2025 College Football: The Top 5 Biggest Disappointments

Every college football season brings hype, headlines, and heartbreak. For some programs, preseason glory turns into midseason frustration. For others, Heisman hopefuls become household question marks.

As the 2025 campaign unfolds, several programs and players once viewed as championship contenders are struggling to live up to expectations — and the numbers tell the story. Here’s a breakdown of the Top 5 Most Disappointing Teams and Players in college football this season.

1. Texas Longhorns — The Weight of the Crown

When you’re ranked preseason No. 1, every snap gets magnified. For Texas, 2025 was supposed to be the season where the Longhorns finally put it all together. With Arch Manning taking over as the full-time starter and a defense stacked with NFL prospects, the road to the College Football Playoff looked paved in burnt orange.

Instead, Texas has stumbled. A sluggish offensive line, inconsistent play-calling, and late-game execution issues have the Longhorns searching for identity instead of dominance.

“They don’t look like the team we expected — they look like a team trying to figure out how to handle the pressure,” one Big 12 scout told URA Sports.

If Texas doesn’t course-correct quickly, this could go down as one of the most underwhelming seasons in program history.

2. Clemson Tigers — Searching for the Old Magic

Clemson’s fall from grace has been slow but undeniable. Once a perennial powerhouse, Dabo Swinney’s squad looks lost in 2025. Quarterback Cade Klubnik hasn’t delivered the breakout season many predicted, and the Tigers’ offense has looked stagnant against ranked opponents.

Their defense remains solid, but the energy and swagger that defined Clemson’s title years are missing. Fans are frustrated, and the program is caught between trying to rebuild and refusing to admit it needs to.

Clemson isn’t just losing games — it’s losing its identity.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions — The Big Ten Letdown

If you looked at Penn State’s roster in August, it read like a playoff contender. Returning starters, top-tier recruits, and continuity at key positions gave fans hope that 2025 could be the year.

Instead, the Nittany Lions have underdelivered in nearly every big moment. Offensive inconsistency and defensive lapses have turned winnable games into frustrations. A stunning loss to UCLA derailed playoff hopes, and the fan base’s patience with James Franklin is wearing thin.

Penn State has the talent — but right now, it doesn’t have the toughness.

4. UCLA Bruins — The Vanishing Dark Horse

Few teams have fallen harder from preseason optimism than UCLA. Once billed as a potential Pac-12 powerhouse, the Bruins have failed to find rhythm on either side of the ball. Injuries, turnovers, and a lack of offensive identity have turned a promising roster into a middling team fighting to stay bowl-eligible. The transfer portal brought in talent, but not chemistry. What was supposed to be UCLA’s breakout season has instead exposed the difficulty of building culture in the age of constant roster churn.

“You can’t portal your way to leadership,” one assistant coach said.

5. Florida Gators — Swamp Stuck in the Mud

Florida’s early-season energy fizzled fast. With high expectations under new leadership, the Gators were expected to make noise in the SEC. Instead, they’ve been plagued by red-zone failures and a lack of explosiveness from key playmakers, including former five-star DJ Lagway.

Lagway’s transition has been rocky — a few highlight throws surrounded by inconsistency and untimely mistakes. Florida’s schedule doesn’t get easier, and unless the Gators rediscover their identity, they risk another lost season in Gainesville.

Most Disappointing Players in 2025

1. Arch Manning – Texas QB

The name carries legacy. The pressure carries weight. Manning’s flashes of brilliance are undeniable, but inconsistency, turnovers, and missed reads have overshadowed his arm talent. He’s learning on the fly — but the expectations were national-title-level.

2. Cade Klubnik – Clemson QB

Once hailed as the next great Clemson quarterback, Klubnik has struggled to find rhythm. The offense around him has stagnated, but his decision-making has also regressed. Clemson’s identity crisis has left him carrying the weight of the entire program.

3. DJ Lagway – Florida QB

The five-star freshman entered with hype and Heisman whispers, but his inexperience has shown. He’s been streaky at best — electric in moments, but lacking consistency. Florida’s offense has failed to adapt to its strengths, amplifying the team’s growing pains.

4. Drew Allar – Penn State QB

Allar had all the tools — size, poise, and a year of experience. But he’s struggled to elevate Penn State’s offense against elite defenses. The flashes of potential are still there, but so are the questions about whether he can deliver in big games.

5. Quinshon Judkins – RB, Ohio State

After transferring from Ole Miss to Columbus, Judkins was supposed to bring thunder to the Buckeye backfield. Instead, he’s battled nagging injuries and struggled to find consistent production behind a rotating offensive line. The fit hasn’t clicked.

The Reality Behind the Struggles

College football’s landscape has changed. Between NIL, the transfer portal, and constant realignment, teams that don’t adapt fast enough get exposed. Chemistry and leadership matter as much as talent, and hype no longer guarantees results. For players and programs on this list, redemption is still possible. But in a sport where every week feels like judgment day, second chances are rare.

 Final Word

The 2025 season has been unpredictable — and humbling. Blue bloods are bleeding, new powerhouses are emerging, and the line between dominance and disappointment has never been thinner. But that’s the beauty of college football: every Saturday writes a new chapter, and every underdog still has time to flip the script.