Every fall, the college football season brings the hype, thrills and high expectations, but not every team can deliver. For every underdog and Cinderella story in college football, there are so-called powerhouses that crumble when the stakes are high. Hype can carry a team into the Top 25, but it can’t win them games. These are our top four all-bark-no-bite programs in this year’s college football season.
The Clemson Tigers came into the season with all the hype they could get. They were ranked fourth at the start of the season, with star players quarterback Cade Klubnik and defensive end TJ Parker leading the hype train. Then those hopes were let down following a close loss to the number nine LSU Tigers, 17-10. To make it worse, they had an early scare against the Troy Trojans in the first half but pulled out the win, 27-17. Then the rug was pulled out from under them, when they were upset by the unranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 24-21 by a walk-off field goal.
Cade Klubnik has been having trouble finding consistency, with a 59% completion and only three TDs to three INTs on the year. On top of that, the defense has been struggling to adapt to new defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s schemes. Things have gotten so bad that head coach Dabo Swinney started the snap back against Clemson.
“If Clemson’s tired of winning, send me on my way,” Coach Swinney said, “but I’m gonna go somewhere else and coach… Y’all are going to have to deal with me for a while.”
After a disappointing start to the season, the unranked Clemson Tigers look to get an impressive win over the Syracuse Orange (2-1) on Sept. 20 to give hope to the fans.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish came into the season ranked number six after an extraordinary run into the playoffs and even made it into the National Championship, but lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes 34-23. They looked to have another impressive season with redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr and returning star running back Jeremiah Love. Sadly, those hopes were quickly crushed following two straight close losses to the number 10 Miami Hurricanes, 27-24, and the number 16 Texas A&M Aggies, 41-40.
Although Notre Dame’s offense has been spectacular, the same hasn’t been said for the defense. They have only had one sack over their two games, and their secondary has been questionable, giving up too many explosive plays and allowing efficient drives. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s playoff chances have been significantly depleted after a 0-2 start and only being ranked as 23rd at the start of week four. They look to improve against the Purdue Boilermakers (2-1) on Sept. 20 to increase their chances for the playoffs.
The Texas Longhorns came into the season as the number one-ranked team after a grief-stricken loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the semi-finals, 28-14. After multiple losses to the Texas offense in the NFL draft, the Texas Longhorns were still confident with the preseason Heisman favorite, redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning. However, in the season opener, Texas looked to get revenge on the Buckeyes. Arch Manning tremendously struggled with accuracy in a defensive battle and ended up losing 14-7.
The problem isn’t with Texas’s defense; it’s with its offense, specifically with Arch Manning. Arch showed inexperience and trouble with throwing mechanics at Ohio State and at unimpressive wins against unranked opponents, the San Jose State Spartans and the UTEP Miners. He was even booed off the field after 10 straight incompletions and an interception in the red zone during the first half of the UTEP game. Arch and the eight-seed Texas Longhorns look to bounce back against the Sam Houston Bearcats (0-3) on Sept. 20. If Texas has high hopes to make it into the playoffs and eventually the championship, Arch Manning needs to improve his throwing mechanics.
Coming into the 2025-2026 CFB season, Kansas State looked to make a name for itself as they were ranked 17th. They were excited to start the season with star quarterback Avery Johnson. Unfortunately, those hopes looked unpromising following a turnover slopfest to the Iowa State Cyclones in Ireland, 24-21. Furthermore, they nearly embarrassed themselves by almost losing to an FCS team, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, 38-35. Just when fans thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. Losing to unimpressive teams, the Army Black Knights, 24-21 and then lost to the Arizona Wildcats 23-17.
Kansas State’s defense has struggled to contain multiple offenses, allowing 237 rushing yards to the Arizona Wildcats, 35 points to North Dakota, and allowing Army quarterback Cale Hellums to score three touchdowns. Clearly, this is a team that is struggling to find an identity in a heavily competitive Big 12 conference. As they look to improve with star running back Dylan Edwards returning against the UCF Knights (2-0) on Sept. 27.
College football is a sport built on dreams, but not all of them come true. These teams proved that hype was easy to build, but living up to it is another story.
