College football rankings: Stanford surges into The Bottom 25 as newcomers make a big impact

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It happened again. With both the MAC and Pac-12 getting underway last week, The Bottom 25 has once again been thrown out of sync. Just as when the Big Ten and Mountain West joined the fray a few weeks ago, throwing in 20 new teams who have played one game into the mix wreaks havoc on the overall rankings, and leads to volatility.

This is, temporarily at least, good news for our teams that had been hanging around The Bottom 10 all season long. It's a bit of a respite, but as those teams have already seen, things balance out once the newcomers start playing and the cream truly drops to the bottom.

Also, with so many games being postponed last week, I have made the official decision that only teams who have played a minimum of four games will qualify for The Bottom 25 Playoff this season. I hope this decision doesn't lead to teams trying to break the rules and play through, but that's the risk I have to take for the playoff's integrity.

The Bottom 25

Rank	Record	Breakdown
25. Florida State	2-5	"How long does this have to last," asked my Cover 3 Podcast co-host and former Florida State QB Danny Kanell during our "Noles To Go" segment on Monday. I'm sure that's a question many Florida State fans have been asking themselves over and over the last few years. (Last Week: 21)
24. Southern Miss	2-5	Southern Miss was able to pick up a win over North Alabama, but it wasn't nearly enough to escape The Bottom 25. Perhaps a win over No. 21 Western Kentucky would do the trick. (14)
23. Texas State	1-8	I can't quit you, Bobcats. You're better than this record. You've just played a schedule that's impossible in the Sun Belt context. The combined record of the teams Texas State has lost to is 31-12! And you still have to play Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina ! (19)
22. Syracuse	1-7	Syracuse dropped its fifth straight, falling to Boston College 16-13. The Orange have this week off before returning to face Louisville on Nov. 20. (16)
21. Western Kentucky	2-6	Western Kentucky lost to FAU 10-6 in a game that was an absolute mess weather-wise. This week it'll be hoping for better footing and a little less wind when facing No. 24 Southern Miss. (17)
20. Temple	1-4	The Owls have been struggling all season, and that was the case again against SMU in a 47-23 loss. Temple's lone win has come by two points against a 1-6 South Florida . Its four losses have come by an average of 18.25 points each. This week the Bulls get UCF . (20)
19. South Florida	1-6	Speaking of South Florida, the Bulls had their hearts broken Saturday. They led Memphis by 14 at halftime and 13 with under five minutes to go. Then Memphis scored two touchdowns in the final minutes to beat them 34-33. This week, South Florida heads to Houston . (25)
18. Ball State	0-1	Ball State was one of my two dark-horse candidates to win the MAC this season, and it began by losing to defending champion Miami (OH) . The Cardinals will try to make me look slightly less stupid against Eastern Michigan on Wednesday. (Not Ranked)
17. Penn State	0-3	Does James Franklin owe Jim Harbaugh a beer at this point? Because if not for Michigan losing to both Michigan State and Indiana , everybody would be wondering how in the world Penn State is off to an 0-3 start. It's one thing to get unlucky against Indiana and then get beat by Ohio State. But losing at home to Maryland ? This week provides a tricky road trip to Nebraska . (15)
16. Eastern Michigan	0-1	Eastern Michigan hung tough but fell short against Kent State in a 27-23 loss. This week, it's a trip to No. 18 Ball State on Wednesday night. Winner drops out of The Bottom 25 (for now), loser hangs around a while longer. (NR)
15. New Mexico	0-2	Credit to New Mexico coach Danny Gonzales. His team has had a rough time getting its season started, but even though the Lobos have lost their first two, they aren't making it easy on their opponents. They'll face a Nevada team this week that's shown to be pretty good through three games. (10)
14. FIU	0-3	The Panthers spent another weekend at home after their game against UTEP was canceled. It's the fifth time FIU has had a game postponed or canceled this season. As of now, they're scheduled to play FAU on Friday, but as always, that's subject to change. (12)
13. Oregon State	0-1	My Beavers had some problems defensively in a 38-28 loss to Washington State to start the season. Life won't be any easier this weekend when they travel north to face a Washington team that had its game against Cal canceled. (NR)
12. ULM	0-8	The Warhawks fell to 0-8 on the season following a 52-34 loss to Georgia State . The Warhawks defense allows 37.8 points per game this year and has allowed at least 31 points in every game it's played. You have to admire the consistency. Arkansas State is scheduled to score at least 31 points this weekend. (11)
11. Vanderbilt	0-5	Mississippi State might have been Vanderbilt's best shot at a win this season, but the Commies lost 24-17. This week, they hit the road to face Kentucky in what should be the most exciting college football game ever played. (6)
10. Nebraska	0-2	Listen, Nebraska, I'm not trying to pick on you, but you can't spend as much time crying publicly as you have been and just keep losing. Circumstances have been rough for you, I get it, but you're far from the only program that's been affected by the 2020 season. Stop acting like you're being persecuted. Just shut up and win a game. Perhaps you could start with this week's game against No. 17 Penn State because it's The Bottom 25 Game of the Century of the Week. (2)
9. Illinois	0-3	How rough have things been for the Illini this season? Well, they're underdogs to Rutgers this weekend. It's the first time Rutgers has been favored in a Big Ten game since 2015. Illinois has beaten Rutgers by a combined score of 76-27 the last two years, but looking at the team this year, oddsmakers are like "nah, we better give them a touchdown to keep it competitive."(9)
8. Kansas	0-7	Not that they'd have won much if things were different, but the Jayhawks have now lost three straight against ranked opponents. In fact, if you look at Kansas' schedule, five of the seven teams it has lost to are currently in the AP Top 25. So the Jayhawks have either been a bit unlucky with the schedule this season or they're kingmakers. Whatever the case, they're off this weekend before getting another team currently in the AP Top 25: Texas . (8)
7. UNLV	0-3	The Rebels played their best game of the season so far on Saturday but came up short against Fresno, losing 40-27. Still, they looked like a team that's much more capable of winning a game or two than they did in the first two weeks. That's a good sign, at least. (4)
6. Northern Illinois	0-1	The jury is out on the Huskies right now. Buffalo might be the best team in the MAC, so losing to the Bulls 49-30 probably shouldn't be held against them yet. We'll get a better idea against Central Michigan on Wednesday. (NR)
5. Utah State	0-3	Besides everybody outside of the people who decided to bring Gary Andersen back could have foreseen this outcome? The Aggies fired Andersen after their 0-3 start, which could make them a serious Bottom 25 title contender. In a season like this one, it's not difficult to imagine a team packing it in after an 0-3 start. Now add in that the coach has been fired? I guess we'll get an idea of where the Aggies go from here against Fresno this weekend. (3)
4. UMass	0-2	UMass is an excellent example of what I'm talking about with the sample sizes evening out. The Minutemen were still bad in a 51-10 loss to Marshall , but the badness (scientific term) leveled out a little because of a larger sample. This leads to UMass dropping three spots in the poll as they're passed by three teams who just played for the first time last week. (1)
3. Stanford	0-1	Stanford missed four field goals during its 35-14 loss to Oregon on Saturday. Oregon missed one as well. Nobody made one. This probably didn't alter the game's outcome or anything; it just made me wonder when the last time a game featured at least five field goal attempts, and none of them were successful, so I looked it up. It was in 2006 when UNLV's Sergio Aguayo missed five field goals in a 21-7 loss to San Diego State . (NR)
2. Bowling Green	0-1	The Falcons are a team The Bottom 25 is very familiar with, and once again, they look like a serious Bottom 25 title contender. The Falcons were smoked by Toledo 38-3. They face Kent State on Tuesday night. (NR)
1. Akron	0-1	The Zips made The Bottom 25 Championship Game last season but lost the title to UMass. They started their journey back to the bottom last week, falling to Western Michigan 58-13. It was a statement loss. This week the Zips get Ohio on Tuesday. (NR)

No Longer Ranked: Georgia Tech (24); Middle Tennessee (23); East Carolina (22); Mississippi State (18); Iowa (13); Minnesota (7); Colorado State (5)