Surprises happen every year in every sport. Like they say, there’s a reason why we play the games. We never know what exactly will happen. The past five months were no exception to that. Here are the five most surprising things that have transpired in college football over the past five months.
Missouri finishing with an 11-2 record and winning the Cotton Bowl
Before this season, Eli Drinkwitz held a 17-19 record in his first three years at Missouri. The Tigers were also predicted to finish 6th in the SEC East in the preseason. Despite each of those things, Missouri finished 2nd in the SEC East, second only to Georgia, and finished the regular season with a 10-2 record. Their improvement was in large part due to a massive improvement from QB Brady Cook along with RB Cody Schrader and WR Luther Burden III, both emerging as one of the best players in the country at each of their respective positions. Missouri capped off their season by beating Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
USC finishing the regular season with a 7-5 record
The Trojans were coming off of an 11-1 regular season in Lincoln Riley‘s first year at the helm. With reining Heisman winner Caleb Williams returning, the Trojans had national championship aspirations. USC’s defense was a concern, but not even their biggest detractors predicted a 7-5 regular season. Caleb Williams didn’t win another Heisman Trophy, but he was still great. USC didn’t live up to expectations because their defense finished 116th in total yards allowed per game.
Nick Saban retiring
Alabama has been the most dominant program in college football ever since hiring Nick Saban in 2007. In that period of time, the Crimson Tide won six national titles and appeared in nine national title games. To put that in perspective, no other team has won more than two national titles in that stretch. It will feel weird watching Alabama next fall without the greatest coach of all time roaming the sideline.
Texas A&M firing Jimbo Fisher
Less than two calendar years ago, Jimbo Fisher brought a recruiting class to College Station that featured eight five-star recruits and 20 four-star recruits. Many considered this to be the best recruiting class in college football history. Despite all those highly touted freshmen, Texas A&M finished the 2022 season with a 5-7 record and failed to make a bowl game. However, Fisher’s job didn’t seem to be in jeopardy because of his massive contract. Nevertheless, this past November, with the Aggies sitting at 6-4, they decided to spend $77 million to buy out Jimbo Fisher’s contract and fire him. To put that in perspective, the previous record for the biggest buyout in college football history was $21 million for Gus Malzahn when he was fired by Auburn in 2020.
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Texas making the College Football Playoff
The Texas Longhorns are one of the most iconic programs in college football history. Only Michigan, Alabama, and Ohio State have more all-time wins than the Longhorns. Despite that,the Longhorns hadn’t won the Big 12 since 2009 or appeared in the College Football Playoff before this season. The Longhorns captured everyone’s attention with a road win against Alabama in week two and went on to finish the regular season with an 11-1 record. Texas ended up throttling Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game to win the Big 12 in their final season in the conference. Because of their previous times underperforming, it was hard to fully trust that Texas would live up to expectations. Despite losing to Washington in the college football playoff, they had an excellent season.
