Anti-College Football Playoff rankings: Nebraska escapes pit of misery, Louisville jumps in it

This week’s Anti-College Football Playoff rankings says goodbye to one of the mainstays this season as Nebraska got their first win to escape the pit of misery.

The College Football Playoff picture had a big wrench thrown in the cog when Ohio State lost to Purdue in grand fashion. The 48-20 loss might be the type of lopsided loss that is too much to overcome for the Buckeyes, even if they win out, beat Michigan and take the Big Ten Championship Game. That’s what happened last year when they lost 55-20. That loss was just impossible to remove from the conversation and too difficult to erase no matter what happened after.

The top four is headlined by Alabama who is far and away the top team in the country, again, and Clemson who demolished then-undefeated NC State last week. They are the clear 1-2 with Notre Dame in the mix, so long as they remain undefeated. The real debate begins at No. 4 with teams like LSU, Michigan, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Washington State still very much alive.

But this space isn’t about the best of the best. It’s about the worst of the worst.

This week’s Anti-College Football Playoff rankings look at the four worst teams from the Power 5 conferences. For the first time since the inception of this concept this season, Nebraska is not among the bottom four. Scott Frost’s team picked up their first win of the year last Saturday vs. Minnesota, one week after blowing a double-digit fourth-quarter lead at Northwestern.

Another familiar name in this space was the UCLA Bruins but now that Chip Kelly’s team has a two-game winning streak, the Bruins have been bounced. With two teams out, that opens the door for two new teams to take their place.

Anti-College Football Playoff rankings where being No. 1 is bad

1. Oregon State – There was a sliver of an opportunity for Oregon State to perhaps get a win last week vs. Cal. When they took the field, that opportunity was quickly dashed in the 49-7 loss. The Beavers have the worst defense by far of any Power 5 team and look like they’ll go winless in the Pac-12 and their lone win this year will be against Southern Utah.
2. Rutgers – Give credit to Chris Ash’s team for leading Northwestern in the fourth quarter. That said, they still lost 18-15 and they have a murderer’s row left on the schedule. Rutgers has games at Wisconsin, vs. Michigan, vs. Penn State and at Michigan State remaining. They’ll go winless in the Big Ten and close the season on an 11-game losing streak. Their lone win is against a 1-6 Texas State.
3. North Carolina – Larry Fedora’s seat is scorching hot. The Tar Heels had a chance to get their second win of the year vs. Syracuse before letting it slip through their hands. UNC is a three-point win vs. Pittsburgh where they needed a 17-point third quarter to come back, from being winless. UNC has the No. 109 scoring offense and No. 110 scoring defense. It’s been a tremendous fall for a team that is only three years away from losing to Clemson by eight in the ACC Championship Game.
4. Louisville – The Cardinals were off last week, which was nice because they didn’t lose, which is about the nicest thing you can say about Bobby Petrino’s team of late. Louisville’s two wins this year are against Indiana State and Western Kentucky. During their four-game losing streak, they’re being outscored 159-78. Petrino is on the hot seat and Purdue coach and Louisville alum, Jeff Brohm, could be the savior this program so desperately needs for a fresh start.