25. Bowling Green 3-6 Bowling Green had last week off and found itself entering The Bottom 25. The Falcons won their last game! I don’t track these things, but I’m fairly confident they are the first team in history to enter The Bottom 25 off a win and a bye. We’ll forever remember this day. (Last Week: Not Ranked) 24. ULM 4-5 The Warhawks left us for a couple of weeks following a 41-31 win over South Alabama, but two straight losses have them back under .500 and back in The Bottom 25. They’ll hope to get out again this week with a win over No. 5 Arkansas State. (NR) 23. Tulsa 3-6 Tulsa literally came within inches of a possible upset win over Cincinnati on Saturday, fumbling at the goal line down eight in the final minutes. Instead, they lost 28-20 and joined The Bottom 25. Also, while I don’t know if the College Football Playoff selection committee reads this column, I have to point out that Cincinnati has struggled in three straight games against teams currently ranked in The Bottom 25. Tulsa will face one of them this weekend when it goes on the road to face No. 11 Tulane. (NR) 22. Texas State 3-6 The Bobcats picked up a nice 27-19 win over ULM on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to get them out of The Bottom 25. They do have a couple of winnable games remaining on the schedule, though, including this week at home against No. 13 Georgia Southern. Could we see a winning streak begin? (15) 21. Indiana 2-7 The Hoosiers fell to Michigan 29-7 last week, giving them their sixth loss against a team ranked in one of those other inferior polls. That’s part of the reason the Hoosiers are only at No. 21 despite being 2-7 — their strength of schedule is a lot stronger than most of the other teams here. Things get a little easier this week when the Hoosiers host Rutgers. (25) 20. Louisiana Tech 2-7 The Bulldogs dropped their fifth straight despite taking an early 21-7 lead over UAB. Things turned quickly after that, as the Blazers outscored the Bulldogs 45-17 the rest of the way to win 52-38. Tech hopes to put an end to the streak this weekend against Charlotte. (24) 19. South Florida 2-7 The Bulls continue to show strong signs of feistiness as they fell to Houston 54-42. While the wins aren’t coming, this is a team that’s improving as the season goes on, and it could pull off a surprise before all is said and done. And what if that surprise is at home against Cincinnati on Friday? (19) 18. New Mexico 3-6 New Mexico found itself on the wrong end of UNLV’s first win in a 31-17 home loss. I was not surprised at the result, as I picked UNLV to win on the Locks Pod edition of The Cover 3 Podcast. I do not expect the Lobos to win this week at Fresno State, either. (22) 17. Temple 3-6 If The Bottom 25 rankings began in October, Temple would be a serious contender for a playoff spot. The Owls have lost four straight games and have been outscored 180-27 in the process. This team has run out of gas, which bodes well for its opponent this week: Houston. (23) 16. Rice 3-6 Rice was close to pulling off a victory Saturday but fell to Charlotte 31-24 in overtime. Close games have been a theme for the Owls since three early-season blowout losses. This week they’ll try to slow down the high-octane offense of Western Kentucky. (17) 15. Ohio 2-7 The Bobcats picked up their second win of the season last Tuesday, beating Miami (OH) 35-33 in The Battle of the Bricks. They’ll look to make it two wins in a row when they face Eastern Michigan on Tuesday night. Remember, kids; The Bottom 25 is The Unofficial Official Poll of #MACtion. (11) 14. Navy 2-7 Navy couldn’t maintain its strong level of play over recent weeks in South Bend, losing to Notre Dame 34-6. The Mids will have this week off to recover before returning to action next week against East Carolina. (16) 13. Georgia Southern 2-7 The excitement of hiring Clay Helton wasn’t enough to inspire the Eagles to victory against Coastal Carolina, as they fell 28-8. And you know what? If I’m going to lose a game, I’d rather do it with an odd-looking score than a normal one. Losing 28-7 doesn’t grab anybody’s attention, but when you lose 28-8? The people notice. Not as much as if you’d lost 28-5 or 5-2, but they notice. Southern hopes to turn more heads this weekend against No. 22 Texas State. (14) 12. Arizona 1-8 While Cal fans will be quick to point out how depleted their team was on Saturday, it should also be pointed out that Arizona is down to roughly its ninth-string QB as well. The Wildcats are far from 100%, and as I said up top, I don’t care how the win comes, so long as it comes. It probably came just in time, too, because Arizona’s final three games of the season won’t be easy. The first of the three is against Utah Saturday. (5) 11. Tulane 1-8 My beloved Wave have dropped seven straight and remain on the hunt for their first win over an FBS team in 2021. This weekend, the Wave hope to crash back from a 14-10 loss to UCF at home against No. 23 Tulsa. (13) 10. Vanderbilt 2-7 The Commodores had the weekend off but return to action this week against a Kentucky team licking its wounds following a loss to Tennessee. (12) 9. UNLV 1-8 OK, so I predicted last week that UNLV would get a win against New Mexico. So, you know what? I’m predicting the second win of the season will come this week when the Rebels host Hawaii. (4) 8. Akron 2-7 The Zips lost to Ball State 31-25 last Wednesday and fired coach Tom Arth on Thursday. It’s been a rough couple of years in Akron, but the Zips will look to pull off an upset over Western Michigan Tuesday night. (10) 7. FIU 1-8 There just aren’t a lot of positive things to say about the Panthers right now. Old Dominion was one of the more winnable games remaining on the schedule, and they lost at home to the Monarchs 47-24. Given their performance, it’s hard to be optimistic about chances against the remaining three teams, including this week’s contest at Middle Tennessee. (9) 6. New Mexico State 1-8 The Aggies fell 35-13 to one of the Mountain West’s best in Utah State, and this week they get to take on Alabama a week after the Tide nearly lost to LSU. So I’m sure that’s going to be a lot of fun for the Aggies. Still, the good news is the Aggies did find a home during the week, as they were one of four schools invited to join the new-look Conference USA. (7) 5. Arkansas State 1-8 It was a rough day for the Red Wolves in a 48-14 loss to Appalachian State, but there’s no time to feel sorry for themselves. They’ve just got to pick themselves up and dust themselves off because this week they’re hitting the road to take on No. 24 ULM in The Bottom 25 Game of the Century of the Week! (8) 4. Southern Miss 1-8 The bad news for the Golden Eagles is they lost by 24 to North Texas in The Bottom 25 Game of the Century of Last Week. The good news is games remain against No. 20 Louisiana Tech and No. 7 FIU, so a second win is possible. Maybe even a third. Of course, it’s not likely to come this week against UTSA, which means the Golden Eagles should hold onto their Bottom 25 Playoff positioning for at least another week. (6) 3. UConn 1-8 UConn was off again last week and will play its first game in 22 days on Saturday when it travels to Clemson. This means that the Huskies can blame a loss on being rusty if they’d like, or they can credit a possible upset win to being so well-rested. (3) 2. Kansas 1-8 The Sunflower Showdown did not go well. Kansas lost its 13th consecutive game to rival Kansas State, falling 35-10. This week the Jayhawks turn to an old reliable when it comes to looking for a conference win: Texas. (2) 1. UMass 1-8 The first leg of The Battle for New England did not go well for the Minutemen, as they lost to Rhode Island 35-22. They’ll look to salvage some pride this weekend in the second leg against Maine. (1)