College football rankings: There’s a new No. 1 in the Bottom 25, UCLA joins race for Power Four’s worst

25. UCLA 1-5 This seemed like a foregone conclusion. First-year head coach DeShaun Foster inherited the mess left by Chip Kelly and the results have been predictable. UCLA’s bad, but it can hang its hat on almost beating Minnesota. At least there are still signs of life. (Last week: NR) 24. Arkansas State 3-3 Arkansas State’s back. It’s been a rollercoaster year for Butch Jones’ squad, but a 41-9 loss to what might be a relatively mediocre Texas State team will land you right back in the Bottom 25 anytime of the year. (NR)  23. South Florida 2-4 What a massive disappointment the Bulls have been. Despite entering preseason as a dark horse to make some noise in the AAC — and maybe even a run towards the playoffs — Alex Golesh’s squad looks like it has significantly regressed between Years 1 and 2. You can’t help losing starting quarterback Byrum Brown, but it’s not like they were all that great beforehand. (NR)  22. New Mexico 2-4 New Mexico hasn’t actually been quite as bad as its record might indicate. The Lobos hung tough with the likes of Arizona and Auburn before those games got out of hand late, and now they’re beating up on equivalent (at least in the eyes of the Bottom 25) opponents like Air Force. Though UNM’s been a mainstay this year, it might not be long before we see it climb out. (12) 21. UTSA 2-4 UTSA has bounced in and out of the Bottom 25 all year. The latest results indicate the Roadrunners are here to stay. A two-point loss to Rice was a stark sign of this program’s significant drop off.  (NR) 20. Florida State 1-5 Not sure what’s funnier: Florida State being this bad after suing the ACC because it wants to leave for “greener pastures”, or the fact that the Seminoles actually dropped off a bye week. Normally teams either stay in place or rise a spot or two. Not the Noles, though, who continue to set new standards in mediocrity. (21)  19. Mississippi State 1-5 Poor Mississippi State dropped after a very admirable performance against Georgia. The Bulldogs put 31 points on the board against the other Bulldogs (UGA). That’s more than Clemson, Kentucky and Auburn combined. Maybe Mississippi State should focus on applying that effort to the Toledos of the world, though. (25)  18. Appalachian State 2-4 Shawn Clark’s seat is getting considerably warm. He inherited a Group of Five gem and has slowly run it into the ground. The Mountaineers have already lost three Sun Belt Conference games, which means that they’re two losses away from matching their worst conference record since making the jump to the FBS level; that was when they went 3-5 in 2022, also under Clark. (22) 17. Tulsa 2-4 No movement for Tulsa after a bye week. Now they’re preparing for a huge Bottom 25 showdown against Temple in Week 8. (17)  16. Utah State 1-5 Utah State certainly hasn’t had any trouble putting points on the board. The Aggies have broken 30 in each of their last two games. It’s just that they’ve been outscored 112-64 in those same contests. Now they have to go against a really good New Mexico offense. (19) 15. Troy 1-5 Troy has had plenty of time to get ready for its Tuesday night game against South Alabama. It’ll be the first time the Trojans have taken the field in 11 days. Given the product Troy has put on the field thus far, it might not make much of a difference, but hey. (14) 14. Temple 1-5 Another team, another bye. Curse college football’s schedule makers for a Week 7 lacking distinct Bottom 25 flavor. If you’ve paid attention, Temple’s Week 8 opponent, Tulsa, also had a bye. So both teams should be well-rested for the BOTTOM 25 GAME OF THE WEEK. (13) 13. Purdue 1-5 Firing Graham Harrell may not have fixed Purdue overnight, but the Boilermakers may have at least found something at quarterback. Hudson Card missed the Illinois game with an injury and his replacement, Ryan Browne, suddenly gave Purdue life for the first time all season. He threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another 118 as the Boilermakers came one point short of an upset against Illinois. It’s a shame Ryan Walters’ defense couldn’t keep the Illini from dropping a 50-burger. (10)  12. Southern Miss 1-5 Southern Miss tried to change quarterbacks to spark something, but it didn’t really work as the Golden Eagles still lost 38-21 against ULM. Southern Miss is now 1-2 against the state of Louisiana, though that one win came against Southeastern Louisiana. That may not matter, but it’s hard to come up with fun facts for such a lackluster team. (15)  11. UAB 1-5 Please read my wonderful colleague Shehan Jeyarajah’s absolute demolition of Trent Dilfer’s UAB tenure following a 44-10 loss to Army. It puts into words, much better than I could in this limited space, just how devastating Dilfer’s hire was to a once ascendant program. Sorry to assign homework. (16) 10. UMass 1-6 UMass is now going on a year without a win against an FBS opponent. That came against an Army team that’s now 6-0 and ranked for the first time since 2020. UMass gets a bye this week before it returns to the field Oct. 26 against Wagner.  (16)  9. Air Force 1-5 Air Force scored a whopping 37 points against New Mexico, which exceeded its combined total against four prior FBS opponents, but the Falcons allowed 52 points in the loss. If a service academy can’t rely on its defense, what can it rely on? (9) 8. Wyoming 1-5 Wyoming shot up a few spots after a narrow 27-24 loss to San Diego State. If only the Cowboys could have scored any points over the final eight minutes in the fourth quarter. Wyoming must win its trip to San Jose State Saturday if it wants to at least dream about a bowl.  (5) 7. Akron 1-6 Akron quarterback Ben Finley currently leads the Mid-American Conference with 1,456 yards passing. Bet you wouldn’t have guessed that, based on Akron’s inclusion in the Bottom 25. That hasn’t stopped the Zips from having the MAC’s worst scoring offense (16.4 points per game). Mix in the third-worst scoring defense (37.4 points per game) and you’ve got a pretty awful football team! (6)  6. New Mexico State 1-5 Sometimes it’s not easy to quantify a college football team’s struggles. That’s not the case with New Mexico State. The Aggies currently rank in the bottom half of Conference USA in scoring offense (7th – 18.5 points per game), total offense (9th – 278.2 yards per game), scoring defense (9th – 38.2 ppg) and total defense (9th – 473.5 ypg). (7)  5. Middle Tennessee 1-5 The Bottom 25 stars truly have aligned this week. We already have a Bottom 25 Game of the Week, between Temple and Tulsa, but that’s going to be quickly overshadowed by the BOTTOM 25 GAME OF THE MILLENIUM between Middle Tennessee and Kennesaw State. It doesn’t get much worse than that, folks. (8)  4. Ball State 2-4 All Ball State needed to do was play Kent State to get its season back on track, and it still almost messed that up. If I were knocked out before the season began and woke up before Week 8 started, I’d say that Ball State would have a good chance at upsetting Vanderbilt Saturday. But, uh, good luck against the ‘Dores, Cardinals. (3)  3. UTEP 0-6 The Bottom 25 Top Three is truly on another level here. We would be talking about three teams that have a legitimate shot at going 0-36 combined, but UTEP still has to play Kennesaw State this season. That’s the Bottom 25 Super Bowl, and I really can’t wait. (4) 2. Kent State 0-6 Kent State was robbed of the top spot this week. Guess the Golden Flashes just looked too good in a 37-35 loss to Ball State. It was their first game against an FBS opponent in which they didn’t lose by at least three possessions, so that’s progress. (1)  1. Kennesaw State 0-5 Welcome to the top, Kennesaw State. I know I said Kent State got robbed, but that wasn’t a personal slight against the Owls. They certainly deserve the top spot. They’re in the process of learning that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. (2)