10. Arizona St. - Welcome to the Hall of Shame Sun Devils. Not only did you schedule two FCS teams, you scheduled two straight to start the season. Not even Bill Snyder has ever attempted something like this and he is buying Kansas St. out of every relevant non-conference game he can over the next few years. Just be glad you didn't lose one Sun Devils.
9. Florida in the first quarter – It's never a good sign when ESPN is putting graphics up about you offense and poking fun in a derogatory manner. Under 40 yards of offense in the first quarter over the course of two games and not have it be because the other team held the ball the entire quarter of both games? That is just terrible.
8. Oregon before the lightning delay – Before the lightning delay, Oregon was awful. Gave up an opening field goal, fumbled kickoff, gave up another field goal and then took some time to get going and remember they are playing football. After that though...
7. Tennessee once Oregon woke up – When your coach is saying you quit on the game and the team hasn't competed for years, you've got a problem. This game was close for awhile then BOOM, 45-13 loss. There are some real issues on Rocky Top (not that we didn't know that).
Now beginning the ACC portion of the countdown and yes it was that bad.
6. Defenses in the Wake Forest-Duke game – And Redick hits the 3 at the buzzer and Duke pulls within six at the half... Oh, this is football. What kind of score is this, especially between these two teams. If this is any indication, get ready for some wild shootouts when these two teams play in ACC play (or watching them be on the business end of woodshed beatings and blowouts). The carnage is incredible (or just another game in Conference USA: 102 points, 987 yards of offense and somehow, even nine punts (to go along with six turnovers)
5. Miami – This could easily be the Ohio St. special teams for keeping Miami in the game, but the Hurricane offense was a different breed of bad and this is an ACC themed section (I realize I get the chance to write something like this every season if I want to) right now. Four interceptions thrown by Jacory Harris and just one drive over 20 yards that produced points from the Miami offense was about as awful as possible in this game.
4. Georgia Tech – Lost to Kansas who lost to FCS North Dakota St. last week (NDSU lost to Northern Iowa this week). While I know Josh Nesbitt is an option quarterback, he needs to at least threaten an occasional completion through the air. 5-15 after last weeks 1-6 performance is a major issues. For those who don't want to add it up, that is 6-21 over the first two games. Awful. And he doesn't even need to be good. Last season's completion percentage was in the 40s and it was more than good enough.
3. Florida St. - The Florida St. offense will be fine. Lets just realize they were steamrolled as soon as they realized they would need a touchdown on every single possession of the game... to still be playing now in the 400th overtime. Yes, the FSU defense is still that bad and Mark Stoops, while a good defensive coordinator, is not a miracle worker. Get ready for a lot of shootouts in Tallahassee this season.
2. Virginia Tech – James Madison. Really. And not only that, blowing a 10-0 lead. This is a sign of real trouble in Blacksburg this season. Even if looking ahead and even if not really executing all that well, a 10-0 lead with the talent advantage Virginia Tech has over any FCS school should mean curtains, but it wasn't. And here lays the carcass of the ACC, unless Clemson beats Auburn this week.
Now exiting the ACC portion of the countdown
1. Minnesota – So what could possibly be worse than the collective awful known as the ACC this week? Yes, the Gophers lost, but it was the circumstances and way they lost. No defense against South Dakota (after being lucky to escape Middle Tennessee and its backup quarterback last week) and a second lost to an FCS team in the last four seasons. Now, the guillotine awaits embattled coach Tim Brewster and USC comes to town this week.
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