College Football:The 11 Most Frustrating College Football Programs in the Nation

Every year there are at least a couple of college football teams that leave us wholly unsatisfied…

Whether it’s an “almost breakthrough” season that fell one or two games (or plays) short of its ultimate destination or it’s what seems like a waste of talent, facilities and money on a what ends in a  sub-par result these teams leave us wanting more.

And, while some programs frustrate us every so often, others spend a few consecutive seasons making us scratch our heads, bang our fists and wonder why promise can’t ultimately spawn results.

The following 11 programs are among those that are guilty of long-term frustration levels, though the reasoning behind this angst is as varied as the teams themselves.

South Carolina

The Gamecocks are frustrating simply because they just can’t seem to break through the iron ceiling of the SEC.

In 2010 South Carolina won only its second championship, ever. 

Yes, the Gamecocks 1969 ACC title and last season’s SEC East crown combine to complete the entire South Carolina championship catalog.

But this is a team that has spent over a decade (from the Lou Holtz era that began in 1999 to the Spurrier epoch that began in 2005) wavering on the horizon of “almost.”

Eight and nine win seasons in 2000-01 were matched by the ’06 team that went 8-5 and then, of course, the 2010 team that fell one huge SEC championship loss to Auburn short of the big enchilada.

Though it’s easy to be impressed with how the Gamecocks continue to be relevant in a dicey SEC picture (and they are absolutely fun to root for) you usually find yourself pushing back from the meal still somewhat hungry when South Carolina finishes the season.

The 26-17 loss to Florida State in last year’s Peach Bowl is a perfect example of this, another campaign with little or no dessert served afterwards.

Texas A&M

In 2002 the Aggies finished with a disappointing 6-6 record which ultimately signaled the end of the highly successful RC Slocum era at Texas A&M.

Slocum went 123-47-2 over 14 seasons in College Station and his departure heralded the decline of Aggie football which slowly slipped off the national radar until the fighting farmers earned six thrilling victories to close out the 2010 regular season.

Texas A&M is 51-48 since Slocum stepped down and though their return to solid prominence seems scripted for 2011 how can the Aggies, with all the money, facilities and rabid support, not consistently field a winner?

The Aggies last won a conference title in 1998 and prior to last season they hadn’t finished a campaign ranked since 1999.

As a Texas Tech fan I’m certainly not personally frustrated by A&M’s woes, but, even I can’t help but wonder how they can’t be one of the best teams in the Big 12 conference (every year).

Arizona

The Wildcats frustration meter really began to hit overdrive last season when they dropped the last five games of the year ultimately taking a “breakthrough” season and making it a gridiron “breakdown.”

Mike Stoops has slowly turned the corner at Arizona and taken a program that hadn’t won more than six games in over a decade to back-to-back eight win seasons in 2008-09, but what will it take for him to lead the Wildcats to some sort of championship?

Arizona’s one and only Pac-10 crown came in 1993 and from 2011 onwards they will have the opportunity to capture a divisional title if the full blown conference version proves impossible.

To give you an idea of how frustrating it all really is, the Wildcats haven’t finished a season ranked in the AP Top 25 since 1998 when they went 12-1 and were listed at No. 4.

Army

Army football is every bit as attractive and alluring as the programs at Air Force and Navy based on the simple fact that all three have patriotic undertones that are impossible to ignore (but Army is the only service academy with five national championships).

Undersized, under speedy gridiron warriors destined to become combatants that will defend far more than the line of scrimmage; these student athletes give college sport an entirely different perspective.

What’s frustrating about the Army football program is not their gritty play or their continued instance to schedule great opponents; it’s their unprecedented recent struggle against arch rival Navy.

The Black Knights are 49-55-7 all-time against the Midshipmen, a record that has been swung out of balance by virtue of Army dropping the last nine consecutive games to Navy (the longest streak by either team in the 120 year history of the rivalry).

Army hasn’t sunk Navy since December 1, 2001 when they beat the Midshipmen 26-17 in Philadelphia.

It’s frustrating that this great rivalry has, recently, been so one sided (and this comes from a fan who traditionally supports Navy due to my father in law’s history as a player at Navy and my grandfather’s service as a Naval Aviator in WWII).

Go Army, Beat Navy! (With sincere apologies to my large headed in-laws.)

Oregon State

The Beavers are another team that seems to eternally sit on the cusp of “something more” and they certainly have come closer and done more than teams like Arizona and South Carolina.

 Oregon State has won seven or more games eight times since 2000 but they only have one Pac-10 title and one BCS appearance to show for what equates to an impressive 85-52 record in 11 campaigns.

The Beavers are 6-2 in bowls over this period which includes a 41-9 pounding of Notre Dame in the 2000-01 Fiesta Bowl.

But, despite all the good feelings, how long will it be until Mike Riley can go beyond a good bowl victory and lead the Beavers back into championship contention including a golden BCS bauble?

Oregon State is another team that’s fun to root for but almost easy to expect to fall short somewhere in a long season (and remember that this is a program quite unafraid to schedule good non-conference opponents).

Clemson

Clemson hasn’t really suffered a truly “therapy required” season since they won only three games in 1998.

Though they have certainly played consistently since that time (they’ve never fallen below .500) what will it take the Tigers to rise above the ranks of upper mediocrity?

Clemson won the ACC Atlantic as recently as 2009 but they haven’t worn the ACC crown since 1991 and they are 4-6 in bowl games since 2000.

The Tigers have been ranked in the final AP poll four times since 2003 but they haven’t cracked the Top 20 since they finished 2000 ranked No. 16.

Here’s a program with a great tradition, a hugely fanatical fan base and a “winnable” conference situation and as frustrating as it seems for the serious college football fan on a national level how tough must it be to be a zealous Clemson fan?

Miami (FL)

It’s truly amazing the effect Hurricane football has on the landscape of college football.

Few programs (other than Notre Dame) can garner the positive outlook, media attention and high expectations without actual recent results that Miami (FL) does.

Every year we discuss if this will be “the” year for the Hurricanes, we solemnly note their obvious speed and athleticism and we fear them on our schedule; but at the end of the day this is a program that hasn’t won a single title since they left the Big East after the 2003 season.

Yes, they’ve scored nine victories in three of the seasons since that time (also the only three times they finished ranked in the AP Top 25), but they’re 2-4 in bowls and haven’t even managed an ACC Coastal title (ever).

My gut call is that Al Golden may well be the answer to the Hurricanes woes, but, until that time the Hurricanes are simply frustrating (unless you are a hater, then it is a delight, a real delight).

Pittsburgh

The Panthers have suffered but one sub .500 par season since 2000 and they’ve captured two Big East co-championships since this time (in 2004 and 2010); but despite this moderate success they’ve only made the BCS once (in 2004-05 when they got pummeled by Utah in the Fiesta Bowl).

The Big East is arguably the easiest launch pad into the BCS but still Pitt struggles to make it atop what continues to be a winnable conference.

Pitt has a whopping nine national titles in its long gridiron history but how and when will they make a consistent national splash?

Todd Graham has all the makings of a great BCS head football coach but can he finally make the Panthers the dominant team in the Big East?

Iowa

You can look at Iowa’s recent Big Ten success in two different ways.

First, it’s amazing that a team that competes with the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State has won two Big Ten titles since 2000, has won ten plus games four times in this time period and has made two BCS appearances (1-1).

Or, you could look at Iowa and say…why not more?  Given the great coach, solid recruiting, rabid fanbase and lack of a conference championship to deal with (up until this upcoming season), why not more?

Personally, I think they’re a stretch for this list but Iowa seem to be that team that lets us down (at least recently) with one or two huge losses in what “could have been” a BCS season.

They’re likeable, fun to root for (a bit of an underdog in a conference full of big egos) but games like the 2009 loss to Northwestern and the string of late season losses in 2010 make you wonder what could happen if Ferentz and company could consistently close the deal.

UCLA

UCLA is not frustrating just because they’ve experienced a real “era of bad feelings” recently (28-35 since 2006) but it’s the way they lose and the overall effect this has on a proud, tradition-rich football program in a great conference.

The Bruins were outscored a cataclysmic 364-242 in 2010 (they finished 4-8, as they also did in 2008 which was their worst finish since 1989) and are 3-5 in bowl games since 2000; their last bowl victory came as recently as 2009 but this was a nine-point win over the MAC’s Temple in the Eagle Bank Bowl (hardly the Rose Bowl of the east).

The team that claims 18 Pac-10 titles and the 1954 national championship hasn’t won a championship since 1998 and has only two eight plus wins since 1999.

This is another team with all the right things in place to be a winner, and it’s just simply hard to watch when they manage only 15 wins in three seasons.

Georgia

Georgia may well be the team on this list with the most recent success (other than Iowa) but when, oh when, will they win it all?

And by “all” I mean the BCS National Championship, which is obviously the very realistic goal of top tier SEC teams, a goal that has eluded the Bulldogs but not five of the 12 SEC teams in the BCS era.

Georgia has won the SEC East three times since 2000; winning the SEC crown two of these times but perfection and the biggest game in the land (the BCS championship) seems just out of reach.

Their positioning in the SEC East makes things (at least in the last couple of seasons) somewhat easier (relatively) but Georgia seems to losing rather than building momentum.

This is probably the team with the most overall potential on this list (they have it all, including the best shrubs in college football) and though they play in the SEC why can’t they (like brethren Florida, LSU, Alabama, Tennessee and Auburn) run the tables and win it all?

The Bulldogs have won 10-plus games six times in Mark Richt’s decade in Athens; is it a stretch to be frustrated with this?

Well, I’m just saying, if I was a Georgia fan, I’d be frustrated (and not just with the six win finish in 2010).