Most Underachieving G5 Teams of 2023

Some say pressure is a privilege. 

That can be a good thing or a bad thing. It all depends on how well that pressure is handled.

And for these programs, they didn’t exactly handle their high expectations the greatest. Only one team made a bowl game while each were predicted to reach at least six wins. Instead, they were lowly seasons.

Here are five of the the most underachieving Group of Five programs of the 2023 campaign:

Buffalo

Last year, college football betting odds saw the Bulls’ win total open at 6.5. It wasn’t long before that number shifted to 6. 

That was still too high. 

Following a resurgent 2022 season under then-second year coach Maurice Linguist, Buffalo — and especially its offense — showed no signs of hope throughout the year. On top of losing to Fordham early on, Buffalo’s three wins came against Central Michigan, Akron, and Kent State. Outside of the Bulls, these were the three worst teams in the MAC.

Buffalo averaged just 11 points per game in their final four games of the year.

FAU

There was plenty of buzz surrounding the Owls entering the season with Tom Herman preparing for his first year as head coach. 

As a new member of the conference, FAU was tabbed to finish fifth in the AAC in the preseason media poll and was also the fifth favorite to win the league. Sitting at 4-4 and 3-1 in league play, the Owls had a chance to make a late push but lost their final four games. Their four wins weren’t very convincing either, coming against Monmouth, Tulsa, USF, and Charlotte.

QB Casey Thompson did suffer an early season-ending injury, but I’m not too sure his presence would have made that much of a difference.

Middle Tennessee State

With a brutal non-conference slate that saw the Blue Raiders visit Alabama and Missouri, one might think MTSU would have been more prepared for its CUSA schedule. MTSU did only lose to Missouri by four. 

However, the Blue Raiders finished 4-8 and just 3-5 in Conference USA. Nicholas Vattiato was decent under center, passing for 3,092 yards and 23 TDs, but the offense and defense could never put a complete game together.

The poor season led to Rick Stockstill being fired after 18 seasons as MTSU’s head coach.

San Diego State

The season started pretty, but then it got ugly quick. 

Following a 2-0 start including a nice win over Ohio, the Aztecs dropped their next four games and only won two more with victories over Hawaii and, surprisingly, Fresno State in the final game of the season.

SDSU was pegged to finish fourth in the Mountain West and had its preseason win total listed at 7. It went 2-6 in MW play and finished dead last. The Aztecs’ offense was awful all season and their defense was average.

The worst season for SDSU since 2009 ended with Brady Hoke being forced out of his role. Former Colorado offensive coordinator and Kent State head coach Sean Lewis has filled that vacancy.

The Aztecs were probably the most underachieving G5 team of 2023.

WKU

Bringing back QB Austin Reed meant the Hilltoppers were poised to make a run at the CUSA title. 

That’s not exactly what happened, though. 

WKU suffered two losses early — a loss at Ohio State and a three-point loss to Troy. But it wasn’t until it lost to Jax State two weeks later that the Hilltoppers couldn’t be trusted. They went on to lose to Liberty and New Mexico State, proving that 2023 just wasn’t their year. 

They entered the season as the favorite to win the conference title at +135, but were the fourth-best team in the eight-team league. WKU was at least able to close the year strong with a 38-35 win over ODU in the Famous Toastery Bowl.

It’ll be interesting to see where the Hilltoppers sit among the rest of the conference next season.