College football's most hated teams of all-time: Miami, USC, Florida State squads inspired disdain

When college football teams win with elite talent, the haters tend to come out in full force

Brad Crawford

Mar 28, 2026

9:17 am ET

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8 min read

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Jim Harbaugh said it best during Michigan's 2024 national championship run, using "noise" from detractors as fuel for the Wolverines. Amid cries of "cheating" during the NCAA's investigation into the program, the blueblood assumed its seat at the table with an unbeaten season, culminating with the program's first title in 26 years.

Do you think Harbaugh loses sleep over the 10-year show cause he was assessed by the NCAA as punishment for what happened under his watch? Not a wink after Michigan won on the field as the Big Ten's finest, has hardware to show for it and narrowly missed inclusion in our most hated teams of all-time ranking here at CBS Sports.

Somewhere in the Bayou, Lane Kiffin is digesting this hate piece, knowing there's a good chance 2026 LSU will find a spot in next spring's update if all goes well for the Tigers this season. Keep in mind, college football's most loathed squads all had a few common themes -- great players and a lot of wins.

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10. Alabama (2011)

Blame Nick Saban for much of the hate the SEC received for a decade-plus during his illustrious tenure in Tuscaloosa. Universally hated by just about everyone outside of Alabama during his reign, the Crimson Tide won more games from 2010 to 2020 than any program in the country and churned out more first-round picks as well. Saban collected six national titles and countless conference championships over his 17-year reign, but it was Alabama's rematch opportunity with LSU in the 2011 national title game two months after losing to the Tigers, 9-6, that tossed lighter fluid on the fire aimed at taking computers out of the mix to determine college football's championship matchup. Alabama's 21-0 destruction of LSU equaled the third-lowest TV viewership in the 14-year history of the BCS final.

9. Notre Dame (1993)

Another Fighting Irish team (2012) was considered for this spot, but the late Lou Holtz is recognized here after his 1993 team finished second to Bobby Bowden's Florida State Seminoles in the final rankings despite winning head-to-head in the "Game of the Century" earlier that season. Holtz let poll voters hear it, and his pleas indirectly led to the birth of the Bowl Championship Series, a computer-based rankings system used to determine which two teams would play for the national title. Between 1988 and 1993, Notre Dame won 88% of its games and became one of America's teams as a national television staple. But the Irish had plenty of enemies. And those folks still hate the golden domers.

8. Ohio State (2002)

As college football's second most-winningest program of all-time behind the program that will not be named while attached to the Buckeyes, Ohio State has always been a villain. This inclusion is here due to a bit of personal bias, considering this teenage viewer from North Carolina had no dog in the fight, but was baffled by a critical ruling. There are Miami fans still wanting an explanation from Terry Porter on what exactly he saw after Hurricanes ballhawk Glenn Sharpe blanketed Buckeyes wideout Chris Gamble in the end zone, only to be called for defensive pass interference to extend the national championship game into overtime.

Ohio State would eventually win the game, beating top-ranked Miami, 31-24, to shock the defending national champions. That controversial finish would alter the trajectory of both programs. The "Luckeyes" seemed to always have a flair for the dramatic during Jim Tressel's only national championship season and benefited from several calls -- including that big one -- to be the last team standing. Freshman Maurice Clarett was Ohio State's star, a trash-talking ballcarrier no one seemed to like in the Big Ten or nationally.

7. Texas A&M (2012)

When your name carries weight around SEC circles more than a decade after the end of your best playing days, your legacy speaks for itself. Johnny Manziel's stardom came before NIL and profiting off individual brands, but he was one of the game's first true firecrackers in the modern era of social media and hot takes. Frat boy vibes were hard to stomach, and Manziel's brazen attitude seemed to rub opposing fans the wrong way, yet he was appointment viewing. The resounding win at Alabama was his defining moment. He played the game recklessly at times, which is part of what made him such a unique face of the sport. He was the lone bright spot of Kevin Sumlin's tenure in College Station despite following a different set of rules from his teammates. Manziel was polarizing -- you either loved or hated the dual-threat quarterback.

6. Oklahoma (2017)

Baker Mayfield made his w