College football rankings: Louisiana Tech is back in The Bottom 25 as playoff contenders hold firm

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This is it. This is when it's time to put up or shut up. Are you going to reach The Bottom 25 Playoff, or are you going to get one last win to knock you out of contention? It's the final week of the regular season, and since bowl games are too cowardly to pledge their allegiance to hosting a real Bottom 25 Playoff, it's everybody's last chance to make a statement.

This week, there isn't much change in the Bottom 25. We only have one new team ranked this week, and The Bottom Four all remain in place, with a bit of movement around The Bottom 10. The biggest shakeup is Southern Miss, which dropped out of the No. 5 spot following its 35-19 win over Louisiana Tech. A win that will make it nearly impossible for the Eagles to leap into the playoff.

Here are the rankings heading into the final week of virtual non-competition.

The Bottom 25

Rank	Record	Breakdown
25. ULM	4-7	I had been hoping that the Warhawks would be the first team to spend nearly the entire season ranked in The Bottom 25 and still get to six wins, but that dream died with a 27-14 loss to LSU. Still, the fact the Warhawks weren't embarrassed by the Tigers says something about this team. Or maybe it just says something about LSU. Either way, the season ends with a rivalry showdown against Louisiana. (Last Week: 24)
24. Louisiana Tech	3-8	Louisiana Tech was the team that fell to Southern Miss on Saturday, losing 35-19. The loss brings the Bulldogs back to us after they took a week off to find themselves. This week they'll find themselves on the road against No. 13 Rice. (Not Ranked)
23. Ohio	3-8	Ohio's two-game win streak ended with a 35-23 loss to Toledo last week. A strange Bobcats season will come to an end Friday against No. 21 Bowling Green. There's a decent chance the winner of that game will finish the season outside The Bottom 25. Well, a decent chance if it's Ohio who wins. I'm pretty sure Bowling Green's stuck here. (22)
22. Texas State	3-8	The Bobcats kept it respectable, but in the end just couldn't hang on the road against Coastal Carolina. A 35-21 loss dropped them to 3-8, and the Fightin' Spavs will finish their season on the road against No. 7 Arkansas State. (20)
21. Bowling Green	3-8	Things haven't gone well for the Falcons since that 56-44 win over Buffalo. They've been outscored 83-24 in two games since, including last week's 34-7 loss to Miami (Ohio). Bowling Green's season finale will be at home against No. 23 Ohio, but you already knew that because you read every word of this column. You're not one of those jerks who just scrolls down to find their team and moves on. (23)
20. Georgia Southern	3-8	Hey, Georgia Southern did as well against BYU as most of the Pac-12 has this season, losing 34-17. The final game before the start of The Clay Helton Era will be a tough one on the road against Appalachian State. (19)
19. Duke	3-8	The Blue Devils lost their seventh straight, getting blown out by Louisville 62-22. This season, their three wins have come against North Carolina A&T, No. 6 Kansas, and a Northwestern team currently at No. 26 in The Bottom 25 rankings. It's been a rough year, and I'm fairly confident it will be the final year of David Cutcliffe's tenure at Duke. What could be Cut's final game in charge is Saturday against Miami. (21)
18. Tulane	2-9	I received a hot tip last week from somebody who said they had a relative on Tulane's football team and that Tulane had "quit." So I did what anybody would do and trusted them implicitly, betting on the South Florida money line for The Bottom 25 Game of the Century of Last Week. Tulane promptly won the game 45-14. The lesson here is that you should always trust hot tips from strangers, but that one person quitting might not mean an entire team has. The Wave will look to finish the season strong against Memphis. That is unless they've quit, which they might've! I haven't talked to the stranger yet this week. (9)
17. UNLV	2-9	All right, so the Rebels weren't able to pull off their third consecutive victory and lost to San Diego State 28-20. Still, they played well, and this is a team that's finishing the season strong. I'm feeling good about this team heading into 2022, and I'll feel even better if they can get to three wins by beating Air Force on Friday. (17)
16. South Florida	2-9	I can't believe the Bulls let my hot tip down. I felt good about this team given the way they performed in losses to Houston and Cincinnati, but that was an epic egg they laid against the Green Wave. Maybe they were caught looking ahead to Friday's War on I-4 against UCF. (18)
15. Navy	2-8	Navy was sunk by the Pirates with a last-second field goal to give East Carolina a 38-35 win. While the loss hurts, I feel good about the Midshipmen's chances against No. 10 Temple this week. Unless they're too busy looking ahead to Army. (15)
14. Indiana	2-9	The Hoosiers dropped their seventh straight game, losing to Minnesota 35-14. Their only two wins have been a 56-14 win over Idaho and a narrow 33-31 win over Western Kentucky. It's been awful from start to finish, but a win over rival Purdue would send everybody into the offseason feeling a lot happier about themselves. (16)
13. Rice	3-8	Rice has lost four straight following a 38-28 loss at UTEP. I'm a bit disappointed because when the Owls beat UAB 30-24 to improve to 3-4, I thought there was a chance this team could get to six wins. Alas, it was not to be. Instead, the season will end against No. 24 Louisiana Tech. (12)
12. New Mexico	3-8	I don't think anybody was surprised to see New Mexico lose 37-0 to Boise State. The Lobos have not been impressive this season, even during that 14-3 win over Wyoming. Now they'll finish the season against one of the Mountain West's better teams, Utah State. (14)
11. Vanderbilt	2-9	The SEC has not been kind to the Commodores, as they fell to 0-7 in the conference following their 31-17 loss to Ole Miss. Still, while Georgia, Florida and Mississippi State blew out the Commodores, the Ole Miss game was another example of the team showing progress. Enough progress to pull off the upset over rival Tennessee this week? I don't know. Maybe! (10)
10. Temple	3-8	I've blindly faded Temple the last few weeks, and it's the most effective betting strategy of all time. I never broke a sweat during their 44-10 loss to Tulsa, and I probably won't against No. 15 Navy either. (13)
9. Southern Miss	2-9	I know I've said it before, but just imagine how different this season might've gone for Southern Miss had they played the entire season with Frank Gore Jr. at QB. I'm not saying they go 7-5 or anything, but they would've been a lot more fun to watch. I hope we see it one more time this weekend against No. 4 FIU. (5)
8. Arizona	1-10	The Wildcats impressive run ended Saturday as they lost to Washington State 44-18 in a sea of rain and fog. Now they've lost defensive coordinator Don Brown, who is leaving to take over at UMass. I guess Don loves The Bottom 25. Anyway, I won't be shocked if the Wildcats pull off an upset against Arizona State on Saturday. Of course, I won't be surprised if they lose by 30, either. (11)
7. Arkansas State	2-9	The Red Wolves followed up their 27-24 win over ULM with a close 28-20 loss at Georgia State. Can Butch Jones end his first season in Jonesboro, Arkansas, with three wins? We'll find out Saturday afternoon against No. 22 Texas State. (8)
6. Kansas	2-9	This team is looking feisty! After pulling off the epic upset over Texas, the Jayhawks nearly picked up another win against TCU, losing 38-21. Now we've reached a point where if the Jayhawks beat West Virginia, I won't even consider it a big deal. I'm telling you, Kansas is morphing into a competent football team right in front of our eyes. (6)
5. Akron	2-9	Akron has the best shot of breaking through of all the teams outside The Bottom Four. I know it takes a real genius to figure out that the No. 5 team has the best shot, but the underlying metrics here suggest it would be possible even if The Bottom Four held serve. So the season finale against Toledo is a big one. (7)
4. FIU	1-10	Butch Davis showed up to FIU's 49-7 loss to North Texas without any FIU gear on. He was wearing a Navy hat and a Navy sweatshirt, and that's lame. I understand that he's frustrated with the school and has made it clear, but wearing the Navy gear not only sends a message to the school's administration but also sends a message to your players that you don't give a damn. That's while I'll be fading the Panthers when they face No. 9 Southern Miss. (4)
3. New Mexico State	1-10	The Aggies lost to Kentucky 56-16, meaning their two-game vacation as an SEC team leaves them 0-2 and outscored 115-9. But none of that matters. Nope, the Aggies were just using those games as scrimmages to prepare themselves for the real battle. That's right, The Bottom 25 Playoff won't officially start until after the regular season ends, but it unofficially starts on Saturday when the Aggies take on No. 1 UMass in The Bottom 25 Game of the Century of the Week! (3)
2. UConn	1-10	The Huskies were blasted 49-17 by UCF and look to solidify their Bottom 25 Playoff position with a loss against Houston this week. Depending on how things go in our Bottom 25 Game of the Century of the Week, the Huskies could enter the playoff as our No. 1 seed. (2)
1. UMass	1-10	Will Don Brown be inheriting a playoff team? I've run some of the numbers, and there's a chance the Minutemen will stay in The Bottom 25 Playoff even with a win. I know that takes some of the stakes out of the game, but I want to make sure you have all the information at hand. That said, if the Minutemen win and Akron gets pasted by Toledo, UMass might sneak out just in time. (1)