Every summer since 2007 I have created an intricate set of college football predictions for each upcoming season.  This year is no exception, as I will be using my blog over the next few hours to publish my 15th annual college football preview guide which will contain 19 entries in all. Without further ado, here are the teams I am predicting to disappoint this season.  For some reason, I am one of the few analysts in the country to publish such a list as Phil Steele and others publish their “surprise teams” but not their disappointment teams. The only reason I can see for omitting this list is to keep everyone happy by being politically correct as possible. However, it is only logical that if some teams are predicted to surprise each season by outperforming expectations that other teams must be predicted to disappoint by failing to meet expectations. These teams are ordered in the relative disparity between my picks and the experts average while also taking into account the significance of each pick.

As you can see, my # 1 disappointment team this season are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I think most people expect them to take a step back this season but I am predicting a more substantial regression than most as I am calling for the Irish to barely scratch out a bowl bid with a 6-6 record. Their personnel losses were massive, their schedule is brutal, and I think the transition from Clark Lea’s defense to Marcus Freeman’s will not go as smoothly as people are thinking.