The 7 Most Shocking Turnarounds in Recent College Football History

Rebuilding a college football program takes time; coaches need to build a new culture and bring in new recruiting classes. Sometimes, however, it only takes one year to stage a dramatic turnaround, which was the case with these teams that came out of nowhere in the wake of a season they’d like to forget.

These Are The 7 Most Shocking Turnarounds In Recent History

Going from bad to good in a short time is one of the most joyful experiences for a college football fan, and it happens more often than people think.

For example, Oklahoma State, which went 1-11 last season, is now a top-20 team at 4-1. UCLA was 3-9 last year and is currently 5-0 and ranked 12th in the nation.

But of course, it’s a lot easier to catch teams by surprise when you are under the radar. Now that these teams are on the map, it will be interesting to see if they keep up their win streaks.

These teams completed their turnarounds in a single season and were legitimately good the full year.

Indiana (2024)

Indiana went 3-9 in 2023, but more importantly, they were the losingest program in college football history. They hired head coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison University and went 11-2 the following year, with a College Football Playoff appearance.

Since then, the Hoosiers have gone on to win a national championship and relinquished their title as the program with the most losses in history. (That title now belongs to Northwestern with 718 losses)

TCU (2022)

Amid another disappointing season, the TCU Horned Frogs fired longtime head coach Gary Patterson. They finished 2021 5-7 and, for the first time in over 20 years, had to look for a head coach.

The Frogs didn’t look far for an answer; they brought Sonny Dykes from Dallas (SMU) to Fort Worth, and it paid off quickly.

In 2022, they went 12-0 in the regular season and qualified for the playoffs. Then, as eight-point underdogs, they upset undefeated Michigan to reach the school’s first-ever national championship game. The game didn’t go well for TCU (to say the least), but going from no bowl game to the national championship is still a remarkable turnaround.

Arizona State (2023)

In Kenny Dillingham’s first season as head coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils, they went an abysmal 3-9. The following year, the school switched conferences to the Big 12 and won it in their first year.

The Sun Devils went 11-3, won the Big 12 title, and qualified for the playoffs with a bye. They were then a stop away from beating Texas, but Quinn Ewers converted a 4th-and-13 and went on to eliminate ASU.

Washington (2022)

In 2021, Washington went 4-8 and went looking for a new head coach. They brought in Kalen DeBoer, who had just turned around Fresno State.

DeBoer’s first season was a resounding success. The 2022 Huskies went 11-2 and capped the season with an Alamo Bowl win over Texas.

The next season was even better, as the team went undefeated and reached the national championship. They suffered their first loss to Michigan in that game, and, even worse for Washington, DeBoer would choose to leave and succeed Nick Saban at Alabama that offseason.

UCF (2017)

UCF went 0-12 in 2015 and obviously needed a new coach. They hired Scott Frost, and he quickly turned them around, making a bowl game in his first season and finishing 6-7.

The following year, the Knights went a perfect 13-0 and beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl. For UCF, that was enough to claim a national championship.

Not many people outside of Orlando would consider them the 2017 national champions, but regardless, a perfect season 2 years removed from a winless one is remarkable.

Auburn (2013)

Unlike UCF, Auburn won a legitimate National Championship game in 2010, but the success was short-lived: just two years later, they went 3-9 and were searching for a new coach for the 2013 campaign.

In Gus Malzahn’s first year at the helm, the Tigers went 11-1 in the regular season, including the kick-six win against Alabama. They then took Alabama’s spot and returned to the National Championship game.

Florida State and Jameis Winston game-winning drive prevented the Tigers from winning two national championships in four years, but going from 3-9 to a national championship appearance is worthy of making the list.

Kennesaw State (2025)

Kennesaw State’s first season in the FBS went about as badly as possible. The 2024 Owls went 2-10 and finished dead last in their first year in Conference USA.

In the offseason, they hired Jerry Mack as head coach. Remarkably, he took them from worst to first and won the conference in his first year. They won five times as many games, went 10-4, and won a conference championship in their second-ever season in the FBS.