These College Football Teams Were All Hype and No Substance for a Decade
Every year, a few college football programs carry the weight of big expectations. They hire high-profile coaches, secure top recruiting classes, and invest millions in facilities and staff. Naturally, the hype around them soars. However, over the past decade, several major teams have failed to meet those expectations. Despite strong financial support and national attention, these teams produced disappointing results on the field.
Texas A&M Invested Heavily but Gained Little Ground
One such example is Texas A&M, a program that attempted to buy its way into college football’s elite but never quite achieved its goal. The Aggies poured money into every corner of their operation, which included completing a $484 million Kyle Field renovation, hiring national champion coach Jimbo Fisher, and pulling in some of the country’s best prospects.
Between 2015 and 2024, they averaged an 11.2 recruiting rank and paid Fisher more than $7 million annually. Even their 2022 class, the highest-ranked in 247Sports history, couldn’t lift them into national contention. Across Fisher’s tenure, A&M never reached ten wins and didn’t make a single playoff appearance. Their lone top-10 finish came during a shortened 2020 season, against limited competition. The team’s 17-26 record against ranked opponents showed its ongoing struggles.
When Mike Elko took over, an 8-5 debut suggested improvement, but the overall decade—a 77-48 record—fell far short of what Nebraska’s resources and ambition promised.
Nebraska Couldn’t Recover After Firing a Winning Coach
Over seven seasons at Nebraska, Bo Pelini won at least nine games every year. Still, the program let him go in 2014, convinced it could climb even higher. Instead, it began a long slide. Between 2015 and 2024, Nebraska went just 50-69. The Cornhuskers posted eight losing seasons in that span and reached nine wins only once.
They turned to Scott Frost in 2017 in the hopes that the former quarterback who went undefeated at UCF could restore the team’s status. He went 16-31 overall, 10-26 in the Big Ten, and never beat a ranked team. A seven-year bowl drought followed, the kind of stretch that would’ve been unthinkable during Pelini’s time.
Auburn Had Talent but Failed to Compete at the Top
Competing for relevance in the powerhouse SEC has been an uphill battle for Auburn, even with strong recruiting and significant financial investment. Over the past decade, the Tigers averaged a national recruiting rank of 12.3 and paid head coaches an average of $5.73 million annually. Despite those resources, they posted a 70–57 record and failed to reach the College Football Playoff.
Gus Malzahn’s later seasons delivered inconsistent results, and subsequent hires brought little stability. Bryan Harsin lasted only two years with limited success, while Hugh Freeze’s early tenure has yet to show meaningful improvement. Auburn also faltered in high-stakes matchups; he compiled a 15–38 record against ranked teams and struggled in rivalries — going 2–8 against Alabama and 1–10 against Georgia.
Auburn’s lone CFP top-10 finish during the span came early, and they never regained that footing. The gap between expectations and performance suggested deeper issues beyond just talent acquisition.