Most Underachieving NCAA Football Odds Teams

Posted by Alex Murphy on Sunday,July 12, 2015 6:57, EDT in

To Whom Much is Given, Much is Expected.., or so it says in the Good Book. For college football betting analysts and mathematicians, the equation is pretty simple—a great coach + good players + a bit of some luck (the latter element being optional) = success! So how comes some of the teams in the league have repeatedly had all of the above elements, yet they’ve had nothing to show for it? Well, it’s hard to narrow down the answer to a sentence, but by going through the list of underac12hieving college football teams given below, we can find some befitting answers as to why a number of talented teams have failed to give a good account of themselves in the NCAAF betting lines.

Let’s Take a Look at the Most Underachieving NCAA Football Odds Teams

North Carolina Tar Heels

The Tar Heels are among the most recognized sports brands in college, with their reputation being well-known in football, soccer, basketball and even lacrosse. However, since playing their first season of college football 127 years ago, the Tar Heels are yet to win a national title. Meanwhile, their All-time record sits at 670–504–54 (.568) and their postseason bowl record stands at 14–17 (.452) ahead of the 2015 college football season. More worryingly, it doesn’t look like fourth-year head coach Larry Fedora (who sports a 21–16 record in NC) will be offering any chances at breaking their underwhelming run, considering he is coming off a 6-7 (4-4 ACC) mark in 2014, while the likes of Georgia Tech, Florida State, Clemson and Duke are looking stronger than ever before in the ACC conference.

Texas A&M Aggies

For all the talented squads and coaches they’ve had in their history, the Aggies have not won the national title since 1939. Currently coached by Kevin Sumlin, who is definitely a top-15 among the best coaches in college football, the Aggies are hoping that 2015 could be the year to win it all after a decent 8-5 mark in 2014, which culminated in a 45-37 win over West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl. Recently, the biggest challenge for Texas A&M has been its limited ability to come up big against conference opponents. For instance, in 2014, the Aggies won all their non-conference games, yet they only managed to go 3-5 in the SEC. Fortunately, the Aggies have won their last four bowl games since 2011 and they return with a good number of starters from last year, which could motivate them to aim higher and play strongly in 2015.

Georgia Bulldogs

Like the Aggies, the Bulldogs have been endowed with a lot of talent, on top of playing in the easiest of the two SEC divisions. But in spite of all that, the Bulldogs have simply been coming close to title games and failing when it matters most, with their last national title coming in 1980 and their last SEC Championship in 2005. Of course, challenging opponents close to the Peach State border (including Alabama, Florida State, Florida, Auburn, Clemson and Tennessee) is never easy. Also, the strong competition for talent in the region has made it difficult for Georgia to get and retain talent. That notwithstanding, the Bulldogs will need to do more than just manufacturing players for the NFL and winning the SEC East division title, if they are to be taken seriously as a football powerhouse.

UCLA Bruins

Besides winning their only national title in 1954, their last Rose Bowl in 1986 and their last Pac 12 title in 1998, the Bruins have nothing to brag about in college football. No wait, the Bruins are literally placed in Hollywood and in the famous Los Angeles City (the second largest city in USA), their school is plastered all over with palm trees and they have the best weather in the country (70 degrees almost every day). Such factors should count for something, right? Yes, they should, probably under schools with the biggest distractions for their players.

Arizona State Sun Devils

Speaking of distractions, we hear that there is too much eye candy for the Sun Devil players, which is a key reason why they haven’t been able to perform well. I wonder what the Seminoles and the ladies in South Beach would have to say about that. Anyway, they say real women are attracted to success… and zero national titles, only 3 Pac-12 titles and 14-13-1 bowl record don’t fit the bill for success, especially when underachievers like Washington and California boast of more Pac-12 titles than you.

Other Mentionable Underachieving Teams: Ole Miss Rebels, Texas Longhorns, Illinois Fighting Illini and Maryland Terrapins.