# College Football’s Midseason Busts

> Texas A&M, Penn State and others fall from midseason hopes.
- Title: College Football’s Midseason Busts · SI | Shortify
- Summary: Texas A&M, Penn State and others fall from midseason hopes. Texas A&M, Penn State and Oregon drop from preseason rankings after early-season struggles.
- Keywords: texas a&m, penn state, oregon, college football, midseason, busts, ap ranking, sec, big ten, sports, College, Football
- Source: SI — https://si.com/college-football/forde-yard-dash-college-football-nine-biggest-busts-at-midseason
- Published: 2026-10-12T18:26:32+00:00
- Read time: 3 min
- Topics: texas a&m, penn state, oregon, college football, midseason, busts, ap ranking, sec, big ten, sports
## First Quarter: Mamas, Don’t Let Your Sons Grow Up to Be Five-Star QBs
Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college sports where nobody had a self-inflicted disaster as bad as the Washington Commanders did at the NFL level.
## Second Quarter: We Regret to Inform You That Your Team Is a Bust
It’s midseason, more or less. We have information beyond the early blowouts of overmatched teams. Everyone has played a road game by now, and almost everyone has played multiple conference games.
## Texas A&M (11)
Preseason AP ranking: No. 8. Currently: 3, 3 and unranked, 1, 3 in the SEC. The Aggies have played two road games and scored zero touchdowns, with a total of six points in each.
## Texas A&M (11)
Their combined margin of defeat at LSU and Missouri was 50 points. With a three-year starting quarterback, returning leading rusher and multiple experienced receivers, this was not an expected offensive development.
## Texas A&M (11)
The line, mostly rebuilt via the portal, has not been great, and QB Marcel Reed has regressed. The Aggies have the lowest yards-per-pass attempt average of any power-conference school at 5.8.
## Texas A&M (11)
Several daunting defenses lie ahead on the schedule. This constitutes the first real adversity in Mike Elko’s five years as a head coach, and he may not be passing the stress test.
## Texas A&M (11)
‘There’s a difference to me between the fan base and social media,’ Elko said after the Mizzou loss, then took aim at TexAgs.com, a large fan hub co-owned by Billy Liucci.

> There’s a difference to me between the fan base and social media
## Penn State (12)
Preseason AP ranking: No. 18. Currently: 2, 3 and unranked, 0, 3 in the Big Ten and winless against power-conference competition.
## Penn State (12)
The Nittany Lions have left the state just once, and lost by 21 points at Northwestern.
## Penn State (12)
But this team doesn’t look talented enough to compete at the high end, in league games, the Nittany Lions are 15th in the Big Ten in total offense and 16th in total defense.
## Oregon (13)
Preseason AP ranking: No. 2. Currently: 3, 2 and unranked, 1, 1 in the Big Ten.
## Oregon (13)
The Ducks were part of the ironclad seven teams that separated from the rest of the nation in every preseason poll, Ohio State, Texas, Georgia, Miami, Notre Dame, Indiana and Oregon, in some order.
## Oregon (13)
They are the first one of those seven to drop out of the top 10, and are now all the way out of the Top 25.
## LSU (14)
Preseason AP ranking: No. 11. Currently: 3, 2, 1, 2 in the SEC and ranked No. 22, despite zero wins over ranked opponents.
## LSU (14)
For $13 million a year, with a roster pushing $50 million, you’d think Lane Kiffin could win a road game. So far, he hasn’t.
## Washington (15)
Preseason AP ranking: No. 17. Currently: 3, 3, 0, 3 in the Big Ten and winless against power-conference opposition.
## Michigan (16)
Preseason AP ranking: No. 16. Currently: 3, 2, 0, 2 in the Big Ten, on a two-game losing streak and unranked.
## Oklahoma (17)
Preseason AP ranking: No. 10. Currently: 3, 2, 1, 1 in the SEC and unranked. But the Sooners are coming off an all-time Red River upset victory of then-No. 1 Texas.
## Clemson (18)
Preseason AP ranking: Unranked, but first among others receiving votes. Currently: 3, 2, 2, 1 in the ACC, and unranked.
## Vanderbilt (19)
Preseason AP ranking: Unranked, but did receive votes. Currently: 3, 3 overall, 0, 3 in the SEC and on a three-game losing streak.
## Key takeaway

Texas A&M, Penn State and Oregon drop from preseason rankings after early-season struggles.