Boston College and the Most Pathetic Teams in College Football Power Conferences

Usually, judgments about college football programs should be reserved until season's end.

However, that isn't always necessary. Not when the teams are truly terrible.

After four weeks of action, there are a handful of weaklings in power conferences—ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC—who might as well end their campaigns now to avoid further embarrassment.

Boston College Golden Eagles (1-3)

Since accomplishing a remarkable 11-win season in 2007, Boston College has regressed to the Atlantic Coast Conference cellar.

Quarterback Chase Rettig threw just one touchdown pass in three matchups against Northwestern, Central Florida and Duke, while completing barely half his pass attempts.

Placekicker Nate Freese has missed three field-goal attempts already, including two from inside of 40 yards!

The defense has struggled to pressure opposing quarterbacks. They have allowed far too many big plays on the ground, and failed to force turnovers in their three challenging games (Week 4 win against Division I-AA Massachusetts excluded).

The Eagles looked over-matched in their September games. Sadly, it only gets more difficult the rest of the way.

2011 Game Log

Date (Result)	Opponent	Points For	Points Against
9/3 (LOSS)	Northwestern	17	24
9/10 (LOSS)	Central Florida	3	30
9/17 (LOSS)	Duke	19	20
9/24 (WIN)	Massachusetts	45	17

Indiana Hoosiers (1-3)

Like BC, the Hoosiers' early-season schedule appeared non-threatening on paper, but for this pathetic program, there are no easy wins.

First-year starting QB Edward Wright-Baker played decently entering Saturday's game vs. North Texas. Then, Indiana inexplicably fell behind 24-0. The Hoosiers didn't score until backup Dusty Kiel replaced Wright-Baker in the fourth quarter. At that point, it was too late.

Running backs D'Angelo Roberts and Matt Perez have been splitting carries; the offensive line hasn't helped them, though.

Indiana forces plenty of turnovers, but struggles to convert them into points. Meanwhile, their own giveaways have come back to haunt them (especially in Week 2 against Virginia).

Big Ten play awaits the Hoosiers. They choked in their non-conference battles and will be heavy underdogs every Saturday.

2011 Game Log

Date (Result)	Opponent	Points For	Points Against
9/3 (LOSS)	Ball State	20	27
9/10 (LOSS)	Virginia	31	34
9/17 (WIN)	South Carolina State	38	21
9/24 (LOSS)	North Texas	21	24

Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-3)

Minnesota is in a near-identical situation.

The Golden Gophers have instability at the quarterback position. That was made obvious during Week 4 when they hosted North Dakota State.

Marqueis Gray and Max Shortell both made mistakes and were visibly out of sync with their receivers.

Gray is the team's only weapon in the rushing game, so I fear that Minnesota's offense will only continue to deteriorate if he loses playing time.

The secondary struggled against opposing quarterbacks in September and placekicker Chris Hawthorne isn't reliable on long field-goal attempts.

All four games for Minnesota have been close, but expect their visit to undefeated Michigan to be a lopsided affair.

2011 Game Log

Date (Result)	Opponent	Points For	Points Against
9/3 (LOSS)	USC	17	19
9/10 (LOSS)	New Mexico State	21	28
9/17 (WIN)	Miami (OH)	29	23
9/24 (LOSS)	North Dakota State	24	37

Ole Miss Rebels (1-3)

The Rebels are the only single-win team in the Southeastern Conference. Even worse, two of their losses have come to SEC enemies. A conference title is already out of the picture.

Zack Stoudt is not the answer under center. The team as a whole is averaging fewer than three yards per rush attempt! As a result, the Rebels rank 103rd out of 120 FBS teams in total offense.

Their group of linebackers is incredibly thin because of graduating seniors and injured players. Consequently, Ole Miss was unable to contain Vanderbilt or Georgia on the ground. The team surrendered nearly 500 combined rushing yards in those games.

The season should get better, however. A couple favorable non-conference matchups remain, and at least SEC juggernauts Alabama, LSU and Arkansas have to come to Oxford.

2011 Game Log

Date (Result)	Opponent	Points For	Points Against
9/3 (LOSS)	BYU	13	14
9/10 (WIN)	Southern Illinois	42	24
9/17 (LOSS)	Vanderbilt	7	30
9/24 (LOSS)	Georgia	13	27

Oregon State Beavers (0-3)

The Beavers are winless and arguably the worst team among those in power conferences.

Quarterbacks Sean Mannion and Ryan Katz have just one touchdown pass between them.

Freshman running back Malcolm Agnew shined in Week 1 for 233 rushing yards and three scores. He has since been out with hamstring issues. Without his services, Oregon State can't get anything going.

Even on that afternoon where Agnew stepped up, the Beavers lost in overtime. The opponent? Sacramento State!

The defense didn't force a turnover against Wisconsin or UCLA.

Oregon State could be only the second team in conference history to go 0-12.

2011 Game Log

Date (Result)	Opponent	Points For	Points Against
9/3 (LOSS)	Sacramento State	28	29
9/10 (LOSS)	Wisconsin	0	35
9/24 (LOSS)	UCLA	19	27

Still a Bit Too Soon to Tell

Other big programs look futile so far in 2011:

Kansas Jayhawks (2-1)—After shaky victories over McNeese State and Northern Illinois, Kansas got steam-rolled by Georgia Tech, 66-24. The Jayhawks allowed more than 600 rushing yards to the Yellow Jackets triple-option offense. They have allowed 44 points per game, worst in the nation. With five games left against ranked opponents, Kansas' chances at bowl eligibility are pretty slim.

Purdue Boilermakers (2-1)—Purdue has yet to play another power conference team, but a 24-22 loss to Rice in Week 2 is cause for concern.

Arizona Wildcats (1-3)—Consecutive matchups against Oklahoma State, Stanford and Oregon are daunting for any team in the country. I didn't expect Arizona to win any of those games, but being outscored 130-55 was disappointing. The Wildcats offensive line has been dominated. They won't turn their season around unless that changes.

Colorado Buffaloes (1-3)—Quarterback Tyler Hansen is undersized and inaccurate, and the rushing attack has struggled. Their three losses were all to unranked teams. The Pac-12's elite await later in the season.