15 worst college football teams of 2023

The Zips got better as the 2022 season went along, though that didn't translate to more wins. The offense should get even better under D.J. Irons, who threw for 2,606 yards and 10 TDs last season (he's also a decent runner, adding another four touchdowns), and two of his top receivers returning in Alex Adams and Daniel George (combined for 130 receptions for 1,649 yards and 11 TDs in 2022). The problem is on the defensive side of the ball, where Akron just couldn't get off the field and keep leads as well as a suspect offensive line. If Joe Moorhead can fix up those areas, Akron has a change to climb out of the cellar once again. 

Butch Jones' seat is scalding hot heading into this season and he needs to improve on a 3-win year in 2022 (those three wins were over Grambling State, ULM and UMass). That will be difficult as the Red Wolves return just two starters on offense (both linemen), though South Carolina transfer Corey Rucker will help bolster the receiving corps. There is some potential on defense, but it needs to jell quickly before another season gets out of hand. Arkansas State has a very light schedule this year and may be able to sneak out a few more wins. Jones better hope so. 

The 49ers defense was horrible last season, giving up nearly 40 ppg in 2022. New head coach Biff Poggi was a successful high school coach, but Charlotte is leaving the friendly confines of Conference USA to join the American this year — a step up in competition. Poggi filled his coaching staff with people from all over the map so there may be a steep learning curve, not only for the players but among this staff. Expect the Niners to rely on a somewhat reliable running game but they need to find a quarterback who can keep them in games. 

FIU was picked to finish dead last in the preseason poll last year and they finished ninth. So that's a positive, right? This is a program that needed to be completely rebuilt, so Mike MacIntyre's task is to start to collect some minor successes to build from. That may be hard since the Panthers have been decimated by injuries and defections this offseason and lack a reliable option at quarterback. Grayson James threw 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2022 and followed up fantastic efforts in wins over Charlotte and Louisiana Tech with three awful performances (34 of 77, 247 yards, 0 TDs, 5 INTs combined). With running back Lexington Joseph tearing his ACL in spring practice, James better get really, really good really, really fast. 

Timmy Chang's return to Hawai'i failed to produce much success. The legendary Rainbow Warriors quarterback-turned-head-coach pulled out three wins, including two in the Mountain West (Nevada, UNLV), but the season and effort on both sides of the ball was unbalanced. Chang runs the same sort of passing attack that he played in and his mentor June Jones coached, but he lacks the talent to make it work. Quarterback Brayden Schager's efficiency got worse last year (just 55% completion percentage and 10 picks to just 13 TDs) and they have to replace their best weapon (back Dedrick Parson). The defense lost a lot of talent and that likely will mean a bad defense will get worse this season. The Warriors open up at Vanderbilt, who spanked Hawai'i 63-10 in last year's opener in Honolulu. 

Kent State is an example to hold up for people who don't like the transfer portal. The Golden Flashes return none of their starters from last year's 5-7 squad as Kent State's best offensive players have transferred out of the program. Of course, the portal works both ways, as Kent State brought in two Power 5 transfers in Jaren Lewis from Kansas State and Michael Alaimo from Purdue, as well as running back Ky Thomas, who has rushed for 986 yards and nine total touchdowns for Minnesota and Kansas. New head coach Kenni Burns has a lot of work to do with this bunch, and the MAC is always a toss-up. Early-season games at UCF, Arkansas and Fresno State may be a bit harsh for such an inexperienced team.

The Gamecocks are my pick to be a sleeper team from this list. Jacksonville State can score some points (36.2 ppg last season), as Rich Rodriguez's teams tend to do. They scored at least 40 points six times last season, but that was against FCS competition. Jacksonville State moves to the FBS and Conference USA this year which may be more of a challenge to repeat their 9-win season of a year ago. The Gamecocks will travel to South Carolina to play the, well, Gamecocks while also hosting Liberty and traveling to Coastal Carolina. But JSU will also get to feast on a few other teams on this list, and Rich Rodriguez is the perfect coach to lead them into the program's next phase. 

When Nevada hired Ken Wilson after the 2021 season, the move was met with a lot of skepticism. The questioning was justified when the Wolf Pack followed a 2-0 start to the season with 10 straight losses and they finished winless in the Mountain West. There were times Nevada just couldn't score — five games with 14 or less points; three where they couldn't score more than seven — and times they couldn't stop anyone. They gave up at least 40 points four times last year and one of the program's best defenders in history, edge rusher Dom Peterson, ran out of eligibility. There is hope that Colorado transfer QB Brendon Lewis can get the offense going or else the Wolf Pack will be back at the bottom of the Mountain West.  

Let's just put this out there: New Mexico head coach Danny Gonzales is in trouble. If the Lobos can't get this thing turned around this season, he's likely done in Albuquerque. The Lobos went 2-10 last season, with the only wins coming against Maine and perennial Worst Team list member UTEP. After beginning the season 2-1, New Mexico lost their last nine games by an average of 21.7 ppg and failed to score more than 10 points in each of their last six games (averaging 6.8 ppg during that stretch). The schedule does feature fellow Worst Teams UMass and Hawai'i, but there is a lot to work on in New Mexico, and Gonzales is running out of time. 

After a promising start to the 2022 season, the Monarchs would end up losing their final six games of the season. In those games, Old Dominion struggled to score, averaging 12.8 points during that stretch. Head coach Ricky Rahne hired a new offensive coordinator but lost his top running back, quarterback and receiver to the transfer portal. ODU faces two ACC teams and Louisiana in the first three weeks. A bad start to the season and this year could get away from them really quick. 

Let's welcome Sam Houston to the FBS! This is a solid program, but one that is just transitioning to their new football division and Conference USA. Sam Houston went just 5-4 last season, a year after going 11-1 and winning the WAC title and winning an FCS championship in 2020, so success is expected there. Head coach K.C. Keeler used an interesting tactic by redshirting some of their better players to set up their move to FBS play while also bringing on North Texas transfer Grant Gunnell. The BearKats will be a defensive-minded team as they try to work through their offense's growing pains. Expect Year 1 to be a bit bumpy. 

USF went 1-11 last season with their lone win coming against Howard in their second game. The Bulls defense was absolutely horrible, giving up over 516 yards and 41 points per game. South Florida was able to score points (they scored 81 total points in their final two games) but they could stop anyone. Alex Golesh takes over as head coach with a lot to work on. The Bulls have gone just 4-29 over the last three seasons and just 1-22 in AAC play. Now the AAC has weakened a bit with the membership change, but the Bulls have a long, long way to go. 

The Cardinal may be the worst Power 5 team this season. Last year they went 3-9, won just one Pac-12 game and parted ways with head coach David Shaw and replaced him with Sacramento State's Troy Taylor. Taylor will walk into Palo Alto with five returning starters and pretty much a complete rebuild on his hands. Shaw's pro-style offense will be replaced with a more modern college football scheme, but it will take some effort to get talent in. Stanford just can't pull from the transfer portal like the rest of the nation due to their strict academic standards, so getting this program back on track will be a tall task. 

Louisiana-Monroe is one of the worst teams in a Sun Belt conference that has been steadily improving over the last few years. Head coach Terry Bowden sits squarely on the hot seat as he returns no starters from last year, though he brings in Ole Miss transfer Isaiah Woullard as his starting tailback. The quarterback situation is murky as Hunter Herring and Jiya Wright battle to replace Chandler Rogers (who transferred to North Texas). The Warhawks schedule is a little more forgiving this year (trading trips to Texas and Alabama for ones to Texas A&M and Ole Miss) but don't expect much from this bunch.

The Minutemen were an abysmal 1-11 last year, but it was actually an improvement. The horrible defense of 2021 got slightly better (allowing around 12 ppg less last season), but the offense is still ugly. UMass scored 150 points all season (a 12.5 ppg average) with 20 of those points coming in their lone win over Stony Brook. They do have a new quarterback in Georgia Tech transfer Taisun Phommachanh and a schedule with a couple opportunities to improve on their one win, but trips to Auburn and Penn State could turn ugly.