College football rankings: 10 worst teams of Week 6 – UCLA, Miami sink lower

The college football ratings where being No. 1 is the worst. We count down the Terrible 10 of Week 6, using CFB Winning Edge Team Performance ratings.

Week 6 was unique. Because of a calendar quirk giving each team an extra idle weekend during the season, nearly three dozen FBS teams didn’t take the field over the weekend. As a result, some of the worst performances of the week weren’t actually that bad in the grand scheme of things.

Consider this: of the 10 lowest game grades among Power Five conference teams in Week 6, according to CFB Winning Edge Team Performance ratings, three were either tied or led in the fourth quarter.

Typically, such close calls wouldn’t warrant a spot in the Terrible 10. But because our options were limited, a few teams that might have celebrated a victory had a few breaks gone the other way, are instead highlighted here.

A season that began with such promise has taken a turn for the worse at Boston College. The Eagles beat Virginia Tech 35-28 in the season opener, which gave BC fans legitimate hope of a 7-0 start going into the Oct. 26 showdown with Clemson. Instead, Boston College dropped a Week 3 clash with Kansas, escaped Rutgers in Week 4, and lost games against Wake Forest and Louisville by a combined five points.

The 41-39 loss to the Cardinals wasn’t wholly unexpected. Louisville was favored to win by Las Vegas oddsmakers, and BC lost starting quarterback Anthony Brown to injury early in the second quarter. However, the Eagles were embarrassed defensively and allowed 12.6 yards per pass attempt and 664 total yards. Louisville also moved the chains on eight of 16 third-down attempts, while the Boston College offense (which posed a solid 563 total yards and averaged 9.2 yards per pass and 5.8 yards per carry) managed to convert on only four of 15 attempts on third down.

Before Saturday, TCU’s only blemish was a 41-38 loss to SMU that looks much better now than it did at the time. The Horned Frogs likely would have found themselves back in the national rankings had they beaten Iowa State Saturday. Instead, the Cyclones jumped out to a 28-3 lead and cruised to a 49-28 victory.

The Frogs lost the turnover battle 2-0, and Iowa State quickly cashed in both takeaways; first returning a touchdown in the first quarter to increase its lead to 14-3, and secondly, on a four-play, 14-yard touchdown drive to secure the final score. TCU managed just 3.3 yards per carry on 33 attempts and was outgained 436-329 overall and by an average of 1.93 yards per play.

We knew the transition from Paul Johnson’s triple-option offense would be difficult for Georgia Tech, but few imagined the Yellow Jackets would rank No. 127 in scoring offense (15.2 points per game) this season. Tech has managed just 13.0 points per game against FBS competition this year, which ranks 128th overall and worst among all Power Five programs.

It was more of the same Saturday. The Jackets were kept off the scoreboard until the third quarter of a 38-22 home loss to North Carolina. Georgia Tech was out-gained 587-321 overall by the Tar Heels and surrendered 34 first downs to the North Carolina offense while managing to move the sticks just 14 times itself.

It was no secret Vanderbilt would face an uphill battle during the first half of its 2019 schedule. The first three games on the schedule (vs. Georgia, at Purdue, vs. LSU) were among the toughest in the country. Most fans were realistic and understood a 1-4 start was possible. Even likely. However, the way the last two weeks played out – a 24-18 win over Northern Illinois and a 31-6 loss at Ole Miss, respectively – are concerning.

The strength of the 2019 Vanderbilt squad is its offense, but that was not on display Saturday in Oxford. The Commodores managed just 264 total yards of offense and a season-worst 3.62 yards per snap. Vandy was held to just 62 rushing yards and averaged just 2.3 yards per rushing attempt – both season lows – while allowing 512 total yards, including 413 rushing yards, to an Ole Miss squad led by a true freshman quarterback.

Duke fought like mad to erase a 26-3 third-quarter deficit Saturday night against Pitt, and even led 30-26 after Deon Jackson scored on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Quentin Harris with 1:26 left to play. But six turnovers earlier in the contest meant the margin of error was much too thin for the Blue Devils defense, which surrendered a four-play, 82-yard TD drive in the final minute of a 33-30 loss.

Duke forced four Pitt turnovers itself and held the Panthers to just 2.0 yards per carry and 5.6 yards per pass attempt. However, the Blue Devils were inept on offense most of the game and managed just 288 total yards, including an average of just 3.24 yards per game: 3.7 yards on 18-for-45 passing, and 2.8 yards on 44 carries.

The Kansas State Wildcats ranked in the top 10 nationally in Team Performance through the first three weeks of the season. However, K-State hasn’t looked anything like a top-10 team in back-to-back losses to Oklahoma State and Baylor. The 31-12 loss to the Bears Saturday resulted in the worst game grade of the season for the Wildcats, who now rank No. 44 overall in Team Performance.

Kansas State was out-gained 426-341 overall by Baylor, and by an average of 3.14 yards per play. The Wildcats managed just 3.08 yards per rushing attempt, which was the worst average of the season for the squad by a wide margin. In fact, K-State has seen its average yards per carry fall in every game this season – a very troubling trend.

Like its ACC rivals Boston College and Duke, Miami had a chance to avoid an embarrassing loss Saturday. The Hurricanes committed turnovers on five of their first six offensive dives, during which Virginia Tech built a 28-0 lead before halftime. Miami stormed back and tied the game 35-35 with just 3:16 left to play, but could have taken a 36-35 lead if not for an ill-timed missed extra-point following DeeJay Dallas’s 69-yard touchdown run.

The Hurricanes moved the ball effectively, at least after N’Kosi Perry relieved starting quarterback Jarren Williams after he threw three interceptions in just seven attempts. Overall, Miami out-gained the Hokies 563-337, and held a 27-17 edge in first downs. But Virginia Tech won the turnover battle 5-0, and Miami shot itself in the foot with 11 penalties, two failed trips inside the red zone (including the potential game-tying drive in the final seconds of the game), plus the failed PAT, in a 42-35 loss.

Like Miami, UCLA actually out-gained its opponent in a losing effort Saturday. The Bruins held a 492-448 edge over Oregon State in total yardage and led in first downs 27-20. UCLA was also quite good on third down opportunities offensively and converted 12 of 19 opportunities.

However, Oregon State built a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, which included two touchdown drives shorter than 30 yards thanks to UCLA’s failed fourth-down attempt at its own 34-yard line, and failure to recover a drop-kick onside-kick attempt by the Beavers. Oregon State also found great success throwing the football as quarterback Jake Luton was 18-for-26 passing for 285 yards (11.0 yards per attempt) and five touchdowns without an interception.

With the loss, UCLA 1-5 and ranks No. 115 in Team Performance – second-worst among P% programs.

The only P5 team with a lower Team Performance rating than UCLA, Rutgers’ decision to fire head coach Chris Ash didn’t result in any noticeable changes for its offense. The Scarlet Knights were held to 314 yards and 4.36 yards per play in a 48-7 loss to Maryland. Rutgers has now scored 23 points – total – during its four-game losing streak. Things could get even worse with sophomore quarterback Artur Sitkowski and all-purpose weapon Raheem Blackshear opting to sit the rest of the season to preserve redshirts, and potentially transfer.

Of course, the offense isn’t solely to blame. The Scarlet Knights have surrendered 160 total points during the same period. Maryland gained 490 total yards overall, including 200 rushing yards and 290 through the air, while averaging 7.9 yards per snap.

Arguably the most unexpected result of the week was Oklahoma State losing to Texas Tech 45-35. Last week, the Cowboys a 26-13 victory over Kansas State thanks in large part to an excellent defensive performance and broke into the AP Top 25 as a result. The Red Raiders were blown out 55-16 by Oklahoma while playing multiple backup quarterbacks and landed in the Terrible 10.

One week later, the Pokes surrendered 586 yards of total offense to the Red Raiders, including 424 passing yards and four touchdowns to former third-string quarterback Jett Duffey. More troubling, Oklahoma State lost the turnover battle 5-0 – all five turnovers credited to redshirt freshman Spencer Sanders, who threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles.

Terrible 10: Team Performance ratings, 2019 to date

121. New Mexico Lobos, 71.24
122. Old Dominion Monarchs, 70.50
123. South Alabama Jaguars, 70.45
124. Bowling Green Falcons, 70.42
125. Connecticut Huskies, 70.10
126. Rice Owls, 69.40
127. UTEP Miners, 69.18
128. Massachusetts Minutemen, 66.52
129. New Mexico State Aggies, 66.18
130. Akron Zips, 64.80

Terrible 10: Team Performance ratings (Power Five only), 2019 to date

77. West Virginia, 78.18
89. Tennessee Vols, 76.97
91. Illinois Fighting Illini, 76.59
92. Kansas Jayhawks, 76.59
94. Arkansas Razorbacks, 76.52
96. Purdue Boilermakers, 75.97
113. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 73.17
114. Vanderbilt Commodores, 72.61
115. UCLA Bruins, 72.53
116. Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 72.09

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