Some highly touted teams flop in opening month of season
ATLANTA >> Georgia Tech never expected to be in this position, facing its first four-game losing streak in nearly two decades.
“I didn’t. The team didn’t,” quarterback Justin Thomas said this week, as the Yellow Jackets prepared to face No. 6 Clemson. “But we put ourselves in this hole. Now, we’ve got to dig ourselves out of it.” Easier said than done. The Yellow Jackets will need a remarkable turnaround to salvage a season that began with such promise. They’re not alone, either. Across the country, touted teams have flopped during the opening month of the season, turning their preseason rankings into a point of ridicule and disdain. Some have been plagued by injuries. Others were clearly overrated. All are running out of time to turn things around.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Georgia Tech running back Isiah Willis said. “But it’s something you’ve got to learn fromand build upon.”
Here are the biggest disappointments from each of the Power Five leagues: era, suddenly finds himself on the hot seat. “I can understand them being nervous,” he said. DISHONORABLE MENTION >> Wisconsin. The Badgers (3-2, 0-1) lost their opener to Alabama. No shame in that. But an ugly 10-6 loss at home to Iowa knocked themout of the Top 25 and exposed a sputtering offense that lost key players to injuries.
Texas went 6-7 in its first season under coach Charlie Strong and was expected to at least show improvement. Instead, the Longhorns (14, 0-2) have gotten worse. A 38-3 loss toNotreDame and 50-7 blowout at the hands of TCU are simply inexcusable for a program with this much tradition and so many resources. Making matters worse, there appears to be a rift between the older players and some highly recruited freshmen. DISHONORABLE MENTION >> Texas Tech. If only the Red Raiders (3-2, 0-2) could play some defense. They are averaging 50 points a game but have lost twice, most notably a 55-52 setback to TCU on a fourth-down TD pass in the closing seconds.