Part 2 of the Rich Rodriguez era at West Virginia brought the same Week 2 opponent as Part 1 of his tenure with the Mountaineers taking on border foe Ohio. Only this time, the result was much differen, as the Bobcats stunned WVU 17-10 to cast an early pall over Rodriguez’s reunion with his alma mater.
A record crowd of 26,740 at the Bobcats’ Peden Stadium witnessed Ohio’s victory, which was no fluke. The Bobcats outgained West Virginia 429-250 and doubled WVU up in time of possession. If not for three second-half interceptions by the Mountaineers defense, Ohio would likely have won by more.
West Virginia and Ohio played four times between 1983 and 2001 with the Mountaineers going 4-0 while outscoring the Bobcats 136-9. The 2001 meeting, which was the last in the series until this year, brought Rodriguez his first victory at WVU.
That 20-3 win was the first of 60 for Rodriguez at WVU from 2001-07 as he turned the Mountaineers into a national power. Now 62, Rodriguez is back at his old stomping grounds and in the early stages of rebuilding the program. Saturday’s loss inflicted significant damage on WVU’s hopes of becoming bowl eligible in 2025, and it earns the Mountaineers a spot in this week’s Bottom 25.
This year’s Bottom 25 formula has been tweaked to ensure fair representation from across the sport. Each of the Power Four leagues gets an automatic bid to the Bottom 25 each week, and a total of 10 Power Four schools must be represented.
College football rankings: Miami and Oregon leapfrog Georgia, Florida plummets after upset in CBS Sports 136
Chip Patterson
Bottom 25 Rankings
^ Joined Bottom 25 this week
Hawkeye ineptitude
Iowa’s 16-13 Week 2 loss to rival Iowa State confirmed the fears that an underwhelming Week 1 win over Albany produced: The Hawkeyes’ passing offense is abysmal once again. Any hopes that two-time FCS national-title winner Mark Gronowski would bring a spark at quarterback dissipated with his second consecutive sub-100 yard passing performance
25. Iowa ^
24. Florida ^
23. Syracuse (16)
22. Northwestern (19)
21. North Carolina (6)
Pasadena peril
UCLA started 1-5 last season before winning four of its last six to instill some confidence in the program’s direction. That confidence is gone again after the Bruins put themselves in a 23-0 hole against UNLV in Week 2. A valiant comeback fell short, leaving UCLA 0-2 and needing a Friday night win over New Mexico to avoid a winless nonconference run.
20. West Virginia ^
19. UCLA (13)
18. Stanford (20)
17. Sam Houston ^
16. Western Michigan ^
Wrong place, wrong time
You’ve got to feel bad for Louisiana-Monroe. Under different circumstances, Alabama would have downshifted and been a bit more courteous to the visiting Warhawks. But in the aftermath of a Week 1 loss at Florida State, the Crimson Tide let out some rage on ULM in a 73-0 victory. Wrong place, wrong time.
15. Charlotte (18)
14. San Jose State ^
13. Louisiana-Monroe ^
12. Kennesaw State ^
11. Eastern Michigan (8)
Exit Sandman
Virginia Tech’s second-half collapse in a 44-20 home loss to Vanderbilt underscored the painful reality of how far the Hokies have fallen since Frank Beamer’s heyday, as they were outscored 34-0 by the Commodores after the break. The Hokies are now 0-8 against Big 12, Big Ten and SEC opponents under fourth-year coach Brent Pry.
10. Marshall (3)
9. Kent St ^
8. UMass (10)
7. Virginia Tech (25)
6. Middle Tennessee (4)
Cratering Cowboys
Oklahoma State suffered its worst loss since the week before it became a state in 1907, as the Cowboys fell 69-3 at Oregon. The Cowboys have now dropped 10 straight against FBS foes, which is the worst active streak of any Power Four team and the longest such stretch in program history.
5. Oklahoma State ^
4. Georgia State (2)
3. Ball State (5)
2. Georgia Southern (11)
1. Akron ^
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