Oklahoma football: Who are the most hated teams in recent college football history?
By Chip Rouse
There are hated teams in every sport, mostly because of dynasty status and the fact that they seemingly win all the time. There are probably plenty of teams and fans in the Big 12 Conferences that feel that way about the Oklahoma football program.
The staff at 247Sports has taken that topic a step further with a ranking of the 10 most hated teams in any given season in college football history. The first such ranking was issued in 2019 and has been altered a few times since then.
“Which teams are college football’s most hated and why are they deserving of such prestige,” writes 247Sports’ Brad Crawford in an article posted this past week.
According to Crawford, the team at 247Sports combed through several college football decades to come up with a ‘list of debatable teams that were generally repulsive to outsiders, single-season powerhouses that rested on immense talent advantages and thriving in pressure-packed situations.”
The 10 most-hated teams they settled on fell within a 32-year window ranging between 1986 and 2017. By now, you’ve probably surmised that Oklahoma falls somewhere in this top-10 ranking. The 2017 Sooners, led by Heisman winning quarterback Baker Mayfield come in No. 7 on the list.
"“He may have reeked of unrefined arrogance on the field, but Sooners’ quarterback Baker Mayfield could back it up,” writes Crawford.The way (Mayfield) carried himself on game days made many turn their heads, but he was absolutely a must-watch and the Sooners brand of a break-neck pace obliterated four top-10 teams on the way to a College Football Playoff berth.”"
The 2005 USC team ranked second on the list. That same team smothered Oklahoma a year earlier in the national championship game. The 2005 Trojans lost to Vince Young and Texas for the BCS national championship.
See the ranking of all 10 most-hated teams by clicking here.
Frankly, I was a little surprised to see the 2017 Sooner team make this list. Yes, Mayfield was a unique character that played with high energy and a lot of passion. I’m not sure that it was Mayfield’s personality that was the entire reason that the 2017 OU was even considered for this dubious distinction.
If the Sooners were to find themselves as one of the 10 most-hated college football teams, I would have suspected that it would have been one of Barry Switzer’s teams of the 1980s, perhaps the 1985 national championship team that featured another fiery, trash-talking personality in Brian Bosworth.