Being one of the most hated college football teams of all time means wild success and a hint of envy from other programs trying to reach that level. No one likes winners, especially consistent ones, and these teams we’ve picked have risen above others in the hate department over the past few decades after unforgettable seasons at the top of the polls.
The phrase “let your haters be your motivators” sounded right to these teams, who fed on the passionate negative energy of others every week and elevated the situation to a new level as a result. There’s no need for bulletin board materials when you’re one of the people being hunted, and smothering the rest of college football with your success is a major hatred factor. It doesn’t hurt to have a selfish quarterback or a player in the national spotlight as the face of your franchise.
Going into the 2023 campaign, the two-time defending national champion Georgia did the right thing by having an all-time success through recruiting and execution. And the Bulldogs did it without rubbing it in like most other dynasty-run teams before them did.
Here is a detailed roundup of the 10 most hated American football teams of all time.
UCF was just annoying after the 2017 season. However, credit must be given to former AD Danny White. He kept joust football at the center of national college football conversations for many months after UCF’s unbeaten season and used his marketing skills for a future job in Tennessee. This flawless 2017 UCF team became national champion after defeating Auburn, the team that awarded real national champion, Alabama, his only loss. It was a special team in Orlando, but not one that gained national recognition due to a weak schedule compared to other top 15 teams. The following season, under freshman coach Josh Hoipel, the Knights were beaten week after week by fans of Power 5 programs while on the longest winning streak in the country. After every college football playoff ranking this season, you’ve heard Group 5 chatter about why the selection committee ditched the Knights. Ultimately, UCF clinched its second consecutive undefeated regular season and second consecutive American Athletic Conference title before falling 40–32 to LSU in a top-10 clash at the Fiesta Bowl.
Johnny Football extravaganza. A must watch TV. Love him or (mostly) hate him, Johnny Manzil made an appointment with Texas A&M University during the 2012 college football season when he went to Heisman with honors as Kevin Sumlin’s crime facilitator. Aggie played with swagger over #2 and a win over Alabama in November with the whole world watching. V a landmark moment in Manzil’s football career. There was something about Manzil’s brazen demeanor that seemed to annoy the opposing fans. He played the game recklessly at times, which is part of what made him such a unique face of the sport.
What is it about Notre Dame that makes other football fans roll their eyes when the Fighting Irish are mentioned among the elite? Flash back to 1993 after a season-ending loss to Boston College robbed the program of a perfect season and a national title. The Fighting Irish were outraged at finishing second to Bobby Bowden of the Florida State Seminoles, the Notre Dame team that had beaten the Game of the Century earlier that season. Lou Holtz let the voters hear it, and that noise indirectly led to the birth of the Bowl Championship Series, a computerized ranking system used to determine which two teams would play for the national title. Between 1988 and 1993, Notre Dame won 88 percent of its games and became one of America’s teams as the nation’s primary television. But the Irish had many enemies.
You knew some iteration of Ohio State would be on this list. The Buckeyes are the main villains of the Big Ten and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Miami fans still need an explanation from Terry Porter about what exactly he saw when Hurricanes Glenn Sharp’s Ballhawk covered Chris Gamble with the Buckeyes in the end zone, only to be called up for a defensive hold to extend the national championship game into overtime. Ohio State would eventually win, defeating top-ranked Miami 31–24, shocking the defending national champions. The Lucky Ones always seemed to have a penchant for the dramatic during Jim Tressell’s only national championship season, and benefited from several calls—including this important one—to be the last team standing. Freshman Maurice Clarett was an Ohio State star, a garrulous ballman who didn’t seem to be liked by anyone in the Big Ten or the country.
Former Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield he smelled of coarse arrogance, but he supported him on his path to the Heisman Awards. The way Oklahoma’s record-breaking passer played on game days made many turn heads, but he was an absolute must-see, and the Sooners’ signature breakneck pace wiped out four top 10 teams en route to a college football playoff berth. . Do you agree with his pregame chatter crotch grip in play or setting a flag after a game, Mayfield made you pay attention and didn’t care what anyone outside the program thought of him. He was the bad boy of college football in 2017 and the anti-hero that no one knew we needed him.
One of Florida’s Tim Tebow teams could probably be included, but for the most part, the all-star quarterback was universally well received on Urban Meyer’s title teams. Before Tebow, however, Gainesville was owned by Steve Spurrier, and the visored, slippery-tongued ball coach made a lasting impression on the college football world. His specialty was sending verbal taunts to his opponents and running up the tally with Heisman-winning quarterback Danny Wurffel in Fun-N-Gun. He hated Georgia, hated Tennessee, and the feeling was mutual. That fall, the Gators won the National Championship 12-1, beating five top 15 teams in the process.
Jameis Winston is somewhere in the top five most hated players of all time among college football fans outside of Tallahassee who weekly hoped Winston’s Seminole dynasty would collapse. It finally happened in 2014 at the Rose Bowl when Florida State lost decisively to Oregon, snapping an incredible 29-game winning streak. But Winston already had the national title and Heisman under his belt and was selected first overall by the Tampa Bay Pirates in the NFL Draft. The 2014 ex-Soviet Union team survived several major clashes with weaker ACC opponents and managed to come back several times in the fourth quarter, sparking national controversy. Winston’s numbers weren’t as overwhelming as they were in 2013, but there were still victories.
Is 2010 Auburn the most hated SEC team? This is debatable. The Cam Newton saga and what followed seemed to be really writing itself: the former Florida quarterback was dropped from the program after an alleged theft, only to get another shot at the SEC as a JUCO star. Like Jameis Winston and Johnny Manzil, Newton was criticized by opposition fans, and many were looking forward to the moment of his failure. But he never came. Newton won the SEC and guided his team to a flawless national championship season, recording one of the most impressive campaigns in the history of the sport. Newton received 729 votes for Heisman for first place – the next closest player was Andrew Luck with … 78. Newton was selected first overall by the Carolina Panthers and received the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2011. The WIN slogan during Newton’s title run was appropriate and drew ire from anyone who did not support WDE.
USC’s glory days of the 21st century came to a head in 2005, when Trojans were in the spotlight every week on College GameDay and Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and others dominated the national conversation. Everyone knew about the winning streak, and East Coasters were often glued to the TV every Saturday to watch the evening’s action. USC-Texas was arguably the most popular game of all time, and was featured by Vince Young and…
Source: 247sports.com
