NCAAF teams
Ryan McGee, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Giving thanks for the positivity

College Football, SMU Mustangs, Georgia State Panthers, Kent State Golden Flashes, Eastern Michigan Eagles, UNLV Rebels, Iowa State Cyclones, Idaho Vandals, Connecticut Huskies, New Mexico State Aggies, Ole Miss Rebels

The Bottom 10 inspirational thought of the week:

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene

To illustrate his last remark
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
What did they do
Just when everything looked so dark.

Man, they said we better
Accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between

-- "Accentuate the Positive" Johnny Mercer

In the early 1940s the globe was still reeling from the Great Depression and stumbling headlong into a world war. These were not good times. But in the middle of it all the great Johnny Mercer, inspired by a sermon by the even greater the Rev. Major Jealous Divine, put pen to paper and wrote a catchy little tune that has since been recorded by everyone from Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald to Clint Eastwood and Paul McCartney.

Now the teams of the Bottom 10 are a'stumbling as well. Here in the second half of November, seasons are beginning to wrap up and seemingly every hour of every Saturday, another one of our beloved squads is slapped with its dreaded 10th defeat of the year. Here at Bottom 10 headquarters, located in an outhouse behind the "College GameDay" stage, tradition dictates that we commemorate each team hitting a double-digit loss total by ringing the Bell of Embarrassment. Unfortunately, the clapper in our bell rusted and fell out. But that's OK, because we just wave it in air and yell "Ding-a-ding!"

That's what the Rev. Divine would call accentuating the positive. Don't fixate on the final score, folks. Instead, find a happy moment along the 60 minutes that led to that score and focus on that. It's a practice we can apply to all aspects of life, especially during Thanksgiving.

"Mom, Uncle Walt is snoring on the couch again."

"I know, honey, but look ... at least he remembered to zip his pants this year."

With apologies to Steve Harvey and Norman Vincent Peale, here's this week's Bottom 10.

1. SMU (0-10)

Forget that the Mustangs dropped their 10th straight. Forget that they were down 27-0 at the end of the first quarter, hurtling toward a 53-7 loss to UCF. Instead, focus on the fact that defensive back Darrion Richardson hauled in an interception that looked an awful lot like New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham's catch the next day. Sadly, like Beckham's effort, it didn't come with extra added style points that could be added to the scoreboard.

2. Georgia State (1-10)

Forget that Georgia State Not Southern made the trip up I-85 to Death Valley to be handed a 28-0 loss, also its 10th of the season, by a Clemson team largely held together by congealed mustard-based BBQ sauce and pine straw baling wire. Instead, let's focus on this sweet tee that Georgia Southern Not State sent me so that I would no longer confuse the two schools that are both located in Georgia and start their official abbreviations with "GS."

3. The Boys From Oopsilanti (2-9)

Forget that Eastern Michigan continued its MAC East flat spin, a rapid descent that's not only five straight conference losses but also a free fall to within a few spots of last place nationally in multiple offensive and defensive categories (thanks to SMU for the cushion). Instead, let's focus on another Beckhamesque reception, this time from Eagles wideout Tyreese Russell.

4. UNLV (2-10)

Let's forget that the Rebels keep running up (or is it down?) the charts, this week receiving a click of the boost button via a last-second loss to Huh-wa-yuh that stung more than falling asleep on Waikiki having remembered your thong but not your sunscreen. Instead, let's focus on the fact that, hey, at least they aren't the only Rebels on this week's list ...

5. Old Miss (8-3)

Talk about a Blind Side. A month ago the Rebs were 7-0 and sitting in the middle of the playoff bracket. Since then they've lost three of four, the lone victory coming against the Blue Hose of Presbyterian College. One week later they were beaten with a rubber hose, which when followed to its end was being held between the clenched teeth of a razorback hog.

6. State of Kent (1-9)

We could focus on the fact that last week's game at Buffalo was canceled due to inclement weather. But by accentuating the positive, we realize that, hey, they didn't pick up their 10th loss. We are told by the official meteorologist of the Bottom 10, Larry Sprinkle (a real person), that the official snowfall total in Buffalo was eleventy bazillion inches. Sources have also informed us that a pair of snowmen built inside University of Buffalo Stadium by the grounds crew recorded two sacks and scored twice before Kent could get on the bus to the airport.

7. I-Ow!-A State (2-8)

Baylor, TCU, and Kansas State might still be slugging it out for the top of the Big 12, but that's so messy, isn't it? Meanwhile, the bottom of the conference is pretty much all sewn up, all nice and tidy.

8. U-Can't (2-8)

After falling to Cincinnati 41-0, the Huskies replace Tulsa as this spot's representative from the American Athletic Conference of American Athletics. Late Monday night we received an angry letter from the AACAA commissioner about one of his teams being snubbed, which came right after the first angry letter complaining that ECU receiver Justin Hardy had been snubbed by the Biletnikoff Award, and was followed by an angry letter that Imagine Dragons was snubbed at the AMAs.

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

Forget the Egg Bowl. Forget the Iron Bowl. Forget The Game. Nothing says Rivalry Weekend like Saturday's tradition-drenched Sun Belt clash between Idaho and Appalachian State.

10. New Mexico State (2-9)

The Aggies edge out My Hammy of Ohio for this week's final spot primarily because they'd already gotten their loss out of the way, while the RedHawks had to wait until Tuesday night's MACtion on ESPN2. With one game remaining, a trip to Arkansas State, NMSU hasn't won since Week 2, and those victories were against Georgia State Not Southern and Cal Poly, which just wrapped up its season midpack in the Big Sky Conference. Two weeks ago, Poly lost to another group of Aggies, UC Davis, whose only other win this season was against Fort Lewis, which finished 3-8 in Division II and is so far down the college football totem pole, it doesn't even warrant a logo on ESPN.com. We spent most of Monday looking for some positive to accentuate from that. We're still looking.

Waiting List: Colora-duh (2-9), Tulsa (2-9), My Hammy of Ohio (2-9), Southern Missed (3-8), FAEIOU (and sometimes Y and W), shoving referees.

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