It's a big day for America. Polls will change the landscape of this country for the foreseeable future, no matter how divisive the results may be. There will be joy. There will be fury. There's no denying that the final outcome is tremendously important.
I'm talking about the CBS Sports Bottom 25, of course. Everything else happening on Tuesday pales in comparison. And unlike other, more democratic processes that college football fans may be used to, the Bottom 25 is constructed entirely by an unbiased algorithm that truly reveals the worst of the worst in college football.
The algorithm was very kind this week. Without spoiling too much, three Power Four conference teams are in the Bottom 15. You probably don't have to think too hard to guess which schools they are.
I'll give you a hint: one rhymes with Smorida Fate. However, one school sets the bar even lower, and it plays in the Big Ten.
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Look, you're going to have to scroll down if you really want to know. Sorry, I don't make the rules.
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Bottom 25 rankings
The illustrious Tom Fornelli created the formula that we still use to generate the Bottom 25, but he has since passed on his writing duties. To be clear, the rankings are based on a series of calculations, but the quips are entirely man-made.
The Bottom 25
| Team | Rank | Record | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25. New Mexico | 3-6 | Welcome back, Lobos. You left us after a win against Utah State but two straight losses to the likes of Colorado State and Wyoming -- WYOMING -- will put you right back in college football's basement. (Last week: NR) | |
| 24. Charlotte | 3-6 | Charlotte's another former Bottom 25 honoree that has found its way back amid a losing streak. The 49ers have dropped each of their last three contests, two of which came by at least 31 points. They have a bye this week, which means they'll have a chance to lick their wounds. (NR) | |
| 23. Nevada | 3-7 | Speaking of three-game losing streaks, Nevada dropped its third in a row Saturday against Colorado State. Not much shame in that; the Rams have gone from Bottom 25 stalwart to quiet Mountain West Conference contender. It might be a while before the Wolf Pack get back on track, as they travel to No. 12 Boise State Saturday. The Broncos are a -24 betting favorite, according to Fanatics.(25) | |
| 22. Mississippi State | 2-7 | Mississippi State prevailed over UMass 45-20 in a rare Bottom 25 matchup featuring a Power Four conference team. It wasn't enough to help the Bulldogs climb out of the bottom of the barrel. State makes its way back to the SEC Saturday on the road against No. 7 Tennessee. (14) | |
| 21. UAB | 2-6 | The biggest riser in this week's Bottom 25, UAB eviscerated Tulsa 59-21 to get its first first win against FBS Competition all year. Now the Blazers have face tough road the next couple of weeks against UConn and Memphis. (10) | |
| 20. Florida Atlantic | 2-6 | Florida Atlantic had a prime opportunity to show some signs of life in Week 10 against a relatively weak South Florida team -- and lost by 23 points. The Owls haven't won since Sept. 28, though they'll have plenty of opportunity to change that in the last month against teams like Temple, Charlotte and Tulsa. Tom Herman's squad is running the Bottom 25 gauntlet. (22) | |
| 19. Georgia State | 2-6 | Georgia State lost to UConn in Week 10 -- as I've said all year -- there's no shame in that. The bowl-bound Huskies are a wagon. Will the Panthers ever be able to replicate the success they had against Vanderbilt? We'll see Saturday against James Madison. (20) | |
| 18. Troy | 2-7 | I've handed out honorary Bottom 25 spots all year. Coastal Carolina gets one for losing to this Troy team. The Trojans, who hadn't broken the 30-point mark against an FBS team all year, have now done so in back-to-back games against Arkansas State and the Chanticleers. College football. (11) | |
| 17. Temple | 2-6 | Temple was off in Week 10 but still dropped a couple of spots. A game against Tulane this Saturday probably isn't going to help much. (19) | |
| 16. Utah State | 2-6 | No movement for the Aggies, who were off in Week 10. They return Saturday against No. 20 Washington State. (16) | |
| 15. Tulsa | 3-6 | Tulsa had a Bottom 25 hall-of-shame result Saturday. The Golden Hurricanes not only lost to UAB; they lost by 38 points. Were it my choice, Tulsa would have plummeted even further. But the algorithm seems to put a lot of weight into previous wins against Northwestern State and UTSA. (21) | |
| 14. Middle Tennessee | 3-6 | Don't let the Blue Raiders get hot! MTSU won its second game in three weeks Saturday. Granted, both of those wins came against two fellow Bottom 25 members in UTEP and Kennesaw State, but there's something to be said about being better than the absolute worst. (8) | |
| 13. Stanford | 2-7 | You know what's not a sign of a healthy program? Juggling quarterbacks 10 weeks into the season. Stanford has given three different guys significant run at this point. None of them have changed the Cardinal's outlook. (19) | |
| 12. Florida State | 1-8 | Normally, it would be sad to laugh at a sorry program this deep into the season. But the Seminoles are still hilarious. It's appointment viewing, watching them set a new bar in futility each and every week. (17) | |
| 11. Akron | 2-7 | It turns out Akron didn't turn a corner following its Week 9 win against Western Michigan. The Zips notched another tick in the loss column over the weekend against Buffalo. Now they have a bye week. (13) | |
| 10. Wyoming | 2-7 | There's the Wyoming we know and love, looking like it actually belongs against conference opponents. The Cowboys also scored a whopping 49 points in the process, which is more than they had combined in their two previous losses to Utah State and San Jose State. (4) | |
| 9. Ball State | 3-5 | Ball State had a bye in Week 10 and hosts Miami (OH) on Tuesday night. Luckily, nothing else major is happening on Nov. 5, so we'll all be able to tune in distraction free. (9) | |
| 8. UMass | 2-7 | Under normal circumstances, losing to a fellow Bottom 25 member is cause for great ridicule. But the Minutemen went on the road against Mississippi State and still put 20 points on the board -- more than they've scored against the likes of Buffalo and Eastern Michigan. (15) | |
| 7. Southern Miss | 1-7 | Southern Miss was off in Week 10. That means, at least for one Saturday, its six-game losing streak was put on ice. The Golden Eagles host Marshall this week. (7) | |
| 6. New Mexico State | 2-6 | Purdue had a bye in Week 9, which coach Ryan Walters survived. Another enticing chance to plummet even lower comes Saturday when the Boilermakers host Northwestern. (9) | |
| 5. Purdue | 1-7 | If anyone was still holding out hope that Ryan Walters could turn this thing around, just look at Purdue's remaining schedule. The Boilermakers have to play three (!!!!) top 10 teams over the last month, including rival Indiana. And also Michigan State. Purdue is careening towards 11 losses for the first time since 2013 and, unlike Darrell Hazell, Walter isn't going to get four years to figure it out. (6) | |
| 4. UTEP | 1-8 | UTEP lost its second straight Bottom 25 matchup Saturday. Both were Conference USA games, if you're wondering what kind of shape ole C-USA is in. Oh, but it gets so much better. This Saturday, UTEP meets Kennesaw State in the GREATEST BOTTOM 25 GAME OF ALL TIME. The stars have aligned to give us this moment. We are lucky to bear witness. (5) | |
| 3. Air Force | 1-7 | Air Force is tied with Purdue for the second-longest losing streak in the nation at seven games. If you eliminate the FCS fluff, the Falcons haven't won a regular season game since Oct. 28, 2023. That's over a year, for those that don't feel like doing the math. (3) | |
| 2. Kennesaw State | 1-7 | Kennesaw State came back down to earth last week in a 31-14 loss to Western Kentucky. Can't win them all, or even most of them, Owls. Don't worry, you'll have a chance to get right Saturday in the aforementioned GREATEST BOTTOM 25 GAME OF ALL TIME against UTEP. (2) | |
| 1. Kent State | 0-8 | Kent State was off in Week 10, which means that the march to 0-12 is still alive and well. Since the Golden Flashes have to play four straight FBS opponents to close the year, it looks like we're in good shape for a totally defeated season. Don't mess this up, Akron. (1) |