College football’s bottom 5: Bad football makes its debut on the Hudson

Which teams make the list in college football’s first week back this season?

It is easy to list the criteria for a good football team. Good coaching and recruiting, impressive player development and a good brand are some of the many characteristics of a good football program.

What makes a football program terrible? That is a good question. Some programs were once proud and now are on the skids. Others have never had much of a football tradition. There are even some programs that do not invest in their football program like others in their conference.

No matter the culprit, there are some lousy football programs all over the country. This list is devoted to the five worst football programs in the country. Every week, the football programs that have the worst performances of the week or are among the worst programs in the country will make this list.

If there is a positive about making the bottom 5, it is redemption. Some of the programs that make this list are attempting to rebuild. Though some teams might make strides on the field that demonstrate improvement, it might not show in the win column.

Without any further ado, here is the first Bottom 5 of the 2020 football season.

5. Kansas Jayhawks

The Kansas Jayhawks are in year two the Les Miles experience. There have been immediate benefits like the rapid uptick in recruiting. However, the Jayhawks are still going to finish at the bottom of the Big 12.

Anthony “Pooka” Williams is going to be fun to watch this season and he’ll likely be in the same backfield with JUCO transfer Miles Kendrick. It’s the defense and depth that still need lots of work. Kansas added $8 million to its athletic budget, mostly for football, so they are trending in the right direction. Kansas will be improved this year; just not many wins.

4. Rice Owls

Like the Kansas Jayhawks, the Rice Owls are trying to get good at football again. They hired Mike Bloomgren from Stanford to bring in a power running game. Not that the cupboard was exactly full when Bloomgren got to Rice, but he stripped the program down to the studs and it is in a complete rebuild.

The Owls will be improved this season. They have veteran receivers this year in senior Austin Trammell and redshirt junior transfer Bradley Ronzer. Graduate transfer quarterback Mike Collins will likely start at quarterback behind a veteran offensive line. Though they will make strides, it might not show in the win totals.

3. Vanderbilt Commodores

The Vanderbilt Commodores might be the worst football program in the Power 5. There have been questions as to Vandy’s commitment to fielding a competitive product in football. From current athletic director Malcolm Turner and his predecessor David Williams, the Commodores do not seem like a program that is committing to playing competitive football.

That puts head coach Derek Mason in a difficult position. Last season, he boasted of having his best offensive team, which featured running back Keshawn Vaughn, quarterback Mo Hasan, and tight end Jared Pinkney. That group averaged 16.5 points per game last season. Not much is going to change this season, even with new players.

2. Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders

The Blue Raiders were not ready for the Black Knights on Saturday. Army routed Middle Tennessee 42-0 at West Point. The pandemic has already made it a whacky season. Middle Tennessee was not exempt. The Blue Raiders were initially playing Duke, but that game was canceled. Army is not an ideal opponent to play on such short notice, and it showed in this game.

The offense turned the ball over four times and got nothing from the running game. Quarterback Asher O’Hara was supposed to be the breakout star, but the Black Knights reduced the walk-on junior to 64 total yards and two turnovers. The defense surrendered 340 yards to Army’s triple-option offense. Their issues were not just playing Army on short notice; they have serious deficiencies on both sides.

1. Navy Midshipmen

Navy might not be on this list every week, but the performance the Midshipmen put on Monday evening against the Brigham Young Cougars put them here. They were embarrassed in Annapolis  55-3 Monday night and it wasn’t that close. So far, new starting quarterback Dalen Morris has proven that he is not Malcolm Perry.

Though Moriss struggled, he did not contribute to the 55 points the defense gave up. The Cougars racked up 301 rushing yards against the Midshipmen Monday night. Navy lost a lot of experience from last season’s team in addition to losing arguably the best player in school history. Regression was inevitable, but this game was flat atrocious.

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