.
5. San Diego State
11 of 15
In 2009, the first season under Brady Hoke, San Diego State's football squad went 4-8.
But in 2010, Hoke led the team to an amazing turnaround, as the Aztecs went 9-4 and won the Poinsettia Bowl.
However, Hoke has flown the coup to Michigan, and San Diego State's magical 2010 season has already been forgotten.
Why? Because of the school's basketball team.
The Aztecs have won a whopping 20 straight games to start the season and are currently the No. 4 team in both major polls.
Who woulda thunk it?
4. Texas
12 of 15
It was the worst season in recent memory for the Texas football program, as the Longhorns went 5-7 and seemed lost without Colt McCoy behind center.
They were indeed one of the—if not the—biggest disappointments in all of college football in 2010.
But while the Texas football glass was half empty, the Texas basketball glass is more than halfway full.
The Longhorns basketball squad is at 16-3 overall, it is a perfect 4-0 in the Big 12 and just snapped Kansas' 69-game home win streak.
Texas is currently No. 7 in the AP poll and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll.
3. BYU
13 of 15
It was a rare down year for BYU football, as the Cougars finished at just 7-6 after winning double-digit games the previous four seasons under Bronco Mendenhall.
They did win a bowl game, but they also had a four-game losing streak and started 2-5 overall.
The Cougars hoopsters, however, are doing just fine.
Led by Jimmer Fredette, BYU—currently the nation's No. 9 team—is sitting pretty at 19-1 overall and has won nine straight games.
2. Kansas
14 of 15
Who would have thought that Kansas football would miss Mark Mangino so much?
OK, not really, but the Jayhawks were a very disappointing 3-9 in their first season under Turner Gill, especially considering that Kansas played in the Orange Bowl just a few years ago (2007).
Well, it certainly appears that the Kansas football program is down in the dumps.
But it's a different scenario for the basketball team.
Like usual, the Jayhawks are among the nation's elite teams, sitting at 19-1 and ranked sixth in both major polls.
They could be around in April yet again.
1. Ohio State
15 of 15
There's really nothing bad to say about Ohio State's 2010 football season.
Aside from those five-game suspensions that'll hurt the program next year, the Buckeyes should be proud of going 12-1 and capping off their season with a Sugar Bowl win.
And though 12-1 is great, 21-0 is better.
Ohio State's basketball team, led by one of the nation's best players in Jared Sullinger, has been perfect so far this season and is coming off a 23-point beatdown of No. 12 Purdue.
As of this writing, the Buckeyes appear to be the favorite to win the national championship.
And that, my friends, is why Sullinger and Thad Matta have a leg up on Terrelle Pryor and Jim Tressel right now.
.png?w=480 "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship")
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
