THE PROMINENT PROGRAMS THAT ARE THE FURTHEST AWAY
By: Mike Farrell - Rivals.comWhich prominent programs are the furthest away from competing for championships? Here are my top-five biggest rebuilding jobs.
1. Florida State — The last time the Seminoles had a 10-win season was back in 2016 and since then they have gone 21-26. That’s downright embarrassing. Mike Norvell still has a big job ahead of him. Recruiting is going well finally and the ACC is weak but Florida State is still around six touchdowns away from challenging Clemson in their own division.
2. Tennessee — Remember when Butch Jones was the issue? Well he won nine games in two seasons which is the most wins for the Vols since a 10-4 season in 2007 under Philip Fulmer. Jeremy Pruitt went 16-19 (10-16 in conference) and left behind a slew of recruiting violations for Josh Heupel.
3. Virginia Tech — Frank Beamer was a legend. Justin Fuente not so much. Things started off nicely in Blacksburg as he went 19-8 over his first two seasons but since then he’s 19-18 and there has been internal strife and many leaving through the transfer portal. Things are very close to falling off a cliff.
4. Michigan — Jim Harbaugh has won every season at Michigan until 2020 and has a 49-22 record overall in Ann Arbor. But this feels like a long climb uphill after last season when the Wolverines lost to a bad Michigan State team, got pummeled by Indiana and Wisconsin and took three overtimes to survive Rutgers. Oh yeah, he’s 0-5 against Ohio State, 1-4 in bowl games and 1-8 against top-10 teams. They are far from competing with the Buckeyes in their own division.
5. Texas — There is hope with Steve Sarkisian in charge but the same could have been said with Charlie Strong and Tom Herman. The last time Texas had a one-loss season was in 2009 under Mack Brown when it played for the national title. To be so average in the Big 12 makes zero sense.
