Outside of the 2020 season impacted by COVID-19, this marks the first time since George W. Bush’s presidency that Penn State and Michigan State are meeting with neither ranked. Unless, of course, you are using the Bottom 25 as your ranking of choice.The Nittany Lions and Spartans are each featured in this week’s ordering of the sport’s most wayward teams.
Penn State, which has become a regular in these parts, nearly escaped the Bottom 25 in Week 11 while hosting No. 2 Indiana. However, the Nittany Lions suffered heartbreak once again, as they couldn’t hold on to a late lead against the visiting Hoosiers in a 27-24 loss. We did reward Penn State for its valiant effort by moving it up seven spots.
Michigan State fell into the Bottom 25 via attrition following its bye week after North Carolina and Clemson each vaulted out with big conference victories. Their wins opened up a spot for the Spartans, who are 0-6 in Big Ten play.
Sparty’s only victory against a Power Four opponent came on Sept. 6 in overtime against Boston College. Coming off a bye and with weary Penn State team coming to town this week, maybe that will finally change. Of course, even if Michigan State beats Penn State, it still won’t have a win against Power Four team not ranked in the Bottom 25.
This year’s Bottom 25 formula has been tweaked to ensure fair representation from across the sport. Each of the Power Four leagues gets an automatic bid to the Bottom 25 each week, and a total of 10 Power Four schools must be represented.
Bottom 25 Rankings
^ Joined Bottom 25 this week
Owned by Kentucky
Florida is selling itself on the coaching market as a program brimming with national championship potential that only a handful of other schools can match. But among the schools that claim to live in college football’s ruling class, the Gators might have the lowest floor. Their 38-7 loss against a bad Kentucky team marked UK’s largest victory over an SEC foe since 1998. It was also Florida’s fourth loss to the Wildcats in the last five seasons. Can you imagine Alabama losing to Mississippi State four times in five years? That’s the equivalent. The Gators are one loss away from finishing below .500 for the fourth time in five seasons.
25. Stanford^
24. Michigan State^
23. Purdue (24)
22. Florida^
21. Syracuse (22)
Deer season
Speaking of SEC teams with low floors, could Arkansas be headed toward its third two-win campaign of the past eight years? It certainly seems like it. The 2-7 Razorbacks are at LSU this week, at No. 10 Texas the following week and close with a home game against Missouri. The Hogs have been painfully close so many times this season. But it’s a test of resolve at this point. How many times can a wounded team playing for an interim coach keep pulling itself up off the mat? There’s a chance this squad gets its doors blown off down the stretch. At least its deer season.
20. Colorado (21)
19. Penn State (12)
18. Arkansas (19)
17. Kent State^
16. Bowling Green (18)
Respect the results
Here at the Bottom 25, we do our best to respect head-to-head results (at least when it’s convenient and the results are recent). Such is the justification for placing Sam Houston ahead of Oregon State this week. The Bearkats picked up their first win of the season over the Beavers in a 21-17 Bottom 25 thriller. Sam Houston rallied from a 17-0 deficit, despite totaling just eight first downs and 157 total yards for the entire game. The Beavers more than tripled Sam Houston in yards and first downs and still managed to lose. That takes a special level of ineptitude.
15. Louisiana-Monroe (17)
14. Tulsa (14)
13. South Alabama (11)
12. Sam Houston (2)
11. Oregon State (20)
These Eagles have no wings
You know how they do the Directors’ Cup, which recognizes athletic departments for their collective success across sports? If there was an inverse award given to the least successful department, BC would surely be in the mix. The men’s basketball team hasn’t been to an NCAA Tournament since 2009, women’s basketball hasn’t been since 2006 and football isn’t much better. The Eagles are setting at 1-9 and haven’t finished with a winning record in ACC play since 2009. Thank goodness for the men’s hockey and women’s lacrosse programs.
10. UTEP (8)
9. Colorado State (16)
8. Northern Illinois (15)
7. Boston College (7)
6. Middle Tennessee (6)
One winless team left
And then there was one! Sam Houston’s inspiring and somewhat hilarious win over Oregon State (see above) leaves UMass as the only winless FBS team remaining. This is familiar territory for the Minutemen, who also started 0-9 in 2012 before beating Akron on Nov. 10 en route to a 1-11 finish. The bad news is that UMass just lost to Akron 44-10. This week’s game against Northern Illinois, a Bottom 25 comrade, is likely the Minutemen’s best chance to avoid 0-12.
5. Nevada (10)
4. Charlotte (5)
3. Georgia State (4)
2. Oklahoma State (3)
1. UMass (1)
