ESPN's Bottom 10

Last updated
ESPN publishes the "Bottom 10" worst college football teams weekly during the regular season. ESPN Bottom10.png
ESPN publishes the "Bottom 10" worst college football teams weekly during the regular season.

The Bottom 10 (officially, ESPN.com's Bottom 10) is a week-by-week regular season "ranking" of the worst ten college football teams in the NCAA Division I FBS. [1] [2] [3] ESPN.com writer Ryan McGee currently writes the column each week and is the sole determiner of the teams that are listed. [4]

Contents

One of the running gags of the Bottom 10 is the "highly coveted Number 5 spot." This spot is typically reserved for "the top BCS blunder of the week" – a normally strong football team that found itself on the wrong end of an upset the prior week; an example would be the Bottom 10 of September 7, 2011, which featured Oregon State at the #5 ranking after its upset loss to Sacramento State, a Division I FCS program that had previously never beaten an FBS team in its history. [5] Occasionally, the Number 5 spot can be used for other aspects relating to the game, as occurred on two consecutive weeks in 2015. On October 13, "Monday" (that day) was Number 5 following three significant events: the firing of Steve Sarkisian as head coach at USC, the PED suspension of Florida starting quarterback Will Grier, and the unexpected retirement of South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier. [6] One week later, the Number 5 spot was handed to "Digital Tough Guys from Michigan", referring to a number of putative Michigan fans who sent insulting tweets and death threats to Wolverines punter Blake O'Neill after his mishandling of a snap led to the game-winning touchdown for Michigan State in their October 18 game. [7]

The Bottom 10 also features the "Pillow Fight of the Week", which is usually a matchup between fellow Bottom 10 teams.

The Bottom 10 rankings are occasionally referenced by other sportswriters when writing editorials about teams that the writers consider to be poor performers. [1] One example of this can be found in the Stanford Review: "Stanford has consistently maintained the #2 spot on the ESPN "Bottom 10" rankings, only losing, or winning depending on your perspective, to equally hapless Duke." [8]

Original idea

The Chicago Tribune credits the idea to Los Angeles sportswriter Steve Harvey approximately 30 years before ESPN began using the term. On Sept 6, 1972, the Los Angeles Times introduced the Bottom 10 as follows: "This season The Times will keep football fans up to date on the bad as well as the good in football with (Steve) Harvey's irreverent feature, The Bottom 10." [9] ESPN now publishes the rankings "With apologies to Steve Harvey." [10] In 2008, Harvey resumed his "Bottom 10" columns for college and NFL football in the Los Angeles Times. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USC Trojans football</span> American college football team at University of Southern California

The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big Ten Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season</span> American college football season

The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Football Playoff</span> Postseason tournament in American college football

The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of college football competition in the United States. It culminates in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. The inaugural tournament was held at the end of the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season under a four-team format. The CFP Board of Managers voted in 2023 to expand the playoff to twelve teams beginning in 2024, an arrangement that will last at least through the end of the 2025 season. After 2025, the current contract between all major players expires and a new contract will be drawn up, with indications that additional expansion may take place as soon as 2026.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season</span> American college football season

The 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The 2014–15 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games. They completed the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and included 39 team-competitive games and four all-star games. The games began on December 20, 2014 and, aside from the all-star games, ended with the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship which was played on January 12, 2015.

The 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 3, 2015 and ended on December 12, 2015. The postseason concluded on January 11, 2016 with Alabama defeating Clemson in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship. This was the second season of the College Football Playoff (CFP) championship system.

The 2015 Pac-12 Conference football season was the fifth season for the conference as a twelve-team league. The season began on September 3, 2015 with a trio of games, Arizona hosting UTSA, Utah hosting Michigan, and Hawaii hosting Colorado. The final game was the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 5, 2015, with ESPN televising the game.

The 2015–16 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games. They completed the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The games began on December 19, 2015 and, aside from the all-star games, ended with the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship which was played on January 11, 2016.

The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016, and ended on December 10, 2016. The postseason concluded on January 9, 2017, with the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship, where the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide to claim their second national title in school history. The championship game was a rematch of the 2016 edition won by Alabama.

The 2016–17 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games which completed the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The games began on December 17, 2016, and aside from the all-star games ended with the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship which was played on January 9, 2017.

The 2017–18 NCAA football bowl games was a series of college football bowl games which completed the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The games began on December 16, 2017, and aside from the all-star games ended with the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship, which was played on January 8, 2018.

The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 149th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season began on August 25, 2018, and ended on December 8, 2018. The postseason began on December 15, and aside from any all-star games that were scheduled, concluded on January 7, 2019, with the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Clemson Tigers won the title game over the Alabama Crimson Tide, the school's third national title and second in three years, and also becoming the first team since the 1897 Penn Quakers to have a perfect 15-0 season.

The 2018 Outback Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on January 1, 2018, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The 32nd annual Outback Bowl was one of the 2017–18 NCAA football bowl games concluding the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The game was nationally televised on ESPN2, and its title sponsor is the Outback Steakhouse restaurant franchise.

The 2018–19 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games completing the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The games began on December 15, 2018, and, aside from the all-star games that follow, ended with the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship, which was played on January 7, 2019.

The 2019–20 NCAA football games were a series of college football bowl games played to complete the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The games began on December 20, 2019, and, aside from the all-star games that followed, ended with the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship played on January 13, 2020.

The 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 152nd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The regular season began on August 28, 2021, and ended on December 11, 2021. The postseason began on December 17, with the main games ending on January 10, 2022, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and the all-star portion of the post-season concluding with the inaugural HBCU Legacy Bowl on February 19, 2022. It was the eighth season of the College Football Playoff (CFP) system. It was the first time since 2016 that no major team finished the season undefeated as the Cincinnati Bearcats, the season's last undefeated team, were defeated in the 2021 Cotton Bowl Classic.

The 2021–22 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football games scheduled to complete the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The main games concluded with the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship played on January 10, 2022, while the all-star portion of the schedule concluded February 19, 2022.

The 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 153rd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season began on August 27 and ended on December 10. The postseason began on December 16, and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, ended on January 9, 2023, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

The 2022–23 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football games played to complete the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Team-competitive games began in mid-December and concluded with the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 9, 2023, which was won by the Georgia Bulldogs. The all-star portion of the schedule began on January 14 and concluded on February 25, 2023.

The 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 154th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season began on August 26 and ended on December 9. The postseason began on December 15, and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, ended on January 8, 2024, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

References

  1. 1 2 Dayton, Kels (October 8, 2014). "UConn football takes rightful place in ESPN's Bottom Ten". SportsEdge.com (LIN Television Corporation). Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  2. ↑ NT Daily News [ dead link ] "NT among league's worst" by Michael Neglia, September 8, 2006
  3. ↑ Luciano, Anna (September 13, 2010). "College Football Rankings: The Bottom Ten Teams In Week Two". Bleacher Report . Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Tulsa Golden Hurricane make ESPN's Bottom 10 again". Tulsa World. October 22, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Looking to the local YMCA for reinforcements -- Bottom 10". ESPN.com. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  6. ↑ McGee, Ryan (October 13, 2015). "The Breaking News! deluge comes after the Bottom 10". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  7. ↑ McGee, Ryan. "Bottom 10: Digital bullies from Michigan earn their spot". ESPN. ESPN. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  8. ↑ Stanford Review Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine "Time for Harris to Go?", Stuart Baimel, December 1, 2006
  9. ↑ "The Bottom Ten: Let's Hear It for the Losers". The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California). September 6, 1972. p. III-6. Retrieved May 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  10. ↑ ESPN.com Bottom 10 Rankings "Final Bottom 10 finds 2007's real McCoys", David Duffey, January 14, 2008
  11. ↑ Steve Harvey, College Football - Bottom 10, Los Angeles Times, September 24, 2009
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.