NCAAF teams
Ryan McGee, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Notre Dame feels Bottom 10 chill

College Football, SMU Mustangs, Georgia State Panthers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Kent State Golden Flashes, Eastern Michigan Eagles, UNLV Rebels, Iowa State Cyclones, Tulsa Golden Hurricane, Idaho Vandals, Wake Forest Demon Deacons

The Bottom 10 inspirational thought of the week:

I really can't stay ... But baby it's cold outside
Got to go away ... But baby it's cold outside
There's bound to be talk tomorrow ... Think of my life-long sorrow
At least they'll be plenty implied ... If you caught pneumonia and died
Baby it's cold outside

-- "Baby, It's Cold Outside"

There was a chill in the air throughout college football over the weekend. It started Thursday night, when Tommy Tuberville went full "Spies Like Us" on Twitter. It continued with the Illinois fur coat and then, ultimately, Blanket Smokey.

In Madison, Wisconsin, Nebraska defenders were frozen in their tracks as Melvin Gordon ran by them ... again. Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium looked like all the worst parts of "The Day After Tomorrow," as game time temps hovered around 18 degrees and heavy equipment plowed out the white stuff. And in Dallas, SMU battled both USF and the Freeze Meister.

As I flipped my truck's satellite radio between games, the digital receiver, naturally, froze. When it came unstuck, it was on a just-launched holiday music channel, where Dean Martin was singing "Baby, It's Cold Outside."

Then my daughter yelled from the back seat, "Enough football! Play the 'Frozen' soundtrack!"

With apologies to Steve Harvey and Vanilla Ice, here's this week's Bottom 10.

1. SMU (0-9)

The good news? The Stangs have figured out how to keep games close. The bad news? That only makes the pain worse. On Saturday night, SMU led USF 13-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining. As the Bulls embarked on their final drive, a cold mist began to envelope Gerald Ford Stadium. As the six-minute, 21-play, 75-yard steamroll ground on, the mist turned into a wet fog. By the time Andre Davis hauled in his fourth-and-goal 4-yard TD reception with four seconds remaining, TV cameras could barely see the field. I'm pretty sure I heard Elsa of Arendelle cackling from an igloo on Mockingbird Lane.

2. Georgia State (1-9)

Last week I called out the ESPN Stats & Info department for not aiding my unquenchable thirst for Bottom 10 statistical analysis ... and promptly received an email with detailed breakdowns of all 10 teams. Speaking of breakdowns, the number-crunchers informed me that Georgia State Not Southern has had at least one fumble and one interception in seven games this season, including a fumble and a pair of INTs against Troy. That's tied for tops in FBS with Hawaii, but hey, things are improving. This week the Panthers failed to turn the ball over even once against the Fightin' Byes of Open Date U.

3. State of Kent (1-9)

The two best things about midweek MACtion on the ESPN networks? One, it allows me to go on and plug a team or two into the Bottom 10 well before the weekend even starts. Two, I love it when my wife walks into the den expecting to watch "Say Yes to the Dress" and screams, "FOOTBALL?! But it's Tuesday night!"

4. The Boys From Oopsilanti (2-8)

Eastern Michigan hit halftime already down 48-0 to Western Michigan, a rough followup to their 38-7 loss to Central Michigan two weeks earlier. This weekend Western travels to Central. If you're scoring at home (and who isn't) the Michigan Geography Challenge standings are Western 1-0, Central 1-0, Eastern 0-2. The winner receives a bronzed bust of Tim Allen, who attended Central before transferring to Western (true) and insisted Buzz Lightyear's spacesuit be trimmed in green to pay tribute to Eastern (that might not be true).

5. Notre ... Damn, y'all (7-3)

The Flailing Irish land in this week's coveted No. 5 spot. Wow, a lot can change in a month, can't it? Just four weeks ago the Golden Homers were 6-0 and thinking playoff berth, the Kansas City Royals were a World Series long shot, Kim Kardashian hadn't yet broken the Internet, and the only thing from Earth that had ever landed on a comet was Ben Affleck.

6. UNLV (2-9)

The countdown is officially on as the nation quivers with anticipation over this weekend's strike-of-midnight throwdown between UNLV and Huh-wai-yuh to see who can seize sole possession of last place in the Mountain West West, not to mention the Bottom 10 West. They should have play-by-play done by Adam West. ESPN Stats & Info also informs me that UNLV ranks sixth in the nation with 89 missed tackles. Meanwhile, Hawaii is among the nation's worst at avoiding tackles. So ... something's gotta give!

7. I-Ow!-A State (2-7)

Memo to Kliff Kingsbury: Two weeks ago Iowa State played Kansas in what was being billed as the battle for the bottom of the Big 12. Kansas won, the next weekend they nearly beat TCU and now people are declaring interim head coach Clint Bowen a genius. So perhaps a win for Texas Tech over Iowa State, now also a fight for the bottom, will erase some of the angry chatter about you, Kliff. Or at least stop former assistants from going rogue and selling state secrets.

8. Tulsa (2-8)

Going into the weekend, much was made about the emotional and physical toll that both LSU and Alabama had paid in their game and how it might affect their efforts against Arkansas and Mississippi State. I expressed the same concerns for the Golden Hurricane, coming off their epic win over SMU. Alas, the letdown was indeed too much in a 31-7 loss to UCF.

9. I-Duh-Ho (1-9)

The boys in silver and gold fell to Troy. After a home date vs. Off Date State, they travel from Idaho to Boone, North Carolina, for their Thanksgiving weekend season finale against Appalachian State. I wish the game was the other way around, so I could say that Appy will play in the Kibbie.

10. Wack Forest (2-8)

The Petulant Padres started the annual Tobacco Road Bookend Bowl Classic vs. NC State by ending seven of their first eight drives with a three-and-out. That eighth drive ended with, fittingly, three points. But by then they were out.

Waiting List: U-Can't (2-7), Colora-duh (2-8), My Hammy of Ohio (2-9), Southern Missed (3-8), Maryland O-line producing 6 yards rushing, Nebraska D-line producing 581 yards rushing, not taking a knee in Tucson.

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