CFB: Syracuse a runaway leader for worst in college
By Steve Harvey
Special to the Los Angeles Times
No one expected Syracuse to have a great season. But last weekend, the black-and-blue Orange (0-2) descended to a new low by losing, 28-42, to Akron. That's right, Akron. The mighty Zips. Needless to say, the Orange bounced to the top of the Bottom Ten, which ranks the worst football teams in the nation.
Syracuse's Greg Robinson, whose record is 7-28 since becoming head coach in 2005, attributed his lack of success to the fact that when he took over "there was a lot of work to be done." Huh? Syracuse was 6-6 the year before he arrived — the last time the team had a .500 season.
The Orange should bolster their lead Saturday when they're thrown kicking and screaming into the arena against Penn State, whose fifth string is listed as a 28-point favorite.
It's almost unfair how the Orange are hogging the top spot when there are such illustrious pretenders out there as the meager Beavers of Oregon State (0-2) and the University of Texas at El Intercepted Paso (0-2).
And don't forget about Utah State (0-2). Oh, go ahead, if you wish.
Wreck/Record/Last Week/Next Loss:
1. Syracuse/0-2/28-42/Akron-x/Penn State
2. UTEP/0-2/13-42/Texas/New Mexico St.
3. Oregon St./0-2/14-45/Penn St./Hawaii
4. Utah State/0-2/24-66/Oregon/Utah
5. New Mexico/0-2/22-28/Texas A&M/Arizona
6. Washington St./0-2/3-66/Cal/Baylor
7. Washington/0-2/27-28/BYU-xx/Oklahoma
8. Rutgers/0-1/17-24/Fresno St./North Carolina
9. Tulane/0-1/6-20/Alabama/East Carolina
10. Tennessee/0-1/Idle/Alabama-Birmingham
x-Not affiliated with old Akron store chain.
xx-Bottom Ten has no heart.
11. Michigan (1-1), 12. Toledo (0-1), 13. Electoral College (0-0), 14. Alabama-Birmingham (0-2), 15. Pitt (1-1), 16. Ole Miss (1-1), 17. Ole Miss State (1-1), 18. Idle, 19. Memphis (0-2), 20. Ohio State (trailed Ohio University, 12-14, after three quarters).
Others receiving votes (in alphabetical order): None.
Rout of the week: Penn State (2-0) vs. Syracuse (0-2).
Crummy game of the week: Tennessee (0-1) vs. Alabama-Birmingham (0-2).
Strange week: UCLA (1-0) was ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press poll after upsetting Tennessee, then had a bye last week and fell to No. 26. An unimpressive bye? Come on, AP voters, leave the jokes to The Bottom Ten.
