After close losses to Ole Miss and Memphis, Arkansas looked like a pesky team capable of hanging with quality opponents. Then, No. 22 Notre Dame rolled into Fayetteville and blew out the Hogs for a 56-13 win, helping Arkansas make its first Bottom 25 appearance of the season.
The Arkansas defense remained porous, allowing 643 yards, but the offense didn’t have as many answers. The Razorbacks also fell victim to a Notre Dame team aware it needed style points in order to have a prayer at reaching the College Football Playoff. That’s why the Irish ran (and converted) a fake punt at their own 25-yard line with a 29-point lead.
In the aftermath of that slaughter, the Razorbacks fired coach Sam Pittman and named Bobby Petrino the interim. Petrino has already thrown his hat in the ring for the full-time job, and he’s even shaken up the coaching staff by firing defensive coordinator Travis Williams.
Can Petrino pull Arkansas out of the Bottom 25 and get the team back on track this fall? Maybe, but it will be a tall task. The Razorbacks’ remaining schedule is brutal with five top-20 opponents in the final seven games.
College football rankings: Oregon rises to No. 2 as Ole Miss, Indiana join top five in CBS Sports 136
Chip Patterson
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.
Bottom 25 Rankings
^ Joined Bottom 25 this week
NC State replaces Virginia Tech
Congrats to Virginia Tech on escaping the Bottom 25, but that was a baffling performance on the part of NC State. The Wolfpack couldn’t run the ball at all on a Hokies team that gave up a combined 512 rushing yards to Vanderbilt and Old Dominion. NC State totaled 59 rushing yards at 1.8 yards per attempt. Even if you remove sacks that number improves to just 3.7 yards per attempt.
25. Rutgers^
24. Clemson (21)
23. Florida (17)
22. NC State^
21. Arkansas^
California nightmarin’
In Week 3, Boston College traveled 2,695 miles to Palo Alto and laid an egg against Stanford. Hey, it happens. That jet leg can get the best of anyone. This past week, coming off a bye, Boston College hosted a California team that made the 2,689-mile trek to Chestnut Hill. The result was the same. It was another devastating loss for the Eagles, dropping them to 0-2 in ACC play. The good news for Boston College is that there are no more teams from the Golden State left on the schedule.
20. Marshall^
19. Eastern Michigan (19)
18. Kentucky^
17. West Virginia^
16. Boston College (22)
The service academy tier
Opponents of Army and Air Force haven’t been feeling too patriotic recently. Last Thursday, East Carolina stifled the Black Knights in a 28-6 win. Things weren’t any better for the Falcons. Air Force surrendered 457 yards to Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado. Air Force and Army are now a combined 2-6 on the year. With its win over Rice to remain undefeated, Navy is picking up the service academy slack these days.
15. Army^
14. Air Force (16)
13. Northern Illinois (14)
12. Ball State (9)
11. UTEP^
The can’t-lose-a-bye tier
Kent State, Sam Houston and Georgia State all avoided losses on Saturday. Yes, they were on a bye week, but it was well-earned after each team took a thumping at the hands of Power Four opponents. Some rest and relaxation may have been just what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately for the Kent Golden Flashes, that relaxation may be short-lived with a road trip to Oklahoma on deck.
10. Middle Tennessee (11)
9. Georgia State (5)
8. Sam Houston (4)
7. Kent State (3)
6. Arkansas State (8)
So, where is that first win coming?
UCLA, Oregon State and UMass are three of the four remaining winless FBS teams. No. 8 Sam Houston is the other. With one month down, opportunities for wins are dwindling. The Beavers and Minutemen will each get a few chances to pick up a win, but as for the Bruins? Yikes. UCLA’s best odds of getting on the board probably come against Michigan State (away) or Maryland (home). That’s not ideal given the Bruins’ resume to this point.
5. Akron (12)
4. UCLA (7)
3. Oregon State (6)
2. Oklahoma State (1)
1. UMass (2)
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