College Football rankings are not an exact science, as any fan will tell you after watching their teams get under-ranked or their rivals over-ranked.

And when comparing the final top 25 rankings with the preseason version, it’s clear that some teams are able to live up to the hype, and others aren’t.

Or, perhaps more accurately, that the pollsters may have been misinformed about judging which teams belonged in the rankings and which didn’t.

That was certainly the case when looking back at the 2022 college football season, which had its fair share of overrated teams.

Who didn’t live up to their end of the bargain this year?

Clemson (Preseason No. 4)

It all started well enough, with an 8-0 record, but there were cracks in the Tigers’ armor from the start, including a close win at Wake Forest and lingering questions around the offense under the management of DJ Uiagalalei at quarterback, culminating in a surprise loss at Notre Dame that hurt the team’s College Football Playoff hopes. 

A one-point loss to South Carolina all but ruined Clemson’s playoff chances in the regular season finale and saw the permanent benching of Uiagalelei in favor of Cade Klubnik. Clemson beat North Carolina to win the ACC title, but a sluggish performance against Tennessee in the Orange Bowl proved that Dabo Swinney still has some structural questions on the roster that must be fixed if he wants to return to the national title chase.

Texas A&M (Preseason No. 6)

In the preseason, the story around the Aggies was twofold: the school’s historically-great recruiting class, called the best in modern history by 247Sports, and the war of words between Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban after the latter claimed the former “bought” his entire team. 

But the drama around that situation quickly died down once A&M’s season started, a season that seemed to end around the start of October. 

After starting 1-1 following a home loss to App State, the Aggies then dropped six straight games, failing to score over 28 points in any of them, culminating in the school’s first losing season since 2009, ranking 101st nationally in scoring offense, and losing some players to the transfer portal including cornerback Denver Harris and wide receiver Chris Marshall.

Oklahoma (Preseason No. 9)

In the confusion after Lincoln Riley left the Sooners for the USC job, Oklahoma needed to make a big splash. That it appeared to do by announcing Brent Venables as head coach after he established himself as arguably the premier defensive strategist in college football, including while at OU.

And while the Sooners started out 3-0, including a huge win over Nebraska, the project collapsed amid a three-game losing streak, including a stretch in which the team allowed 104 points combined in two losses to TCU and Texas, including a 49-0 loss to the rival Longhorns. 

Defense may be Venables’ calling card, but the unit ranked 123rd nationally allowing 464 yards per game and was 99th surrendering 30 points to opponents, resulting in OU’s first losing season since 1998.

Baylor (Preseason No. 10)

A year ago, Dave Aranda and Baylor were Big 12 champions who had taken down Ole Miss in a statement Sugar Bowl victory, but by midseason they were just 3-3 with losses to a pair of ranked teams, BYU and Oklahoma State, and finished the season with four straight defeats, to ranked Kansas State, TCU, and Texas before falling to Air Force by 15 points in the bowl game. In all, it was just a 6-7 outing for the defending conference champs and a fifth place finish in the Big 12 standings. 

Michigan State (Preseason No. 15)

Mel Tucker made a great impression in Year 2 back in 2021, thanks in large part to transfer running back Kenneth Walker, enough to land a $95 million contract for his efforts, but it didn’t quite come together for the 2022 campaign.

Defensively, the Spartans still struggled. A year after ranking among the worst in college football against the pass, it placed just 101st nationally in total defensive production, allowing 416 yards per game. It’s tough to break through in the Big Ten East with Ohio State and Michigan breathing down your neck, but Michigan State’s talent looks better than its record.

Arkansas (Preseason No. 19)

Coming off a nine-win season in 2021 that included a win against Texas, the Razorbacks hoped to build on that success, and started off 2022 well enough, defeating Cincinnati in the opener and South Carolina in Week 2. 

But the Hogs needed more than they thought to fight off FCS opponent Missouri State, trailing most of that game before scoring 21 fourth-quarter points to pull out the close win, against a familiar face in Bobby Petrino.

Three straight losses followed — to Texas A&M, Alabama, and Mississippi State, allowing 40-plus points in the latter two games — and after taking down BYU and Auburn, the Razorbacks lost three of the last four, including to Liberty. 

Only a two-point win over Kansas — in which the teams combined for 108 points — kept Arkansas above .500 to close out at 7-6.

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