Top 5 Declining College Football Programs Heading Into 2015

Jan 1, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban yells from the sidelines against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2015 Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Nothing stays the same. Here is a look at the Top 5 declining college football programs heading into the 2015 season.

In college football, there are always a few elite programs, a few down programs, and a bunch of programs in the middle trying to become elite or restore their elite status.

The sport is a never-ending cycle of powerhouse programs at the top of their game and others stumbling through dry spells. But no matter how great your run was, dynasties fall, and they all come to an end.

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At the beginning of every college football season, there are always a number of teams who have stock falling from where they were just recently. This post will take a look at that and factor in where the program was, how far down it looks like it could slide, and how much hope still exist.

Obviously, a huge portion of this centers around who the coach is. Coaching has almost everything to do with the trajectory of a program, and programs often simply become stale for a long time under a coach before they fall.

The fall can be slow, up to a period of a decade as well with a couple of good years sprinkled in, but overall it shows a downward trajectory. A good example of that was the Tennessee Volunteers under Phil Fulmer, as they began a decade-long downfall beginning in 2002 culminating with the firing of Derek Dooley in 2012 despite some decent seasons sprinkled in.

So being on this list does not necessarily mean the team will be bad next year. It just represents a longterm downfall.

With that, here are the Top 5 declining college football programs ranked going into the 2015 season.

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