With the start of the season days away, optimism is on the menu for most fans. However, that isn’t true for all. There are always a few schools that tend to sway towards the negative. Here is a list of who stands out amongst those.
Nebraska
Husker fans would also be at the top of any “most loyal” list, but at the same time, optimism isn’t their strong point. And it is somewhat understandable as we gradually drift further and further away from Tom Osborne’s glory years. Hope flickers with the hiring of each new coach but then devolves into the realization that “this also isn’t going to work”. While many fans have allowed their optimism to grow with newest head coach Matt Rhule, that will quickly regress if the 2025 season doesn’t meet the higher than usual expectations that are currently in Lincoln.
Tennessee
Tennessee fans seem to be eternally waiting for that one game that ruins their season, and to their credit, it tends to happen. This is despite being extremely passionate and devoted. But since Phillip Fulmer left the sidelines in 2008, which was immediately followed by the Lane Kiffin fiasco, there hasn’t been much to get excited about in Knoxville.
Texas A&M
As is the norm on this list, Aggie fans are also very devoted. This is continuously proven by an average of 100,000 fans showing up to every home game. But that doesn’t mean they all show up full of optimism and hope. Beaten down annually by being ranked in the preseason Top 25 and then not being ranked at the conclusion eight of the last ten seasons it isn’t difficult to see why the pessimism lingers. And yes, the Aggies are preseason No. 19 in 2025.
Minnesota
This one may seem a bit out-of-place, but there is a reason for their inclusion on this list. While they have had more consistent success during the last decade than other Big Ten programs like Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, Illinois, Rutgers, Nebraska and Maryland, they also seem to have embraced the thought that they will never compete with Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon and Penn State. So the fans are stuck in this middling purgatory where they’re happy, but never happy enough.
