10 Most Overrated Teams in College Football Right Now
TJ Inman
Host · Writer
We have reached mid-November, and the end of the regular season is sadly in sight. There is still much to unfold, but we can already make several observations about which teams are overhyped and overrated.
1. No. 7 Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks survived a trip to Kinnick Stadium and survived some very adverse conditions, escaping with a last-second field goal victory and improving to 8-1. It was a game that reminded everyone of the best and worst of the Big Ten West “glory days,” and Oregon found a way to win. They still have to play Minnesota, USC, and Washington, so a College Football Playoff bid is not guaranteed, but the Ducks are in a great position to make the field and secure a home game. The reason Oregon might currently be overrated is that a vicious injury bug is ravaging the roster. Dante Moore might have a hamstring injury, and they are already without three receivers and their star tight end. If those players are limited or unable to return, the Ducks are not a top ten team.
Week 12: Minnesota at Oregon (-23.5)
2. No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame keeps winning and, as a result, keeps rising in the rankings. The Irish have an excellent win over USC, 34-24 in South Bend, but what is their second-best victory? Is it North Carolina State at home? Navy with the backup quarterback, again in South Bend? Arkansas before they fired Sam Pittman? There’s not much meat on the resume, and the loss to Miami doesn’t look all that fantastic either. Notre Dame is excellent, particularly on offense, but their resume is not one of a top-ten team. They should be very wary of the trip to Pittsburgh this Saturday.
Week 12: Notre Dame (-10.5) at Pittsburgh
3. No. 10 Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns are 4-1 in the SEC, and they have a chance to vault into the SEC Championship Game picture if they can upset Georgia in Athens this Saturday. A win there would make the game against Texas A&M another “winner goes to Atlanta" matchup in that rivalry. Texas is coming off a bye week after beating Vanderbilt 34-31 in Austin, and they do have a big win over Oklahoma, with the Sooners having an injured quarterback, limiting what they could produce on offense. Add a three-point escape at Kentucky and a miracle comeback against Mississippi State in Starkville, and the Longhorns just have not been all that impressive. Now, they have a chance to translate all of their talent into results with games against Georgia and Texas A&M to close the season.
Week 12: Texas at Georgia (-5.5)
4. No. 12 BYU Cougars
The BYU Cougars were being propped up by their undefeated record, but the lone impressive victory of any sort was against the Utah Utes in Provo. Beyond that, the Cougars had no ranked wins, and the Texas Tech defense thoroughly dismantled them as the Red Raiders won 29-7. Now with one loss, BYU does not have a resume that should have them anywhere near the top ten.
5. No. 14 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were on a bye this past weekend, but it was still a good weekend for Brent Key’s crew. Chaos erupted across the ACC as Louisville lost again and Virginia fell to Wake Forest. The path is clear for Georgia Tech to dance to the ACC Championship Game and have a shot at a College Football Playoff slot. That said, beyond the record of 8-1, what has Georgia Tech done to warrant a high ranking? They have a three-point win at home over Clemson, a one-point win at Wake Forest, a win at Duke (who just lost to UConn), and the non-conference win over a dreadful Colorado team. The best win is probably the victory at Wake Forest, and they gave up 48 points to North Carolina State. Every advanced metric suggests Georgia Tech is just not that much above average.
Week 12: Georgia Tech (-16.5) at Boston College
6. No. 15 Utah Utes
Why is Utah ahead of the USC Trojans? Utah is 7-2, and its best win is against either Cincinnati or Arizona State. The best win away from Salt Lake City is probably a victory in Morgantown back in early October. USC has two road losses that were much more competitive than Utah’s defeat to Texas Tech was, plus they have a win over Michigan and at Nebraska (who beat Cincinnati). The Utes have proven quite capable of overwhelming inferior opponents, but the schedule has been favorable, and they have yet to really grab a meaningful win.
Week 12: Utah (-9.5) at Baylor
7. No. 16 Miami Hurricanes
Let’s all say this together: “Miami is so talented!" That’s true, but the Hurricanes continue to find ways to lose, and their College Football Playoff hopes are now on life support. The Hurricanes should not be losing to Louisville or SMU, but Mario Cristobal’s acumen as a head coach is now really being called into question. Cristobal is a heck of a recruiter, but Miami fans should be apprehensive about what happens when opponents have a chance to watch his teams play early in the season and then make adjustments that Cristobal does not see coming and fails to adjust to. Over the past two seasons, the Miami Hurricanes have been 14-1 before Halloween and a miserable 2-4 in November and December games. Miami will not be playing in the ACC Championship Game, and they’ll need some help to sniff the playoff. The win over Notre Dame is really the only thing propping up their resume. A comfortable victory over a horrendous Syracuse team doesn’t change the equation here.
8. No. 20 Virginia Cavaliers
The 8-1 record was propping up the Virginia Cavaliers, but they have now dropped a second game and will be without their starting quarterback. The close wins earlier will give them a good record, but the Cavaliers should not be ranked much longer. The wins have come against unranked teams, and only two of their conference wins have even come by double-digits. That said, the Cavaliers only have one ACC loss, and if they can find a way to win at Duke and beat Virginia Tech in the finale, they’ll make the ACC Championship Game. Is it possible the College Football Playoff committee picks two Group of Five champions and leaves out the ACC?
9. No. 21 Tennessee Volunteers
Why is Tennessee ranked? Beyond being in the SEC and having three “quality losses”, the Volunteers do not have any impressive victories. The wins are over Syracuse, ETSU, UAB (before firing Trent Dilfer), Mississippi State, Arkansas (before firing Sam Pittman), and Kentucky. None of those teams is going to a bowl game.
10. No. 25 South Florida Bulls
South Florida is right back in the College Football Playoff mix as the battle for the Group of Five spot continues to get muddier each week. After exiting the polls, the Bulls are ranked again and sit at 4-1 in the American Athletic Conference, with games left against first-place Navy, at UAB, and against Rice. How quickly we forget that USF just recently lost to Memphis and has a lopsided 49-12 defeat to Miami, a team that no longer looks elite.
Stay ahead of the game and elevate your sports betting experience with SportsGrid.
