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25. Ball State |
2-3 |
I expect we’ll see The Great Migration of MAC Teams out of the rankings as conference play begins. That said, there are still plenty of MAC teams left this week, including a Ball State team that beat Northern Illinois 44-38. This week it’s another Bottom 25 battle against No. 20 Central Michigan. (Last Week: 15) |
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24. Georgia Tech |
2-3 |
Georgia Tech is 1-0 in the post-Geoff Collins Era, but the first four games still count, and a win over Pitt isn’t enough to get the Bees out entirely. Still, considering how soft some of the ACC’s lesser teams have looked, there’s a chance the Bees could get another win or two. (14) |
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23. Miami OH |
2-3 |
Miami followed its win over Northwestern with a 24-20 loss to Buffalo. What that says about Northwestern I’ll leave up to interpretation (it’s not ranked! The computers think it’s better than its record! Stop asking!). The Redhawks get a tough test this week at home against Kent State. (Not Ranked) |
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22. Army |
1-3 |
I fear having both Army and Navy ranked in The Bottom 25 in the same week will put me on a government watch list. The Knights join the fray after becoming Georgia State’s first win of the season last week, and now they’re hitting the road to face Wake Forest. I swear I love America. (NR) |
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21. Bowling Green |
2-3 |
Don’t look now, but the Falcons have won two of three. Unfortunately, blowout losses to UCLA and Mississippi State, plus that loss to Eastern Kentucky still carry too much weight to escape our grasp. (16) |
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20. Central Michigan |
1-4 |
The Chips remain winless against FBS competition following their 38-17 loss to Toledo. They’re 0-4 in those games and being outscored by 17 points per game. Perhaps they’ll be more competitive at home against No. 25 Ball State. (NR) |
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19. Western Michigan |
2-3 |
Our tour of Michigan continues in the western part of The Mitten State. The Broncos picked up a win over New Hampshire, which is nice but not nearly enough. This week it’s a big clash against Eastern Michigan. (10) |
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18. San Diego State |
2-3 |
Losing to a Boise State team that had just fired its OC and lost its starting QB to the transfer portal isn’t great optically, especially after the Aztecs jumped out to a 13-0 lead. However, firing the offensive coordinator afterward felt a bit harsh, seeing as how the Aztecs were down to their third-string QB for most of the game due to injuries. (NR) |
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17. ULM |
2-3 |
It seems the Warhawks were still celebrating their rivalry win over the Ragin’ Cajuns a little too long. They were outclassed in a 45-28 loss to Arkansas State. Now they’ve got to contend with Coastal Carolina. (25) |
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16. Georgia State |
1-4 |
I told you the Panthers would win soon, and they did just that, beating Army 31-14. The schedule doesn’t get much easier from here, though, as the Panthers get Georgia Southern before hitting the road for Appalachian State in a few weeks. (11) |
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15. Ohio |
2-3 |
The Bobcats lost a fun overtime game to Kent State 31-24. It was the kind of loss that made sure they were still in The Bottom 25 but also left me optimistic they’ll be able to work their way out. Perhaps the climb starts this week with a win against No. 6 Akron. (23) |
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14. Northern Illinois |
1-4 |
Is the entire MAC ranked this week!? No? Only eight of its 12 teams? Oh, OK, well, two-thirds ain’t so bad, I guess. The Huskies fell to Ball State and are now 1-4, with Toledo coming up next. Like last season, they’re playing a lot of one-score games. Unlike last season, they’re losing them this year. (22) |
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13. Louisiana Tech |
1-3 |
The Bulldogs took the week off and jumped to No. 13. Impressive stuff. This week they return to action against old friend UTEP. (18) |
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12. Navy |
1-3 |
There was a chance Navy had turned a corner in its 23-20 win over East Carolina, and I still believe that’s the case. Air Force is just a better team and beat it 13-10. Still, if Navy plays as it did against ECU, I can see a couple more wins coming. (19) |
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11. UConn |
2-4 |
Congratulations to the Huskies for getting their first win over an FBS opponent since beating UMass in 2019. The Huskies pulled off a surprising 19-14 upset over Fresno. Can they make it two in a row against No. 10 FIU this weekend? (9) |
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10. FIU |
2-2 |
The Panthers took down New Mexico State 21-7 in The Bottom 25 Game of the Century of Last Week. Now they face No. 11 UConn in what will be the first Bottom 25 Game of the Century of the Week in history to face two teams coming off a win. That’s right; we’re making history this weekend, baby! (2) |
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9. South Florida |
1-4 |
I don’t think Jeff Scott will be in Tampa much longer. After losing 48-28 to East Carolina, the Bulls are now 4-22 under Scott and only 1-15 in conference play. Coaches with records like that seldom see the end of their third season, let alone the start of a fourth. USF’s next three games are against Cincinnati, Tulane and Houston, so life isn’t about to get easier. (13) |
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8. Utah State |
1-4 |
The good news is that Cooper Legas’ introduction at starting QB sparked the Aggies’ offense. The bad news is it wasn’t nearly enough to avoid a 38-26 loss at BYU. Still, there were enough signs during that game to lead me to believe Utah State could stack some wins before the year is out. There will certainly be plenty of chances in a Mountain West that lacks an elite team. (12) |
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7. Charlotte |
1-5 |
The 49ers lost to their mining counterparts of UTEP 41-35 and are now 1-5 on the season. That’s bad, but the good news is they’ve looked far more competent in their last three games than in the first three. They get a bye this week, and maybe they’ll use it to tighten things up further for the second half of the season. (7) |
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6. Akron |
1-4 |
Akron’s 31-28 loss to Bowling Green was its most competitive loss of the season, so the Zips can take some solace in that. They can also take solace in the fact four of their final seven games are against teams currently ranked in The Bottom 25, including this week’s game against No. 15 Ohio. (6) |
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5. New Mexico State |
1-5 |
The Aggies couldn’t start a win streak against FIU, falling 21-7. They’ll get this week off to prepare for the big rivalry game against New Mexico. Loser leaves town. (8) |
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4. UMass |
1-4 |
If the Minutemen are going to get a second win this season, the next few weeks might be the pivotal stretch. Their next three games against Liberty, Buffalo and New Mexico State will all be played at home. (5) |
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3. Hawaii |
1-4 |
The Rainbow Warriors had the week off, which gave them extra time to prepare for a Bottom 25 showdown against No. 18 San Diego State. (4) |
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2. Colorado |
0-5 |
Arizona was one of the more winnable games remaining on Colorado’s schedule. The Buffs lost 43-20. They have this week off, so they’ll need it to figure out where to go. The next game is at home against Cal on Oct. 15. (3) |
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1. Colorado State |
0-4 |
The Rams had the week off, allowing them more time to lick their wounds following the 41-10 loss to Sacramento State. They’ll face Nevada this week in a huge grudge match that I really wanted to make The Game of the Century of the Week, but the Wolf Pack fell out of the rankings. The jerks! (1) |
