A Cinderella Story: What the last four surprise teams have in common
By Jordan Cox
Published:
It seems as if it’s a yearly occurrence now.
A preseason unranked team comes from out of nowhere, captures the attention of the college football world and is the story of the SEC.
2012: Texas A&M.
2013: Auburn and Missouri.
2014: Mississippi State.
Perhaps it’s due to lack of expectations. Auburn and Missouri missed bowl games in 2012, and the orange and blue Tigers entered 2013 with a first-year head coach.
Texas A&M was coming off a 7-6 season in 2011, its final season as a member of the Big 12, was coming to the SEC with new head coach Kevin Sumlin. No one knew what to expect from the Aggies.
Mississippi State was 7-6 in 2013, and Dan Mullen was on the hot seat in his fifth season.
So while it’s true that all four teams had little to no expectations for the seasons in which they’d become the darlings of college football, they all have something greater in common.
Texas A&M, Auburn, Missouri and Mississippi State all had stars and head coaches who got their teams to believe.
Sumlin, Manziel. Malzahn, Mason. Pinkel, Green-Beckham. Mullen, Prescott. Beginning to notice a trend?
Each of these programs boasted high-powered offenses and Heisman winners or candidates during its respective campaigns. Johnny Manziel set all kinds of SEC records during the Aggies’ 11-2 run en route to his Heisman Trophy. Auburn running back Tre Mason set school records for rushing and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. This season, it’s Dak Prescott on pace for another historic season, and he’s currently the frontrunner for college football’s most coveted trophy.
It’s hard to have a great season. A lot goes into it. Preparation, execution, belief, discipline. It takes a little luck, too. The plays, call and breaks have to fall your way.
Every team has that moment, also. That game they win convincingly. A bye week after a loss where it all clicks. You see, it’s easy to keep moving up the rankings. But when there’s nowhere else to go? That’s when you need the momentum and belief a team can gain from those season-defining moments.
The win at Alabama for Johnny Football and the Aggies. The win over Georgia in Athens after James Franklin went down for Missouri. The bye week after the loss at LSU when everything clicked for Auburn. The dominating win over Auburn for Mississippi State.
Surprise teams are why we love college football. The Cinderella story is the foundation of the pageantry of the sport.
College Station, Auburn and Columbia have all had its ride on the magic carpet. It’s your turn, Starkville.
The Bulldogs have made it to the penthouse. And hopefully for the good of the game and for college football fans, they keeps surprising us every Saturday.
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
