Every college football season, there are teams hyped as sure-fire contenders. Fans, media, and even Vegas jump on the bandwagon, convinced this is the year they'll break through. But as we know, things rarely go as planned. Injuries, bad coaching decisions, brutal schedules—there are always factors that bring even the most hyped teams crashing back to earth.
2025 is shaping up to be no different. While the usual suspects like Georgia and Ohio State will dominate preseason conversations, not all of them (and some others flying high on expectations) will live up to the billing.
Let’s break down five teams that look like playoff contenders on paper but are primed to disappoint when the games actually kick off.
1. Oregon Ducks
As you'll see on this list, some of this is in relation to fan expectation heading into the season. Oregon is a team that absolutely will be in the conversation to make the College Football Playoff. Dan Lanning has brought in plenty of talent there and Dante Moore taking over at quarterback has potential to keep the Ducks humming.
That being said, Oregon has lost experience on both sides of the ball — including essentially that entire offensive line. Thats not ideal.
In my opinion, the Ducks are likely a 10-2 team and will earn an at-large bid to the playoff. That being said, they aren't going to compete for a national championship, and that will be a disappointment for many fans with high expectations in Eugene.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
The hype train behind Alabama is getting louder and louder. The Tide are poised to have one of the top defenses in the country, especially when you look at the defensive backfield. However, there are essentially nothing but questions on the offensive side of the ball, outside of the wide receiver room.
Ty Simpson seems poised to be the quarterback, and while he'll likely make strides, there are going to be some growing pains. There will be even more growing pains if Alabama turns to true-freshman Keelon Russell.
The Crimson Tide will win a big game or two, but they're also going to lose a couple. A 10-2 finish likely gets them into the playoff, but they won't be making a deep run into the postseason or national title.
3. South Carolina Gamecocks
There's nothing but momentum and optimism down in Columbia right now, and for good reason. Shane Beamer took a South Carolina team last season that was projected by essentially everyone to miss a bowl game, and led them to a 9-3 season.
They return LaNorris Sellers and there is talent on that offense, as well as a few big names on the defense — mainly Dylan Stewart — that makes South Carolina one of those popular picks as a darkhorse contender for the CFP.
That being said, have you seen what they lost? South Carolina had four defenders selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, and they're losing seven starters off that defense, which turned out to be one of the best in the SEC last season. You don't lose that type of production and not take a step back.
South Carolina will still be a very good team and they'll likely be 5-0 to start the season. The disappointment, however, will sink in later in the year when they play at LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, at Ole Miss, at Texas A&M, and Clemson in six of their last seven games.
4. Florida Gators
Florida fans are starting to get really optimistic about this season. Unfortunately for them, it's probably not going to end as they want.
While Florida will absolutely take a step forward and DJ Lagway will be one of the best quarterbacks in the country, you simply can't ignore the schedule.
Florida plays at LSU, at Miami, Texas, at Texas A&M, Georgia, at Ole Miss, and Tennessee this season. None of those games are guaranteed wins, and several — LSU, Texas, Georgia, and possibly Ole Miss or Miami — the Gators will be Vegas underdogs. If they go 9-3, they'll be in the hunt for a CFP spot. However, something tells me we're looking at an 8-4, or maybe even 7-5, team that is solid, but not good enough to actually get to the dance.
5. Ohio State Buckeyes
According to Vegas odds, Ohio State is still the odds-on favorite to win the national championship and Buckeye fans everywhere still expect that their team is going to be right in the thick of that conversation in January.
There's no doubt that Ohio State will still be one of the top teams in the country. We've got them starting inside the top-5 of our Post-Spring rankings for a reason. Ohio State has talent, but what they don't have is experience. They lost a ton of production from last year's team on both sides of the ball, and they've got two new coordinators.
That lack-of-continuity is just too much to overcome. Is it going to mean that Ohio State misses the playoff? No. They're likely still going to be 10-2 — or at worse 9-3 — and competing for a Big Ten title with a relatively high seed in the CFP field.
But, when it comes time for postseason play to begin, don't be surprised when they don't make a deep run in the playoff. Should they be the favorites to win the national championship this season? Probably not.