No. -10 UCLA . . . People laughed and Bruins fans were enraged when it was reported that UCLA interviewed Temple's Al Golden twice after Karl Dorrell got blown out following the 2007 regular season. Well ... fast-forward to today and the Owls are on a six-game winning streak and set to play in their first bowl game since 1979. The Bruins, meanwhile have lost all five of their Pac-10 games in rapid succession and are barely relevant under the direction of Rick Neuheisel. Rock bottom will arrive on Saturday when Washington, which was 0-12 last season, beats UCLA in Pasadena.
No. -9 Michigan State-Minnesota game . . . The 50,805 fans who came to TCF Bank Stadium last weekend saw a little bit of Big Ten football, but a lot of the refs. Officials called 26 penalties and marched off 230 total yards. The Golden Gophers apparently did the most cheating and got flagged 17 times. They also somehow managed to win, 42-34.
No. -8 The Oh-for-Eights . . . Eastern Michigan, New Mexico, Rice and Western Kentucky are all 0-8. We're tired of mentioning them individually from time to time, so we'll just package them up this week. The Lobos and Hilltoppers each came through with come-from-ahead losses last Saturday to keep their "spotless" records intact. Handicapping the race to 0-12 perfection, the "Worst of the Weak" has to go with Western Kentucky right now. The Hilltoppers were the lowest of the low last weekend, surrendering 68 points and 583 total yards to North Texas, which came in 1-6.
No. -7 Mark Mangino . . . On the same day that Iowa was handsomely rewarded for sticking with Ricky Stanzi after he threw five interceptions, Kansas' big bossman basically tossed in the towel against Texas Tech by yanking Todd Reesing in the fourth quarter. But Mangino really earned his inclusion on this list after the Red Raiders' 42-21 win when he said that his senior quarterback would have to earn the starting job for Saturday's game at Kansas State in practice this week. We know one thing, the Wildcats would much rather face freshman Kale Pick than the seasoned QB Mangino touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate only a few weeks ago.
No. -6 Louisiana Tech . . . we'll mention the Bulldogs now and just get it out of the way. Sort of a called shot, if you will. Louisiana Tech has lost three of its last four to drop to 3-5. That's usually not nearly enough to gain mention here, but the Bulldogs' next three games are against Boise State, LSU and Fresno State, which are a combined 20-4. Hello, 3-8!
No. -5 Black fetish . . . We know it was Halloween, but that's still no excuse for Georgia and Tennessee to break out the black unnecessarily. The Bulldogs' black helmets were disgusting in defeat and the Vols' black jerseys were an abomination in victory. Traditional SEC powerhouses look terribly cheap when they spit on decades of tradition and take ill-advised fashion risks. Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton has already said that the Vols will never wear those black jerseys again. Great move, Mike. But why did you go along with it when the idea was first hatched?
No. -4 Nick Williams . . . In cowboy movies, black hats are worn by the bad guys. In football, brand-new black helmets apparently identify cheap-shot artists such as the Georgia sophomore linebacker, who laid an absolutely ridiculous late hit on Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. In a way, Williams is lucky that Tebow wasn't injured by his malicious actions. And before suggesting that we're looking the other way in regard to the self-suspended Brandon Spikes and his wandering fingers that found their way inside Washaun Ealey's facemask in that same game, please understand that they "were just out there playing football."
No. -3 Vanderbilt . . . A year after going 7-6 and posting a victory over Boston College in the Music City Bowl, the Commodores appear destined to finish 2-10 overall and 0-8 in SEC play. That sort of record isn't something foreign to the folks in Nashville, but it would be mind-boggling if the two teams that Vandy did beat end up finishing the season with a grand total of one combined victory. Western Carolina, which got blanked by the Commodores, 45-0, in the season opener currently owns that one win thanks to Citadel. Rice's 36-17 loss to Vanderbilt on Sept. 26 represents the midpoint of the Owls' 0-8 record. The Catamounts definitely don't have another victory in them. Rice seems to have one chance at glory on Nov. 11 against Tulane. We shudder to think about what the BCS computers think about the 'Dores.
No. -2 Big Ten replay refs . . . Were there a bunch of kids masquerading as replay officials on Halloween at Kinnick Stadium? Anything short of that can't explain why Ben Chappell's 11-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Turner was overturned and ruled an incompletion. If there was indisputable evidence to reverse the call made on the field by a linesman in perfect position, we have yet to see it. In fact, we've only seen picture perfect proof that the catch was indeed a touchdown. In terms of sinister acts to protect a BCS title game contender, those Big Ten officials outdid anything their SEC counterparts have come up with so far this season. And that's saying a lot.
And finally, the absolute "Worst of the Weak" . . .
No. -1 Michigan . . . If you don't count their ridiculous scheduling of and victory over Delaware State (we certainly never will), the Wolverines haven't won a game since squeaking past Indiana, 36-33, on Sept. 26. Last week's 38-13 loss at Illinois was an utter disgrace, raising the distinct possibility of another bowl-less season for Michigan, which is precariously perched at 5-4. The pressure is really on for Saturday's game against Purdue, which itself is on the "Worst of the Weak" waiting list after gaining only 141 yards at Wisconsin during an ugly 37-0 Halloween massacre. After hosting the Boilermakers, the Wolverines have only losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State to finish up with.
UVM guy, so naturally I love the Catamount reference, but I'm not sure where it's coming from.
Enjoy your feature, but perhaps you should add yourself to this week's list for failing to mention the name of either team you were talking about in item No. 2.
Regards.
all of the blatantly dishonest officiating in every conference and fixed game outcomes makes us wonder so many people and companies that advertise actually pay to put on and watch college football games under the current corrupt and dishonest systems.
the saying is that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.
just as the days of reckoning came in the civil courts for the con artists who used to run the enron and mci worldcom scams, the days of reckoning in the civil courts have arrived for every person and entity involved in crooked college sports enterprises.
just imagine, next season, everyone who loves college football and college sports and the student athletes who play these sports will finally be able to watch and participate in athletic contests in which the outcomes are determined by the student athletes on the field and the honest coaches who will still be coaching.
as for the individuals and entites weho have been hauling in tons of cash from operation crooked college sports enterprises, those who do not settle and fess up immediately will be stripped of their material possesions(no matter how well they think they have hidden them) in the civil courts and will be out on the streets begging for food with no free room and board at any prison facilities.
that is how the civil rico statutes work by empoyering those who know how to use them to act as private attorney generals.