College Football's 3(ish) Most Disappointing Teams of 2024

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College football saw its fair share of great performances in 2024. From the Arizona State Sun Devils to

the Texas Longhorns, many teams went above and beyond expectations to make it a special year for

their program.

This article is not about those teams. For every successful team this season, there was also a

team that underperformed and did not come close to meeting expectations. These teams stuck out

above the rest in that regard.

No. 1: Florida State Seminoles

How the mighty have fallen. After a run at the College Football Playoff in 2023, a 13-1 campaign and

some of the best returning players for 2024, the Florida State Seminoles finished this season a measly 2-

10 and a 1-7 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference. A disaster class in underperformance, the Seminoles are far and away the most disappointing team of the 2024 season.

It started at the top, with head coach Mike Norvell being at odds with the media and fanbase while

trying to get a feasible team put together. This tension gave way to the players and assistants as well, who also struggled mightily.

“It’s extremely disappointing. It’s embarrassing. Ultimately, we have to make a choice as a football

program of what we’re going to look like when we get out there.” Norvell said in an opening statement

after Florida State’s loss to the SMU Mustangs.

This team clearly chose poorly, as that game was just the fifth game of the season. They managed one

more win on the season, but that was not enough to appease the reasonably frustrated Seminole fans. Many called for Norvell’s firing, a complete overhaul of the program and a new beginning for a once

proud team.

The Seminoles averaged just 270.2 yards of total offense in 2024, No. 132 out of 134 FBS teams. Their

defense wasn’t much better, allowing an average of 385.9 yards per game and ranking No. 86 in the FBS.

A program in freefall, for now, major changes could be needed as fans and media are saying.

Could we see this change in 2025? By all accounts, Norvell will be retained, but he will have some major

work to do in the Transfer Portal, recruiting and team development if he wants to get the Seminoles

back in the good graces of the powers that be. Otherwise, it’s likely curtains for his time at Florida State

as well as curtains for anyone responsible for this utter meltdown that has happened with the Seminole

football program.

No. 2: Big 12 Conference Preseason Top 5

The Big 12 Conference was a big, chaotic mess this football season. Anyone could beat anyone, and

everyone did beat everyone. However, nobody got beat down as much as the Big 12 Preseason Top 5

of the Utah Utes, Kansas State Wildcats, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Kansas Jayhawks and Arizona

Wildcats.

Excluding Kansas State, every team in the preseason top 5 had a losing record. Utah vowed to

dominate the Big 12 in their first year. They went 2-7 in the conference and 5-7 overall after injury once

again decimated their quarterback room. After losing most of that room along with multiple seniors and

outgoing transfers for the next season, they have significant work to do if they want to contend in 2025.

Oklahoma State had 2023 Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon II in their backfield, experienced

quarterback Alan Bowman and a stacked front seven leading the charge into 2024. Their front seven lost

their two best players and Gordon and Bowman underperformed heavily. Gordon ran for 880 yards on

4.6 yards per carry and 13 touchdowns, a far cry from his 1,732-yard, 6.1 yards per carry, 21 touchdown

award-winning campaign. Bowman threw for 2,423 yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. They did

not win a single game in the conference and went 3-9 overall.

Next came the Jayhawks, who after a 9-4 2023 campaign, looked to be legitimate contenders for years

to come. That legitimacy is now in jeopardy, as the Jayhawks had heartbreaking loss after heartbreaking

loss, leading to a 4-5 record in conference and a 5-7 record overall. Out of all the teams excluding Kansas

State though, they performed the best and managed three straight wins over ranked opponents, the

first-ever FBS team with a losing record to do so.

Finally, we come to Arizona, who finished 2-7 in conference and 4-8 overall. The combination of Tetairoa

McMillian and Noah Fifita took a step back, with McMillian going for over 1,300 yards but just 8

touchdowns (after a 1,400-yard, 10-touchdown 2023 campaign) and Fifita throwing for 2,958 yards, 18

touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 60 percent completion percentage (after a 25-touchdown campaign

in 2023 and one of the most efficient performances in the FBS)

The main thing that caused such poor performance though was the Arizona defense, who allowed 415.3

total yards per game and ranked No. 105 in total defense. A passing defense that was vaunted in the

preseason ended up allowing 239 yards per game and ranking No. 102 in passing yards allowed. Losing

parts to the Transfer Portal may have contributed, but this unit’s performance plummeted from their

2023 numbers

While the Big 12 has long since been known as a highly competitive league, the top 5 teams in

preseason have usually stayed par for the course. Not this year, as the only team to stay even within

striking distance of the conference top 5 was Kansas State, who finished 5-4 in the conference, 9-4

overall and No. 8 in the conference standings. The Big 12’s supposed “top dogs” have some major work

to do if they want to be back as contenders, otherwise, it may be a new age for this conference going

through significant changes in this era.

No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide

While the Alabama Crimson Tide may not have the losing record that the previous two have, a team that

is projected as a perennial College Football Playoff contender going 9-4 and losing the ReliaQuest Bowl

to a fellow underperforming team in the Michigan Wolverines is certainly a stain on one of college

football’s proudest and traditionally excellent programs.

Alabama deserves to be on this list not just because they underperformed, but because they

underperformed and felt an obvious sense of entitlement even after underperforming. Many in the

Alabama diaspora felt that the Crimson Tide were cheated out of a College Football Playoff spot, simply

because they were Alabama and Southeastern Conference. Surely, a 9-3 SEC squad would take the SMU

Mustangs, Indiana Hoosiers, Boise State Broncos and Arizona State Sun Devils to the cleaners.

Surely, this Alabama team didn’t lose to a 7-6, historically mighty Vanderbilt Commodores team. Surely,

this Alabama team didn’t get blown out by an SEC newcomer who went 6-7 in the Oklahoma Sooners.

Surely, this Alabama team didn’t finish outside the top 25 in total offense, finish near the bottom in

fewest penalties, finish outside the top 50 in passing offense or finish outside the top 50 in sacks

allowed, among other stats that signify a step back from the days of Nick Saban.

Kalen DeBoer’s first season wasn’t pretty, but it was his first season. Give credit and sympathy where it’s

due, but the main reason the Crimson Tide end up on this list is due to the incessant crying over not

being selected for the College Football Playoff then proceeding to lay an egg against one of the most

mediocre Michigan teams in recent memory. The SEC bias blowing up in those who subscribed to its

face is perhaps one of the best storylines of this season, as the crown jewels of the SEC in both the

Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama fell apart at season’s end after all the boisterous rhetoric.

The SEC can only hope that the newcomer in Texas can redeem them, otherwise, their entire conference

can go ahead and end up on this list.

College Football’s Biggest Duds

While these may not have been the worst-performing teams in the nation this season, their

performances warrant disappointment and frustration. Plain and simple, these teams’ performances

were duds, underwhelming and in certain cases, alarming. The great thing about college football though,

is that it’s fairly easy to redeem yourselves.

Florida State has a decent transfer class coming in, as do the teams that underwhelmed in the Big 12

and Alabama. The rebuilding process begins now and these teams are well on their way to finding

themselves off this list in 2025. Pain is temporary and can sometimes lead to the formation of some of

the best seasons. Take it from teams like the 2015-2017 UCF Knights or 2023-2024 Arizona State,

redemption is plenty possible and sometimes, it only takes a year’s difference to get back to glory.