When Texas A&M ranked No. 6 in the preseason AP Top 25, few thought twice. Admittedly, it was a rare leap for a team that had finished the previous season unranked, but they weren’t able to put together the #1 recruit class. The best ever quarterback and with his three new additions to his room, the Aggies were considered by some to be his playoff contenders for dark horse college football.
Fast forward and the Aggies come pretty close to notoriety. In the last 50 years, he is the only team to lose a record out of the top six in preseason. A loss to interim coach Auburn in Week 11 saw the Aggies drop to that mark, shockingly missing a bowl game for the first time since 2008. For comparison, Kevin Sumlin never missed a bowl and won at least eight games in his first five seasons.
Another team, located east of Texas, made things worse by poaching the Aggies’ athletic director. Scott Woodward chose to return to his rouge in Button, Louisiana, and asked Brian Kelly to direct his LSU football program. in just one season, Kerry brought the Tigers the SEC West crown, something Fisher has not won after five seasons. With the Transfer Portal on the horizon, expect glittering recruiting classes to get noticed.
There were other teams with high expectations. USC started the year No. 1 and in 2012 he dropped out of the AP Top 25. Notre Dame was his 10th-ranked team in the country, but in 2016 he finished 4-8. it doesn’t matter. With all the anticipation and momentum this program boasted in the offseason, 2022 Texas A&M is his most disappointing team of the 21st century.
Meet the winners, losers, and overreactions of Week 11 in college football.
winner
TCUs: Despite being ranked as one of four undefeated teams in college football, TCU entered the battle against Texas as a 7-point underdog. The CFP Commission complained that the Frogs could only win the game with strong offense. all concerns 17-10 win over TexasThe Frogs held Texas without an offensive touchdown, with a smothered star running back Bijan Robinson and marching past the Longhorns at home field. With strong performances, there is no question about his TCU’s ability to compete at a high level or win in a variety of ways.
Washington coach Karen DeVore: In his 23 years as a college head coach, DeBoer has been consistently winning everywhere he has coached. But even though Fresno State University and his NAIA at Sioux Falls he got the Washington job with a record of 79-9, his immediate success still haunts me. . Washington beat No. 6 Oregon 37-34 It was Oregon’s first loss in a Pac-12 play and featured a Washington team that finished at the +360 money line behind a 408-yard pass from quarterback Michael Penix Jr., according to the Caesars Sportsbook. . DeVore took over a transitional roster after the Huskies were eliminated by his 4-8 record last season, but Washington is already back in the national buzz. DeBoer should be a strong contender for Pac-12 Coach of the Year in high-intensity competition.
loser
Virginia: Both Virginia programs have opted to make coaching changes after the 2021 season. Virginia Tech suffered his 24-7 loss against Duke, his seven-game losing streak for the first time since 1951. The Hawkeyes haven’t lost eight games in a single season since his 1992, but the rest he reached a record two games. Virginia handed the keys to attacking Tony Elliott, but Brennan Armstrong, the top power-five passer in America last season, Throw a pick 6 in the first two plays of the game We lost an embarrassing 37-7 to Pitt. UVa has never finished a regular season below . 500 since his 2016, but things fell apart under Elliott’s watch. Commonwealth his cup does not last forever.
North Carolina: The Wolfpack’s season ended after quarterback Devin Leary was out for the season, but a 21–20 loss to Boston College put the nails in the coffin. The Golden Eagles were unable to clinch a road win with four straight losses before marching to Carter Finley Stadium and inflicting an embarrassing loss to North Carolina State thanks to 14 unanswered points in the second half. . The Wolfpack had high hopes and expectations after regaining Leary and a ferocious defense, and many hoped they would become ACC contenders. just to be a great North Carolina State team.
overreaction
The National Coach of the Year race is insane: Fired coaches always seem to play a central role as everyone is looking for the next best thing. But in a sport defined by sales figures, let’s take a moment and celebrate what has been a legitimately outstanding year of coaching across the country.
Kansas coach Lance Leipold led the Jayhawks to a bowl game at backup quarterback.UConn coach Jim Mora Jr. improved his program, which had won less than six in the last three seasons, into its first season. I took it to a bowl game. TCU coach Sonny Dykes has a frog in his college football playoff conversation. Despite losing to UCF, Willie Fritz won Tulane in his AAC title race. As previously mentioned, Kerry has won his LSU in his SEC Championship his game in his first year.
The name barely even scratches the surface. What about Brett Bierema from the University of Illinois? Or is it the work Lincoln Riley and Chip Kelly do in Los Angeles schools? Kirby Smart and Jim Harbaugh designed the most efficient killing machine in the country. The level of coaching continues to rise across college football, so the National Coach of the Year race will be one of his toughest decisions in years.
Big Ten West is a mess. The Big Ten West seemed decided weeks ago. However, after a disastrous loss to Michigan and a disappointing performance against Purdue, the race was suddenly opened.
Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota and Iowa were suddenly tied in the Big Ten West standings with a 4-3 record. The Illini will likely be eliminated from the race next week as they face No. 3 Michigan. Unsurprisingly, Iowa and Purdue (the two programs had been battling for bowl qualification a few days earlier) were set to play with major division hopes in Week 12.
