Anti-College Football Playoff rankings: TCU, we have a problem

As the first College Football Playoff rankings are released on Tuesday night, let’s flip the script and take a look at the four worst teams in the nation.

As a nation awaits the first release of the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night, there likely won’t be much in the way of drama. The three top undefeated teams, Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame are locks to make the four-team field. The only drama surrounds the fourth team from a group of one-loss teams that includes LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma and Georgia. I think it’s really a decision between LSU and Michigan.

Nevertheless, this should be must-see TV every Tuesday for the next month as fans wait to see if their team made the cut and where they’ll be ranked. But if you’re looking to have a little bit of fun and add a little wrinkle to ranking college football teams, and I know I am, we have to flip the script and rank the worst teams to come up with the Anti-College Football Playoff rankings.

Like the real rankings, this ranking will not give the Group of Five schools the respect they deserve. So just like UCF isn’t viewed as a legit playoff threat by the committee, I figure I’ll just omit all the Group of Five schools and simply focus on the worst of the worst from the Power 5.

Mainstays UCLA and Nebraska have played their way off this list in recent weeks, but that opened the door for others to play their way into the bottom of the barrel. There are three Power 5 schools who have yet to beat a fellow FBS opponent, and all three of those schools are featured here.

Anti-College Football Playoff Rankings

1. Rutgers – The Scarlet Knights have been on this list every week and they show no signs of playing their way out of the basement. I don’t need to pile on any more than has already been done. We get it, they’re bad and are going to be bad for a long time. Rutgers has the worst offense in the nation, averaging a paltry 15.1 points per game and aren’t going to win again this year but at least they have a win over Texas State.

2. Louisville – It was expected Louisville would take a step or two back after losing Heisman winner Lamar Jackson to the NFL but I don’t think anyone anticipated it would get this bad, this fast. Louisville is riding a five-game losing streak, 0-5 in the ACC and still in search of their first win against a P5 school after allowing 56 in a 21-point loss to noted football powerhouse Wake Forest.

3. TCU – The Horned Frogs just had a miserable week on and off the field. Top receiver and returned KaVontae Turpin was dismissed after an arrest and then TCU went out and laid an egg against Kansas. When you lose to Kansas, you’re going to be in the Bottom 4. This was the first Big 12 win for Kansas in two years and their first October win since 2009! This is a team that was ranked in the mid-teens a couple of weeks ago and was going toe-to-toe with Ohio State. This has been a dramatic turn of events.

4. Arkansas – Chad Morris’ Hogs enter the Bottom 4 after a stunning win by Oregon State against Colorado where they overcame a 31-3 deficit to win in overtime. With the Beavers out, the Hogs are in, and they are still looking for a win over a P5 opponent. They’ve lost six of their last seven with the win coming against a 1-7 Tulsa team. The offense has picked up the last month, but the defense ranks 102 in the nation, allowing 33.7 points per game.