Kamario Taylor signed a massive $7.5 million deal to return to Mississippi State in 2027, making him the highest-paid player in college football. This news hit after a season where the Bulldogs, initially brimming with dark horse College Football Playoff vibes, totally crashed and burned. What a roller coaster, right?
The Bulldogs’ Epic Collapse After a Heisman Start
Remember those first four games? Mississippi State was on fire, 4-0, with big wins over Minnesota, South Carolina, and a tight 31-24 victory against Missouri. Taylor was absolutely exploding onto the Heisman scene, making plays, and looking like a true contender. Then, boom. Turf toe injury against Missouri in Week 5. He did not even finish that Alabama game, and after playing in just one more game all season, he was done for with season-ending surgery. Since Taylor went down, the Bulldogs are a brutal 0-5, putting their overall record at 4-5. Talk about a freefall from grace. Now he is back for next year with a fat contract, but man, this season was a tough pill to swallow for their fans.
Nittany Lions and Rebels Miss Their Big Shot
It was not just Mississippi State feeling the sting of disappointment. Penn State, a team many thought would pick right back up after James Franklin left with Matt Campbell taking over, has also had a rough go. Campbell, who hit double-digit wins only once in 10 seasons at Iowa State, brought a bunch of his players with him, but it has not clicked yet. They are sitting at 5-4, including a brutal 0-4 stretch in late September where they took losses from Wisconsin, Northwestern, USC, and Michigan. They will probably make a bowl game, but that is a far cry from the Big Ten dark horse hype they had.
Then there is Ole Miss. Everyone thought this was the year for Trinidad Chambliss, especially with Pete Golding settled in. Early on, it looked like they were heading for a dream season, knocking off LSU and Lane Kiffin 32-24 in Week 3, plus snagging signature wins against Missouri and Auburn. But three losses to Florida, Texas, and a blowout to Georgia completely knocked them out of the playoff hunt. Yeah, they can still hit 10 wins with a bowl victory, which would be historic back-to-back 10-win seasons, but Chambliss not making the CFP? That is a major letdown after all that preseason buzz.
Ducks’ Unlucky Break
Even Oregon, a team we expected to make a deep CFP run this year under Dan Lanning, got hit with the injury bug. Losing their starting quarterback Dante Moore was a huge blow. That is just how unpredictable college football can be sometimes.
It just goes to show you that preseason hype means nothing once the games actually start. These teams all had big dreams, and for various reasons, they fell short. What happens next? How do these squads finish out the year? And what lessons do they carry into next season to make sure this kind of disappointment does not happen again?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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