After 11 seasons of the College Football Era, Brett McMurphy has come up with the most overrated and underrated teams in the preseason AP Poll. McMurphy claims that determining the teams was simple. For On3 subscribers, he provides an explanation. Using an easily calculated point system, McMurphy's list of overrated teams can be seen in the tweet below.
NEW: AP Poll Voters’ Most Overrated Preseason College Football Teams since 2014 via @Brett_McMurphy😬 https://t.co/hqfQy9PB30 pic.twitter.com/BRB6Y63RtT
— On3 (@On3sports) August 12, 2025
Immediately, Alabama football fans will notice that the only three-time National Champion in the Playoff Era is ranked as the No. 15 most overrated. Two-time National Champions, Georgia, Clemson, and Ohio State, also made the Top 25 most overrated teams. McMurphy's simple point system must not have assigned any bonus points for each season's 'win-it-all' team.
Less glaring, but certainly surprising, is that Penn State did not make the Top 25 list of most overrated teams. James Franklin has coached the Nittany Lions since the start of the Playoff. His record at Penn State in games against ranked teams is 16-18, for a mediocre winning percentage of 47%.
Nine SEC teams made McMurphy's Top 25 overrated teams. Alabama Crimson Tide fans will enjoy that the Auburn Tigers were close to the top at No. 2. Only Southern Cal was ranked as more overrated than Auburn. Other SEC teams are Texas A&M (No. 3), LSU (No. 4), Oklahoma (No. 8), Georgia (No. 14), Arkansas (No. 17), Texas (No. 21), and South Carolina (No. 22).
Many Alabama football fans will remember that Southern Cal was ranked No. 20 in the 2016 preseason AP Poll. The Trojans opened with the Crimson Tide and were destroyed by a score of 52-6. That game alone justifies McMurphy's No.1 most overrated ranking.
An interesting aside is a brief comparison of all current Power Four head coaches and their career records against ranked teams. How many have a winning record higher than 62.5%? There are only three. In data provided by Brad Crawford, the three are Kalen DeBoer at 83.3%, Ryan Day at 72.7%, and Kirby Smart at 71.1%. Technically, there is a fourth, Fran Brown at Syracuse, but Brown's 75% only includes one season with four games against ranked teams.
Note: Additional data provided by Sports Reference