Thursday, September 19, 2024

College football rankings: UMass retains No. 1 status in The Bottom 25 as critical stretch begins

College football rankings: UMass retains No. 1 status in The Bottom 25 as critical stretch begins

Anybody can rank the best teams, but only The Bottom 25 ranks the worst in college football each week

graphic-umassb25.png
CBS Sports Graphic

It’s November, and in the sport of college football, this month has proven to be the most important of the year. Not because it’s the time when #MACtion returns to our television screens on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, but because it’s when the contenders are truly separated from the pretenders. There are 25 teams ranked in The Bottom 25 this week, but most of them don’t have a chance to win a Bottom 25 title. They’re hangers-on. Posers. They’re teams bad enough to be seen but not heard.

November is when the teams worth listening make their statements. As we enter the final weeks of the regular season and the simpletons are all distracted by the College Football Playoff Rankings, the real ones are here because this is the only title that’s settled on the field and not in a hotel conference room with free donuts and coffee. Which, honestly, if somebody wants to provide me with free donuts and coffee while I write this column every week, that would be fine. I have nothing against donuts and coffee, especially when they’re free. Anyway, I’m getting distracted.

As we enter the season’s final weeks, we have two winless teams and nine teams with one win. That means we have 11 genuine contenders for the 2021 Bottom 25 title, and there are only so many opportunities left on the schedule for these teams to take it.

Now, I’m going to get myself some coffee and maybe a donut. I’m in more of a bagel mood, to be honest, but all this donut talk has been intriguing. While I figure it out, you stay here and read The Bottom 25.

No Longer Ranked: No. 18 Bowling Green

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