At this time last year, Syracuse had just beaten No. 22 NC State in The Dome Formerly Known As Carrier to improve to 6-2 on the season. That win also moved the Orange into the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 2001, as Syracuse found itself at No. 22. It would remain in the poll the rest of the season, climbing as high as No. 12 following a 54-23 win over Louisville two weeks later. Syracuse would finish the season 10-3 and at No. 15 in the AP poll.
This led to some hype leading to the 2019 season. With Clemson being the clear No. 1 in the ACC and no obvious choice to be No. 2, many pundits chose the team that went 10-3 last season to be that team despite a lot of important losses. Syracuse opened 2019 at No. 22 in the preseason AP Top 25 and moved up a spot to No. 21 after a narrow 24-0 win over Liberty in its season-opener. The next week Syracuse lost at Maryland 63-20 and fell out of the poll entirely.
It's kept losing since, and after dropping to 3-5 on the season with a 35-17 loss to Florida State, the Orange have accomplished quite a feat. They've gone from the AP Top 25 to The Bottom 25 in the same season.
Orange may be the new fast, but life comes at you faster.
| Team | Rank | Record | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 25. North Texas | 3-5 | Syracuse isn't the only team that took a left turn. Last year North Texas won nine games. Now it's in The Bottom 25 thanks to a heartbreaking 39-38 loss to Charlotte. (Last Week: Not Ranked) |
 | 24. Syracuse | 3-5 | Cuse's three wins this season have come against Liberty, Western Michigan and Holy Cross. This week it's a home game with Boston College, which might be the best shot at an ACC win it has right now. (NR) |
 | 23. Kent State | 3-5 | The Golden Flashes enter The Bottom 25 following a close 23-16 loss to Miami (Ohio). This week they have a road trip to Toledo. (NR) |
 | 22. ULM | 3-4 | The Warhawks had last week off, but get Arkansas State at home this week. (25) |
 | 21. Charlotte | 3-5 | Charlotte beat No. 25 North Texas 39-38 on a touchdown in the final seconds, but while that was enough to get North Texas into the rankings, it wasn't enough to get the 49ers out. Perhaps a win over the recently escaped Middle Tennessee would do the trick. (19) |
 | 20. Tulsa | 2-6 | Tulsa came painfully close to knocking off Memphis on Saturday night, but a missed field goal as time expired denied them the win. Now they enter The Bottom 25 for the first time since Week 1. (NR) |
 | 19. UTSA | 3-4 | The Roadrunners had last week off, allowing them some extra time to prepare for a road game against Texas A&M. Let's hope UTSA doesn't get caught looking ahead to its big game against No. 6 Old Dominion on Nov. 9. (22) |
 | 18. East Carolina | 3-5 | The Pirates are so much better this year than they had been in recent seasons, but it's evident there's a lot of work left to be done. The next couple of weeks won't be fun, as it's Cincinnati this week and SMU the next. (NR) |
 | 17. UNLV | 2-6 | UNLV was able to convert a fourth-and-24 on its final possession, but it missed a 42-yard field-goal attempt that would have taken San Diego State to overtime. This week the Rebels get Colorado State on the road. (16) |
 | 16. Georgia Tech | 2-5 | The Bees just hung out in the hive this weekend, and will look to pick up another win this week against Pitt. (14) |
 | 15. Vanderbilt | 2-5 | The Commodores had last week off as well. This week starts a stretch of two challenging road games in South Carolina and Florida. (13) |
 | 14. Arkansas | 2-6 | The Hogs took their turn as Alabama's sacrificial lamb, losing 48-7 to the Tua-less Tide. Now Chad Morris is guaranteeing a win over Mississippi State this week. I'd have waited until the Western Kentucky game to guarantee anything. Though I suppose not being able to follow through on the guarantee against WKU would be a lot more embarrassing than against Mississippi State. Either way, it's always a good sign when your coach feels the need to start guaranteeing wins. (17) |
 | 13. Texas State | 2-5 | The Bobcats fell to Arkansas State 38-14 over the weekend, and get another tough road game against Louisiana-Lafayette this week. There is one big game looming against South Alabama on Nov. 9. (15) |
 | 12. UConn | 2-6 | The Huskies crushed UMass 56-35 in The Bottom 25 Game of the Century of Last Week. As a result, they drop to No. 12 in the rankings, but this Huskies team has accomplished far too much to leave the rankings entirely. Looking at the remaining schedule, they should be back in The Bottom 10 soon. (6) |
 | 11. New Mexico | 2-6 | It was quite the week for the Lobos. First, they suspended their starting QB following allegations of indecent exposure, and then they dropped their fifth straight game, losing to Hawaii 45-31. This week it's a road trip against a Nevada team that finds itself on the cusp of the Bottom 25 itself. (12) |
 | 10. Rutgers | 2-6 | I'm proud of Rutgers. Last week I wrote about how the Knights were the first Big Ten team to be a touchdown dog at home to a Group of Five team in six years. It was in 2012 that Illinois was a 7.5-point underdog at home against Cincinnati and went on to crush the Bearcats. Rutgers followed suit, beating Liberty 44-34. All to set up a showdown with Illinois this week! Fate is crazy, man. (4) |
 | 9. Northwestern | 1-6 | I included it in The Monday After, but after being shutout by Iowa on Saturday, Northwestern has scored 75 points this season. It has played seven games. Five teams have scored more than 75 points in a single game in 2019. How many will Northwestern score against Indiana this weekend? (11) |
 | 8. Bowling Green | 2-6 | The Falcons were steamrolled by Western Michigan 49-10 and move up two spots in the rankings. Bowling Green's six losses have come by an average of 38.5 points each. That 20-7 win over Toledo was already one of the strangest moments of 2019, and it's only going to look stranger with each passing week. (10) |
 | 7. South Alabama | 1-7 | The Jaguars have now lost six straight after falling to Appalachian State 30-3. They get a bye this week before that big game against Texas State. (8) |
 | 6. Old Dominion | 1-7 | The Monarchs opened the season with a 24-21 win over Norfolk State, and that's been the highlight of the year so far. It's seven straight losses after falling to FAU 41-3, and the Monarchs have been outscored 130-37 in four C-USA games. They're a Bottom 25 Playoff contender. (9) |
 | 5. UTEP | 1-6 | Our two-time defending champions have five games remaining this season. Four of them are against teams currently ranked in The Bottom 25. The first of those four is this week against No. 25 North Texas. (7) |
 | 4. Rice | 0-8 | The Owls move into playoff position thanks to a 20-6 loss to Southern Miss as well as Rutgers' win over Liberty. They don't have the same favorable schedule as UTEP, but they do have two games remaining against Bottom 25 teams, including the regular-season finale against UTEP. (5) |
 | 3. New Mexico St. | 0-8 | Georgia Southern steamrolled the Aggies 41-7. Now NMSU gets a week off before it must head to Oxford to take on Ole Miss. Still, the biggest game on the schedule is Incarnate Word. That's the best chance at a win left on the schedule that also includes UTEP. (3) |
 | 2. UMass | 1-7 | Earlier this season, UMass beat Akron 37-29 in a clash of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in The Bottom 25. It learned from that game and made it known to the world that it's ready to compete for a Bottom 25 title this year. I mean, losing to UConn by 21 points is how you send a message, folks. (2) |
 | 1. Akron | 0-8 | The Zips are living up to their name. They've been shut out in two straight after losing to Northern Illinois 49-0. In fact, since the loss to UMass, the Zips have been outscored 96-3 in their last three games. This week the Zips get another chance to show their mettle when they hit the road to take on No. 8 Bowling Green in The Bottom 25 Game of the Century of the Week. (1) |
No Longer Ranked: Middle Tennessee (18), Northern Illinois (20), Colorado State (21), Tennessee (23), Kansas (24)
Week 9 Superlatives
As many of you know, I rank all 130 teams using a mathematical formula I created. That system is how I compile the Bottom 25, but for those of you interested in how the rest of the rankings look, you can see them all right here (it's updated weekly after The Bottom 25 is published). I will also be sharing some weekly superlatives from the rankings here in The Bottom 25.
Highest Climber: Georgia Southern climbed 22 spots this week, up from No. 102 to No. 80 after beating New Mexico State 41-7. It's a nice leap for a team that has spent so much time in The Bottom 25 this year.
Biggest Faller: It looked like FIU had turned a corner, winning three straight to bounce back from a 1-3 start to the season. Then the Panthers went and got blown out 50-17 by a Middle Tennessee team that was in The Bottom 25 last week. The Panthers fell 20 spots to No. 88 because of it.
Most Average Team: This week the honor belongs to No. 61 Southern Miss. The Eagles score is 0.99% better than the average score of all 130 teams.
Most Fraudulent Team: Nevada almost made Bottom 25 history this week. No team with a .500 record has ever been ranked in The Bottom 25 this late in the season, but the Wolf Pack nearly pulled it off. They're 4-4 on the year and ranked No. 105. That's one spot ahead of North Texas, which is in The Bottom 25. The next closest .500 team is Miami (OH) at No. 91.
Best Team with a Losing Record: Coastal Carolina finds itself at No. 78 with a 3-4 record. The only team with a winning record the Chanticleers are ranked ahead of is No. 80 Georgia Southern, but they are ahead of six teams at 4-4. Whether that means anything going forward remains to be seen.
Worst Team with a Winning Record: That would be Liberty, which just lost by 10 to Rutgers. The Flames are 5-3 on the season and ranked at No. 76. They fell 18 spots in the rankings, and their overall score is 28.41% below average. The good news is there are no teams with a losing record ranked above them, but there are a lot of four-loss teams rated higher.
