Overachievers from the 2022 Season

This article mentions ten teams that overachieved in the 2022 football season, given their respective expectations heading into the year.

1. TCU (13-2)

This one is obvious. I don’t know anyone who predicted the Horned Frogs to make the Big 12 Championship, let alone the National Championship. Sonny Dykes achieved that in just his first season in Fort Worth. Heisman Finalist quarterback Max Duggan wasn’t even the starter to start week one. He came in midway through the Colorado game and the rest is history. Despite the result of the National Championship, they went 13-2 and had a historic season and one of the best in TCU football’s history.

Max Duggan threw for 3,698 yards and ran for another 423 yards in 2022.

2. Tennessee (11-2)

The Vols surprised everyone by beating Alabama for the first time in 15 years, starting 8-0, and being ranked number one in the first CFP rankings of the season. Transfer QB Hendon Hooker was one of the best players in the country before his injury vs South Carolina. They lost that game and lost to eventual champion Georgia earlier in the season. Those were their only two losses and they won eleven games, including a blowout win vs Clemson in the Orange Bowl. I see Tennessee having a bright future with Josh Heupel in charge.

Heupel leads the Vols to an 11-2 record in just his second season.

3. Kansas State (10-4)

Kansas State was my sleeper team in the Big 12 this season, and they went out and won it. The Wildcats did it with stellar running back play from Deuce Vaughn and good play by two different quarterbacks. Nebraska transfer Adrian Martinez started the season and Will Howard finished it. They combined for 2,894 yards and 21 touchdowns. Kansas State finished 10-4 and was the only team other than Georgia to beat TCU. This was a very impressive season for them.

Deuce Vaughn ran for over 3,500 yards in his three seasons at K-State.

4. USC (11-3)

People thought USC was going to be much improved from the prior season, but I don’t think many people expected them to be one game away from the playoff in Lincoln Riley’s first season in LA. Trojan QB Caleb Williams won the Heisman as well. The duo of coach Riley and quarterback Williams came over from Oklahoma and found immediate success. The Trojans went 11-1 in the regular season and sat at number four in the rankings going into the Pac-12 Championship against Utah. They lost that game and then ended up losing a tough one to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl. Don’t let that take away from what they accomplished this season. They were much better than expected and I expect them to be even better next season.

Caleb Williams is the eighth Heisman winner to come from USC.

5. Washington (11-2)

Washington came out of nowhere and shocked everyone. They didn’t even sniff any preseason rankings and nobody thought much of Michael Penix Jr. heading out west. All the Huskies did was go 11-2 and beat Texas in the Alamo Bowl. They also beat Michigan State, Oregon State, and Oregon in the process. All of them were ranked at the time of the game and the two Oregon teams ended the season in the top 25. Washington is another team that I predict will be even better next season.

Washington just had their best season since their 2016 CFP run.

6 & 7. Florida State (10-3) and LSU (10-4)

Who would have thought that we would be watching a top-ten matchup when Florida State and LSU matched up in New Orleans in week one? I put these two together because they had very similar seasons and battled it out in one of the best games of the season. FSU went 10-3 and LSU ended up going 10-4. Both schools won their bowl games and will return their starting quarterbacks. To top it off, they will have a rematch of that great game to start next season. The game will again be on that Sunday and will be played in Orlando this time around. I expect this to be a top-ten matchup and probably the biggest game of the weekend.