College Football 2011: The Bottom 25 Heading into Week 7

The Bleacher Report Bottom 25 returns for another week of the season's worst, but we try to provide an optimistic spin wherever we can.

This week we focus solely on the individual teams that have sunk as low as possible, and try to work our way to the bottom of the pile.

We have a number of teams from AQ conferences throughout, with the Pac-12 and Big Ten each having multiple members listed.

The ACC and SEC also have a couple sneak into the mix while, ironically, the Big East stays out of the rankings this week.

Let's take a look at this week's Bleacher Report Bottom 25, if you feel so brave.

25. Utah

This whole Pac-12 thing has not gotten off on the right foot for the Utah Utes, who enter Week 7 with a 2-3 record overall, and all three losses coming in Pac-12 play (USC, Washington, Arizona State).

To make matters worse, quarterback Jordan Wynn has been lost for the remainder of the regular season with a left shoulder injury.

That means Jon Hays will be the starter for the rest of the season, including this weekend's game at Pittsburgh. This could be a troubling spot for the Utes with the Panthers coming off an ugly loss, and looking to make up for their performance at Rutgers.

Utah will have to slow down Ray Graham and Pittsburgh's running game, which should be the focus again for Todd Graham's team. Fortunately for Utah, they have one of the better run defenses in the country, ranked 20th and allowing just under 100 yards per game.

If Utah can sneak out of Pennsylvania with a win this weekend, we'll remove them from the bottom 25, but they could really benefit from picking up some conference wins, even without Wynn.

24. Idaho

Idaho has lost four straight games, including last weekend's 24-11 loss at home to Louisiana Tech. The Vandals are struggling to run the football (averaging 69.8 yards per game), and are averaging just 20.2 points per game while the defense is allowing 29.3 points per game.

Idaho's lone win this season came against FCS North Dakota. Since winning that game, Idaho has been blown out by Texas A&M (37-7), Fresno State (48-24), lost in overtime at Virginia, in addition to last week's game.

Idaho is already 0-2 in the WAC and sitting all alone at the bottom of the conference, although we don't think they will finish there when all is said and done on the field in conference play.

23. Arizona

Arizona made a decision Monday evening to cut ties with head coach Mike Stoops, and we will have to wait and see if that change can turn around the season for the Wildcats in Tucson.

Arizona has lost five straight games and is already 0-4 in the Pac-12 with losses to Stanford, Oregon, USC and Oregon State. That Oregon State loss may have been the reason Stoops was canned heading into the bye week.

Arizona's passing game is certainly not to blame, ranking third in the nation with Nick Foles at quarterback and Juron Criner at wide receiver. But the running game has failed to compliment that aspect of the offense, and the defense has given up an average of 37.5 points per game.

It can be hard to criticize Arizona too much for losses at Oklahoma State, and at home against Stanford or Oregon. These three teams are worthy of being in the top 10 in the polls, and Stanford and Oregon are picked to be the Pac-12 favorites. Even a loss to USC is excusable, although giving up 48 points to the Trojans was not great.

Arizona has some winnable games coming up after the bye week, with UCLA, Washington, Utah and Colorado lined up for the next four games. A bowl game may be slipping away, but with this pass offense, it is certainly not out of reach with the toughest part of the schedule now behind them.

22. Colorado

Like Utah, the Pac-12 has not been kind to Colorado, but for the Buffaloes, this is not exactly anything new.

Colorado is 0-2 in Pac-12 play with losses to Cal (in overtime), Washington State and Stanford. A loss at Ohio State does not even look better with the state of the Buckeyes to this point, and losing to Hawaii to open the season still stings.

Unlike Arizona, Colorado's schedule has some tough games remaining with Oregon, Arizona State and USC up ahead in a couple weeks.

21. Oregon State

Let's stick in the Pac-12 and touch on Oregon State, who, thanks to a win last weekend against Arizona, is temporarily removed from the bottom portion of this poll.

Oregon State may have picked up a win against an Arizona team that continued to turn the ball over and make mistakes, but Oregon State gave them a chance to grab the win.

The Beavers nearly let a 27-6 halftime score slip away, and they gave up 378 yards through the air. Oregon State found a way, though, to win by controlling the time of possession and going two-for-two on fourth down, including a key fourth-down play with under six minutes remaining in the game.

Enjoy this now Oregon State and see if you can keep that going this weekend against BYU.

20. Kentucky

Like many teams on this list, it can be hard to fault a team so much when they go up against superior competition. But Kentucky has been so bad, even against the top teams they face, that they absolutely deserve to be included in this list.

Take their 0-3 SEC record for example. Sure, they have played Florida, LSU and South Carolina, but they have also been outscored a staggering 137-20 in those three game, and their scoring has gone down in each game (from 10 points against Florida to three points against South Carolina).

Kentucky is ranked 116th in passing—a far cry from the days of Tim Couch—105th in rushing and 118th in scoring.

In all honesty, Kentucky should probably be lower on this list, but we'll give them a slight pass for having those numbers stacked against them by the likes of LSU and South Carolina in the last two weeks.

If Kentucky struggles off a bye week against Jackson State, though, expect the Wildcats to drop a spot or two.

19. Western Kentucky

Western Kentucky picked up their first win of the season last weekend, defeating Middle Tennessee State 36-33 in double overtime.

After the pillow-fight win, Western Kentucky only slightly erases the sting of a four-game losing streak to start the season that included losses to Kentucky and FCS Indiana State, and a close contest against Arkansas State.

Up next for the Hilltoppers is Florida Atlantic, in another giant pillow-fight. More on the Owls a little later.

18. Boston College

Brace yourself Boston College fans. It is not about to get any prettier any time soon.

While some are clamoring for the firing of Frank Spaziani, the Eagles are trudging along with a 1-5 record and are 0-3 in ACC play. Coming off a loss to somewhat surprising Clemson, the Eagles now rank 91st in passing, 93rd in running, 105th in scoring, and the schedule still has some tough games up ahead.

Take this weekend's game at Virginia Tech.

The Hokies are coming off a thrilling home victory against Miami, a week after losing at home to Clemson. Virginia Tech needs this game to try and keep pace with Georgia Tech in the Coastal Division, and we know they are generally tough to beat at home.

Does anyone envision them losing two games at home this season?

After this weekend's game against the Hokies, Boston College has games against Florida State and Notre Dame still looming. And the Eagles will have to play the rest of the season without their top offensive player, running back Montel Harris, and one of their top defensive linemen, defensive tackle Kaleb Ramsey.

Maybe Spaz should just walk away now.

17. Miami (Ohio)

We'll lump the MAC teams together (for the most part) because, quite honestly, it is hard to pick between them at this point.

We'll start with Miami, sitting at 1-4 and 0-1 in MAC play for the simple fact that their record is slightly better than the next two teams we will mention. And they are coming off their first win of the season.

Miami has played some close games this season, but until this weekend they were unable to pull off a win. We have seen the RedHawks battle with Missouri on the road, come up short against woeful Minnesota, and struggle against Bowling Green.

A 27-0 loss to Cincinnati was humbling as well, but Miami picked up their first win of the season over the weekend by knocking off Army by a touchdown.

Quarterback Zac Dysert put on a show, scoring all five touchdowns with four through the air and one on the ground.

If Dysert can continue this kind of production, we look for Miami to put in a scare in the MAC moving forward, although they are far from being considered a conference contender in the same division as Temple and Ohio.

Although, we also probably thought that last year and Miami ended up winning the conference championship game.

16. San Jose State

After winning two games in a row, San Jose State was probably starting to feel a little better about their season. Then they lost to BYU, 29-16, over the weekend.

The Trojans from San Jose are in the bottom half of every major statistical category, but they are not lower than 99th in any of them. Considering some of the teams on this list, that is a positive.

San Jose State has played a couple close games against UCLA and Nevada, and the BYU game certainly was not a blowout, but we see that they just does not have the talent to hang in these kinds of games.

They have a long way to go if they want to even think about making a run in the WAC. Every team currently in front of them in the WAC standings, except for Nevada, remains on the schedule. San Jose State could control their own destiny, but knocking off Hawaii, Fresno State and Louisiana Tech, with two of those games on the road, will not be easy.

San Jose State hosts Hawaii this Friday night.

15. Akron

Akron's only win of the season so far has come against Virginia Military Institute. Other than that, Akron has been blown away by Ohio State, Temple and Cincinnati, and lost by double digits to Florida International, while also losing a game to Eastern Michigan.

Akron is not doing much right at this point, ranking 101st in pass offense, 83rd in run offense, 114th in scoring and allowing 35.5 points per game (111th).

Based on how Akron has played, it could be a tough second half of the season as well, with games against Ohio and Central Michigan next on the schedule.

14. Kent State

Kent State has not fared much better. While we excuse losses to Alabama and Kansas State, losses to Northern Illinois and Ohio, while not shameful, have told the story of the Golden Flashes this season. They are a long way from being competitive in the MAC.

They kept it close with Ohio, but Kent State will have a tough time making a run in the conference this season.

The good news is they get to play four of their remaining six games at home. The bad news is they are already 0-2 in conference play and have quite a hole to dig out of in the same division as Temple and Ohio—the two schools who look to be the leading contenders in the MAC East Division.

13. East Carolina

East Carolina can pass the ball just fine, ranking 26th in the nation in passing yards. But everything else is floundering.

The Pirates rank dead last in the nation in running the football (69 yards per game) and are scoring 19.4 points per game while allowing 37.4 points per game. The lone win of the year has come against UAB, who we will discuss later in this list. 

East Carolina is coming off a 56-3 pasting by Case Keenum and Houston. Houston may be the class of Conference USA right now, but this is a program who not all that long ago was at the top of the conference.

My how the Pirates have fallen back in Conference USA. But cheer up East Carolina fans! That Big East invite has to be in the mail, right?

12. North Texas

North Texas has two wins this season, and both have come against teams listed in this week's bottom 25 ranking (Indiana, Florida Atlantic). The Mean Green probably are more deserving of being in the bottom 10 of this ranking, but we'll give them some credit for pulling together two wins, despite the competition they did it against.

Here, we take any small victories we possibly can.

North Texas got off to a rough start with blowout losses to Florida International, Houston and Alabama, but have now won two of their last three games.

North Texas has some games that should be interesting at the end of the season, but they have to get through some not-so-easy games before getting to Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State at the end of the year.

North Texas ranks 102nd in pass offense, 80th in run offense, 103rd in scoring and 109th in score defense. That should give you an idea of where Indiana and Florida Atlantic will rank in this week's list.

11. UNLV

UNLV is coming off a 37-0 pasting by Nevada in a season that just seems to be more of the same for the Rebels.

While we continue to scratch our heads and try to figure out how they beat Hawaii, 40-20, last month, UNLV is now 1-4 on the season and the closest they have gotten to a win in any game other than the Hawaii game has been 25 points against FCS Southern Utah.

UNLV ranks 113th in pass offense, 80th in run offense, 113th in scoring and 118th in scoring defense, allowing 41.6 points per game.

UNLV is on the road this weekend at Wyoming. They still have games against Boise State, Air Force, San Diego State and TCU remaining in the second half of the season.

10. Indiana

Indiana will begin our bottom 10 this week after failing to be able to keep up with Illinois at home last weekend. The Illini are off to a 6-0 start, but Indiana gave them a scare in the first half, only trailing 27-13 at the half.

You're probably thinking, only 27-13?

Well, yes. Illinois has only allowed 17.8 points per game this season and Indiana put up 13 points in the first half. Unfortunately, they only managed one touchdown in the second half and the defense continued to give up points to the favored Illini in a Big Ten Leaders Division matchup.

If you are looking for some bright spots with Indiana, the scoring defense is ranked 65th in the nation, which by the standards of this list looks pretty respectable, and the passing game is ranked 45th in the nation.

Kevin Wilson has a plan in motion for the Hoosiers, but it will clearly take a good amount of time before seeing any results on the field.

The second half of the season should be a rough one for Indiana, who travels to Wisconsin this weekend to try and slow down Russell Wilson and the high-powered, and Big Ten favorite, Badgers.

9. New Mexico State

New Mexico State is off to a "surprising" 2-3 start and have already matched their win total from 2010, but before we officially remove the Aggies from the bottom 10, we want to see a little more from them.

After a bye week, with a win over rival New Mexico, let's see if State can put together back-to-back wins with a home victory against Idaho. Do that and we will remove the Aggies from the bottom 10, and perhaps consider leaving them out of the bottom 25 all together for at least a week.

New Mexico State is ranked 27th in passing, but 96th in rushing, 81st in scoring, and 78th in scoring defense.

Wins against Minnesota and New Mexico fail to impress here, but a win against Idaho gets the Aggies to a .500 record and we'll respect that given our low standards in this list.

8. Memphis

So you think you deserve to be in the SEC eh?

Well, the SEC frowns upon a 1-5 record that includes a win over FCS Austin Peay. The SEC certainly would not take kindly to losses by double digits to Rice, Southern Methodist, Arkansas State and, well, Mississippi State.

And where is all of that SEC speed?

The running game for Memphis ranks 108th in the nation (only Tennessee at 114th is worst among SEC teams), and the Tigers are ranked 116th in scoring (Kentucky the lone SEC team below them, at 118th).

Before you go spouting off about being worthy of a spot in the SEC, take a look at your football status right now. Beat an FBS opponent, then maybe you'd have even an ounce to stand on (or not).

7. Minnesota

Minnesota has had a tough season already.

New head coach Jerry Kill had to battle a seizure during a game that kept him away from the team for a brief period of time, and the Golden Gophers just don't have enough players to keep up in the Big Ten right now.

The lone win of the season came against Miami (Ohio), a 29-23 decision and they kept things very close in a road game at USC to start the season. Things have been on a downward slope these past few weeks, though, so much to keep them out of the bottom 10.

After losing at Michigan by a score of 58-0, Minnesota continued their road swing at Purdue by losing to the Boilermakers 45-17, and this is certainly not a great Purdue team this year either.

We feel for Minnesota and expect them to remain in the bottom 10 for the rest of the year with games against Nebraska (after the bye week this week), Michigan State and Wisconsin still on the schedule.

6. Troy

Troy is playing this weekend with a 2-3 record which normally would prevent a team form appearing in the bottom 10, but their wins are against Middle Tennessee State and UAB—two teams we have yet to discuss in the rankings this week.

And they have "only" beaten them by a combined four points, so I feel Troy is worth placing here for the time being.

This is not the same Troy team we have seen in recent years, but they are showing positive signs throwing the football (ranked 10th in the nation). Their scoring and running game, though, are below average (ranked 84th and 82nd respectively).

Troy has failed to put an upset scare in to Clemson and Arkansas—although those losses are certainly valid—but a 14-point loss to Louisiana-Lafayette was not a good set-back for this program.

We expect Troy to pick up more than enough wins to creep out of the bottom 25 before the year is over with the competition in the Sun Belt conference, but they have a couple tough games as well against Florida International and Navy on the road in back-to-back weeks at the end of the month and to start November.

5. Louisiana Monroe

Troy's next opponent will be Louisiana-Monroe this weekend, and the Warhawks will be looking for their first win against an FBS opponent.

In order to pull off the upset on the road they will need to improve on offense with an average passing game and a struggling running game averaging 111.2 yards per game. The offense has also averaged just 17.6 points per game, while allowing 29.6 points per game on defense.

Louisiana-Monroe has lost three straight games since beating Grambling State, 35-7. In the process, they have lost to TCU, Iowa and Arkansas State.

They also opened the season with a loss to Florida State, and given the struggles in Tallahassee of late, even that loss is not looking to be as excusable as it once was.

There are some winnable games up ahead for the Warhawks though, with Florida Atlantic, Western Kentucky and North Texas as well as Middle Tennessee up ahead in conference play, so we'll see if they can climb out of the bottom 10 with a few wins.

4. Middle Tennessee

Middle Tennessee just lost a game in double overtime to Western Kentucky, and their only win of the season is against Memphis. The week before, they lost by a field goal to Troy.

With such a body of work just in the last three weeks, how could we not keep Middle Tennessee State in the bottom five of this ranking?

This weekend may be Middle Tennessee State's best chance to pick up a second win this season, as they travel to take on Florida Atlantic. Seems as though we've mentioned the Owls quite a bit so far. Don't worry, we will get to them soon.

When you look at the numbers, Middle Tennessee State has some above average totals, including pass offense (ranked 19th in the nation), rushing offense (49th) and scoring offense (55th).

The scoring defense (112th) is what's holding them back, though, and at this point in the season, your record can not be asked by close games (Purdue, Troy, Western Kentucky).

3. UAB

UAB is one of the four programs still looking for their first win of the season. We'll keep them out of the top few spots for now just because the other candidates are in a worse situation, I think.

Their numbers certainly are grotesque (97th in pass offense, 106th in run offense, 120th in scoring, 96th in scoring defense), but they have managed to play a couple of close games, although they came against other teams mentioned on this list (East Carolina and Troy).

UAB's best chance for a win may not come until mid-November when they travel to Memphis. Florida Atlantic is not on the schedule until the final game of the season, and that could be the ultimate pillow-fight of the year if it all continues to play out this way.

2. New Mexico

New Mexico had an extra week to sour in their latest loss against rival New Mexico State. And now the second half of the season sees the Lobos preparing to play five of their final seven games on the road, including games at TCU, San Diego State and Boise State.

What's worse, they also have to play at Nevada, home against Air Force, and home against UNLV.

If the Lobos can't pick up a win against UNLV at home then we could very well be looking at New Mexico's first winless season since 1987, and it is hard to beat going 1-11 each of the past two seasons.

New Mexico already fired their head coach. The athletic director may need to be next if this continues.

1. Florida Atlantic

As much as New Mexico deserves to be in the No. 1 spot in the Bleacher Report Bottom 25, there is no arguing that Florida Atlantic has earned this spot.

At first we excused Florida Atlantic for losing games on the road at Florida, Michigan State and Auburn to open the season. We gave the Owls credit for playing those tough games even if it meant getting a solid beat down in the process.

But since then the Owls have lost to Louisiana-Lafayette and North Texas, and Florida Atlantic ranks in the triple-digits in every major statistical category, we refer to in these rankings on a routine basis.

Florida Atlantic ranks 112th in passing, 111th in rushing, 115th in scoring and 114th in scoring defense. They average just 13.6 points per game and have allowed 36.6 points per game.

If you take out the first three games of the season, even though we are left with a small sample size, Florida Atlantic is averaging 25.5 points per game, but allowing 34 points per game.

You just can't win with those kind of numbers, especially given the level of competition they come against.

The future does appear to be bright for the program, though. In a new stadium, Florida Atlantic hopes to attract a solid coach to turn things around in 2012 with the retirement of Howard Schnellenberger, who has more than put his time and effort in to helping this program get off the ground since 2004.

If the Owls can't pick up at least one win over the next two weeks against Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State, this top honor could be theirs to lose for the remainder of the regular season.

For Howard's sake, let's hope it doesn't come down to that UAB game on November 26.

Kevin McGuire is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. McGuire is the national college football writer for Examiner.com. Follow his college football discussion on Google+ and Twitter. Become a fan of him on Facebook.