25 Biggest Flops, Disappointments and Underachievers of College Football 2011

Sports are the greatest drama known to man. In an era of "reality" TV, sports provide us with real drama on a nightly basis. 

The 2011 college football season was filled with excitement, disappointment and expectations met and unmet.

The college football world was rocked with a child molestation scandal that brought down and tarnished the reputation of a coaching legend and a historic program. 

The BCS continues to be questioned, as we will have a "Game of the Century" part two to determine the national champion. Just don't mention the game in Stillwater. 

With bowl season kicking off in less than a week, let's take a look at the biggest flops, disappointments and underachievers of the 2011 college football season. 

UCF

UCF entered this season coming off of their most successful football season in school history. The previous year, UCF finished 11-3, they were Conference USA champions and they won their first bowl game in school history over Georgia.

They entered this season with high expectations but fell miserably short. 

The Knights finished the season 5-7 and ineligible for bowl season. 

The cherry on top was that UCF was placed on two years probation after breaking NCAA rules regarding contacting recruits. Former recruiting administrator Ed Marynowitz and former director of player personnel Steve Rubio combined to place 209 illegal phone calls and over 100 improper text messages to recruits and their families. 

UCF is now a repeat offender and could face more sanctions from the NCAA if they run afoul of the NCAA rules again. 

Dillon Baxter

Dillon Baxter came into USC as the top-rated running back in his recruiting class. He enrolled early and showed signs of brilliance in the spring of his freshman year. All signs pointed to Baxter being the next great running back at Tailback U.

What happened? 

Baxter played in four games and accounted for just nine rushing attempts this season before being granted his release from USC and allowed to transfer. Baxter had encountered many problems off the field. He was suspended for the season opener in 2010 for breaking unspecified team rules, and he missed another game after accepting a ride in a golf cart on campus from an agent. 

Baxter will look to resurrect his football career somewhere other than Troy. Baxter is said to be looking at San Diego State.

Greg Childs

The Arkansas Razorbacks enjoyed a terrific season. Their only losses came to the two teams that will square off for the national championship. Unfortunately for their star receiver from the past two seasons, he did not enjoy the same success.

Childs started the 2011 season on the all SEC first team at wide receiver. After posting 40-plus catches in his sophomore and junior seasons, all signs pointed to a great senior year for the receiver. 

Childs was slowed by a knee injury for most of the year, hauling in only 16 receptions for 192 yards while being held out of the end zone the entire season. 

If not for a knee injury, Childs probably would have entered the draft last season. He will now have to perform at the combine and his pro day to stop his draft stock free fall. 

Nebraska

Nebraska was picked by many to contend and potentially win the inaugural Big 10 championship game. 

After watching the season, you cannot honestly say that Nebraska is any better at the end of the season than they were at the start. 

While the Cornhuskers finished the season with a solid 9-3 record, all three losses were embarrassing.

First, they were blown out by Wisconsin 48-17. Granted, Wisconsin would go on to win the division, but Nebraska wasn't even competitive in Madison. Next came a loss to Big 10 bottom dweller Northwestern. Any time you lose to a school that is known more for their academics than athletics, it's a bad loss. Especially when Northwestern beats you in your own stadium. Then came a late-season blowout at Michigan. The Wolverines almost matched the beating that Wisconsin issued to Nebraska, as they ended the game 45-17. 

Where is the blackshirt defense?

Missouri

Missouri was hoping for a successful swan song before packing their bags and heading for the SEC. To begin the season, Missouri was ranked in the Top 25 in both major preseason polls. 

The Tigers stumbled out of the gate, losing three of their first five games. They bounced back to finish the season 7-5.

Even with a win over Texas, Mizzou struggled to beat Texas Tech and never lived up to their preseason hype. 

Texas A&M

Texas A&M started the season ranked eighth in the AP preseason poll. 

With senior quarterback Ryan Tannehill poised for a breakout season and with it being the Aggies' last season in the Big 12 before a move to the SEC, expectations were high in College Station. 

This is not how A&M wanted this season to go. The Aggies lost four of their final five games, with the only win coming against a 2-10 Kansas team. After finishing 6-6 and losing what could be their last matchup against Texas, head coach Mike Sherman was fired. 

The Aggies will now be looking for a new head coach as they enter the most difficult conference in college football. 

Dayne Crist

Dayne Crist was named the starting quarterback for the Fighting Irish to start the season. The week of the first game, head coach Brian Kelly said of his quarterback: "Dayne will be the starter and I expect him to be the starter for 13 weeks...We have great confidence in his ability to lead us to a championship."

That didn't last long. 

Kelly's pledge of confidence in Crist lasted one half, as he was pulled at halftime of the USF game. Crist played sparingly the rest of the year, attempting just 24 passes. He will now look to transfer out of South Bend.  

Under Armour Uniforms

In an effort to compete with the ever popular Nike Pro Combat uniforms and give Maryland as many uniform options as Oregon, Under Armour released a whole new line of uniforms for the Terrapins. 

For the most part, Under Armour hit a home run on the uniforms. The black helmet is slick and the red on red uniform looks sharp. 

Then there was the uniform they wore against Miami on national television. 

We get it—you are proud of your state and state flag, but please don't wear these again. 

Illinois

Illinois found their way into the record books this season, but it is not a record to be proud of. 

The fighting Illini became the first team in college football history to win their first six games and lose their next six. 

After starting the season 6-0, Illinois had climbed all the way up the rankings to 18th. What followed was enough to get head coach Ron Zook fired. Illinois lost to Ohio State, Purdue, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota to end the season. 

Illinois will try to end their losing streak at six in the Kraft fight hunger bowl against an equally disappointing UCLA team. 

Garrett Gilbert

The nation was introduced to Garrett Gilbert in his freshman season during the national championship game. Gilbert replaced the injured Colt McCoy and played well enough to keep the Longhorns competitive against Alabama. 

After a sophomore slump, Gilbert was poised to be the leader for Texas in his junior season. 

Gilbert was serviceable in a win against Rice to open the season, completing 13-of-23 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown. The former five-star recruit was then benched after completing just 2-of-8 passes and throwing two interceptions in a game against Rice. 

Those two completions would be the last two of Gilbert's career at Texas. After being replaced by Case McCoy and David Ash, Gilbert didn't receive a snap the rest of the season and will transfer to SMU.

UCLA Gets Beat 50-0 the Week Before Playing for the Pac-12 Championship

Conference expansion is rampant. With every conference vying for bigger and better television contracts, adding more teams and a conference championship game is now the norm in college football. 

The Pac-12 was set to enjoy their first-ever conference championship game this season, but with USC still banned from playing postseason games, UCLA represented the south. 

UCLA went into their annual rivalry game against the Trojans already knowing that they would play for the Pac-12 championship but looking to prove that they were worthy of being there. 

Instead, the Bruins were outclassed, out-performed and embarrassed by the men of Troy. 

Matt Barkley threw for 423 yards and six touchdowns, while the Bruins could only manage 385 yards of total offense. 

The Rick Neuheisel experiment is over, and UCLA had to have an NCAA bowl exemption just to be allowed to play in a bowl game. 

Not exactly what the Pac-12 expected for their first season holding a championship game. 

Mississippi State

After finishing 9-4 and dismantling Michigan 52-14 in the Gator Bowl, Mississippi State started this season ranked in the Top 20. This was supposed to be the season that Dan Mullen and Mississippi State closed the gap in the SEC West. 

Instead, the Bulldogs finished the season 6-6 and just 2-6 in the SEC.  

Mullen will have to re-group and focus on finishing strong against Wake Forest. The Bulldogs are most certainly looking forward to an end to this disappointing season. 

Any Big East Team Getting a BCS Bowl Bid

The fact that a team from the Big East gets to play in a BCS bowl game is a joke. 

The Big East finished with three teams tied atop the conference and will send West Virginia to the Orange Bowl based on a tiebreaker. That is the same West Virginia team that lost to Syracuse by 26 points. 

The Big East hasn't been a competitive football conference in a while, and they are certainly not deserving of being an automatic qualifying conference. 

Even with the teams that the Big East will be adding in the following seasons, they look more like the Mountain West conference than a BCS conference. 

Hopefully the BCS will get something right and vote to remove the Big East from their automatic qualifying status, or get rid of automatic qualifiers altogether. 

Jared Crick

Jared Crick came into the 2011 season on just about every award watch list you can think of. He was named to the Walter Camp, Nagurski, Lombardi, Outland and Nagurski watch lists as well as being featured on the Sports Illustrated college football preview cover. Crick was garnering as much hype as former Cornhusker Ndamukong Suh. 

Crick saw his season end to a torn pectoral muscle, but he did not find his way onto this list because of injury. 

Before losing his senior season to injury, Crick had only totaled 22 tackles and one sack in five games. This is coming off a season where the lineman had 70 tackles and 9.5 sacks.

John Brantley and Florida

The Florida Gators were looking to bounce back from a disappointing 8-5 season, but instead they regressed to 6-6. 

Senior quarterback John Brantley, who has remained loyal to Florida throughout his embattled career, was knocked out of the game against Alabama and would not return until the Gators played Georgia a month later. Brantley would only complete 12-of-34 pass attempts and lose his final game against the Bulldogs. 

The cherry on top came as Brantley would again be knocked out of a game, this time on senior night against the Florida State Seminoles. The loss would bring Brantley to 0-2 against the 'Noles as a starting quarterback. It almost seemed a fitting end to a disappointing career for the one-time Gatorade National High School Player of the Year.

The Gators will look to avoid finishing the season under .500 when they play in the Urban Meyer bowl...I mean Gator bowl.  

Tennessee

Rocky Top hasn't been this rocky in a long time. 

The Tennessee Volunteers lost six of their final eight games, including losing to Kentucky for the first time since 1984. Kentucky was able to end a 26-game losing streak and keep the Vols from becoming bowl eligible in the same game. 

The loss to Kentucky moved the Vols' record in the SEC to 1-7, with their only win coming against Vanderbilt. 

Derrick Dooley might want to consider throwing out those orange pants and starting over next season. 

Southern Miss Ends Houston's Cinderella Season

Case Keenum had led his Houston Cougars to a 12-0 record and to the doorstep of a BCS bowl game. All that stood in the way was Southern Mississippi and the Conference USA championship game, a game that they would play on their home turf. 

No Problem, right?

Southern Mississippi apparently didn't get the message that Cinderella was about to get an invitation to the ball, as the Golden Eagles battered the Cougars to the tune of a 49-28 victory. 

The win for Southern Mississippi marked the fourth time the Golden Eagles have won Conference USA, but the first time they have done so since the conference moved to a championship game in 2005.  

The win will also cost Conference USA about $17 million, as the Cougars accepted a bid to the Ticket City Bowl rather than being invited to a BCS bowl game. 

USF Beats Notre Dame in South Bend

It is a well-known fact that Lou Holtz is a Notre Dame homer. So much in fact that he chose his former school to beat his own son. 

Skip Holtz and the Bulls pulled off the first major upset of the college football season when they upset Notre Dame in South Bend 23-20. The Bulls were able to withstand Notre Dame's late comeback and leave South Bend with a win. 

Notre Dame receives a ton a preseason hype every year and this year was no different. Notre Dame was supposed to contend for a national championship or at least a BCS bowl this season. Instead, the Irish finished 8-4 and will play FSU in the Champs Sports bowl. 

Even with four losses on the year, non were as big of a flop as the opening loss to South Florida. 

Maybe Lou will pick his son next time he gets the chance. 

Boise State Goes Wide Right Against TCU

For the second straight year, Boise State would finish their regular-season schedule with one loss. 

For the second straight year, the Broncos would lose due to a missed field goal. Last season it was two missed field goals, one in regulation and one in overtime. 

This season the Broncos' championship hopes were dashed as a field-goal attempt sailed wide right as the clock expired. 

For all the work that Chris Peterson had done in putting Boise on the map, to think that the Broncos were a made field goal away from back-to-back perfect seasons is about as disappointing as any story in college football. 

Stephen Garcia

Stephen Garcia has had about as many chances as any player in college football. The fact that Steve Spurrier is the one giving him the chances is even more astounding. Spurrier is famous for pulling quarterbacks out in the middle of drives because he was not pleased with how they were playing. 

Garcia was finally dismissed in the middle of the season after he tested positive for alcohol and marijuana. Garcia was allowed back on the team following his fifth suspension as long as he passed drug and alcohol tests throughout the season. 

Garcia started a total of 34 games at South Carolina, but he will be remembered for his off-the-field actions and drinking ability rather than his ability as a passer.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma began the season ranked first overall in both the AP and Coaches polls. The Sooners and quarterback Landry Jones were poised to make a run at the Big 12 and national championships. 

All of those plans were derailed when Texas Tech came into Norman and stole a win from the Sooners. Oklahoma would go on to lose to Baylor for the first time in school history and Oklahoma State for the first time since 2002. 

For a season that had so much on the line, Oklahoma disappointed and fell short. 

Nevin Shapiro

Nevin Shapiro rocked the college football world when he dropped allegations of illegally paying players at the University of Miami. Shapiro, currently serving prison time for his part in a ponzi scheme, alleged that he had bought gifts, jewelry, clothes, gave money and purchased prostitutes for up to 72 athletes at Miami from 2002 through 2010. 

Shapiro's allegations would result in the suspension of eight current Miami football players to miss games and 11 current players to have to pay back various sums of money they accepted from Shapiro. 

The scandal brought illegal tactics that are widespread through college football to light, and it exposed to what extent boosters will go to in order to help their school win. 

The problem is, with so many schools and so many boosters, it is impossible for the NCAA to police every school. Unfortunately, this is not the first time and it won't be the last time you hear about a booster paying players and recruits. 

Iowa State Stuns Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State can complain all they want about being left out of the BCS championship game, losing to a school like Iowa State is inexcusable. 

Oklahoma State traveled to little Ames, Iowa (population: 58,965), and was shocked in a double-overtime thriller.

Iowa State had one of the best field rushes in recent memory, and they can lay claim to ending the Cowboys' chances at a national championship.  

Florida State

Before the season, Florida State was back. The Seminoles were projected to win the ACC and contend for a national championship. Jimbo Fisher was going to lead FSU back into the national spotlight and return the 'Noles to glory. 

Then they lost to Oklahoma. A small road bump to lose to the then-No. 1 team in the country. The 'Noles got a pass. 

Then a loss to Clemson. Well, losing two in a row is not good, but at that point in the season, Clemson was undefeated and looking like a front-runner in the ACC. 

Then a loss to Wake Forrest. Three straight losses, with the last coming against a Demon Deacon team that would finish 6-6. 

After three straight losses, it's safe to say that the 'Noles were not back and now they are still trying to find their identity. 

As a side note, what is up with the weird jobs Florida state has for its students on staff?

First there was a kid that would follow around Bobby Bowden holding his headset, and now towel boys?

Nobody is trying to steal your plays, coach, and by being paranoid enough to have kids hide your plays, it makes it seem like you could be guilty of what you're trying to prevent. 

Penn State, Joe Paterno and Jerry Sandusky

Every so often a story comes along that reminds us that sports take a backseat to real life. 

The story of child molestation and a coverup at Penn State transcends the football program, something that fell upon deaf ears as students rioted late into the night after Joe Paterno was fired. 

Former defensive coach Jerry Sandusky has been indicted on 50 counts of child molestation. 

Let that sink in. Fifty separate counts of molesting an adolescent boy. 

To take advantage of a child is disgusting. To do it repeatedly for over 30 years is sick. The fact that Joe Paterno was made aware, the AD was made aware and the president of the university was made aware and nothing was done is reprehensible. 

Joe Paterno had to be fired and now his legacy as one of the best coaches of all time will forever be tarnished by the lost innocence of dozens of boys.

Paterno needs to take a page out of Jim Boeheim's book and take responsibility for everything that happened at Penn State under his watch.