{{Short description|Humorous list on ESPN}} [[Image:ESPN Bottom10.png|thumb|right|ESPN publishes the "Bottom 10" worst college football teams weekly during the regular season.]]
The '''Bottom 10''' (officially, '''ESPN.com's Bottom 10''') is a week-by-week regular season "ranking" of the worst ten college football teams in the NCAA Division I FBS.<ref name="Sportzedge">{{cite web|url=http://sportzedge.com/2014/10/08/uconn-football-takes-dubious-place-in-espns-bottom-ten/|publisher=SportsEdge.com (LIN Television Corporation)|title=UConn football takes rightful place in ESPN's Bottom Ten|first=Kels|last=Dayton|date=October 8, 2014|accessdate=November 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119074111/http://sportzedge.com/2014/10/08/uconn-football-takes-dubious-place-in-espns-bottom-ten/|archive-date=2015-11-19|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://media.www.ntdaily.com/media/storage/paper877/news/2006/09/08/Sports/Nt.Among.Leagues.Worst-2262736.shtml NT Daily News]{{Dead link|date=May 2011}} "NT among league's worst" by Michael Neglia, September 8, 2006</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/461124-college-football-rankings-the-bottom-ten-teams-in-week-two|publisher=Bleacher Report|access-date=November 23, 2015|title=College Football Rankings: The Bottom Ten Teams In Week Two|first=Anna|last=Luciano|date=September 13, 2010}}</ref> ESPN.com writer Ryan McGee currently writes the column each week and is the sole determiner of the teams that are listed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/dailybreak/tulsa-golden-hurricane-make-espn-s-bottom-again/article_74e3e1ea-55d7-52ce-a5e7-af79fed18174.html|publisher=Tulsa World|date=October 22, 2014|title=Tulsa Golden Hurricane make ESPN's Bottom 10 again|accessdate=November 18, 2015}}</ref>
One of the running gags of the Bottom 10 is the "highly coveted Number 5 spot." This spot is typically reserved for "the top FBS blunder of the week" – a normally strong football team that found itself on the wrong end of an upset the prior week; an example would be the Bottom 10 of September 7, 2011, which featured Oregon State at the #5 ranking after its upset loss to Sacramento State, a Division I FCS program that had previously never beaten an FBS team in its history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/bottom10110907/looking-local-ymca-reinforcements-bottom-10|title=Looking to the local YMCA for reinforcements -- Bottom 10|work=ESPN.com|access-date=3 November 2015}}</ref> Occasionally, the Number 5 spot can be used for other aspects relating to the game, as occurred on two consecutive weeks in 2015. On October 13, "Monday" (that day) was Number 5 following three significant events: the firing of Steve Sarkisian as head coach at USC, the PED suspension of Florida starting quarterback Will Grier, and the unexpected retirement of South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/bottom10101315/made-rivalries-monday-meet-bottom-10 |title=The Breaking News! deluge comes after the Bottom 10 |first=Ryan |last=McGee |work=ESPN.com |date=October 13, 2015 |access-date=October 26, 2015}}</ref> One week later, the Number 5 spot was handed to "Digital Tough Guys from Michigan", referring to a number of putative Michigan fans who sent insulting tweets and death threats to Wolverines punter Blake O'Neill after his mishandling of a snap led to the game-winning touchdown for Michigan State in their October 18 game.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McGee |first1=Ryan |title=Bottom 10: Digital bullies from Michigan earn their spot |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/bottom10102015/digital-bullies-michigan-make-their-way-bottom-10 |website=ESPN |access-date=10 November 2021}}</ref>
The Bottom 10 uses alternate names to connote failure of the bottom 10 teams (ie UMess for UMass, UTEPid for UTEP).
The Bottom 10 also features the "Pillow Fight of the Week", which is usually a matchup between fellow Bottom 10 teams.
==The Bottom 10 in popular culture== The Bottom 10 rankings are occasionally referenced by other sportswriters when writing editorials about teams that the writers consider to be poor performers.<ref name="Sportzedge" /> One example of this can be found in the Stanford Review: "Stanford has consistently maintained the #2 spot on the ESPN "Bottom 10" rankings, only losing, or winning depending on your perspective, to equally hapless Duke."<ref>[http://www.stanfordreview.org/Archive/Volume_XXXVII/Issue_8/Features/features5.shtml Stanford Review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226032406/http://www.stanfordreview.org/Archive/Volume_XXXVII/Issue_8/Features/features5.shtml |date=2008-02-26 }} "Time for Harris to Go?", Stuart Baimel, December 1, 2006</ref>
==Original idea== The ''Chicago Tribune'' credits the idea to Los Angeles sportswriter Steve Harvey approximately 30 years before ESPN began using the term. On Sept 6, 1972, the ''Los Angeles Times'' introduced the Bottom 10 as follows: "This season ''The Times'' will keep football fans up to date on the bad as well as the good in football with (Steve) Harvey's irreverent feature, The Bottom 10."<ref>{{cite news|title=The Bottom Ten: Let's Hear It for the Losers|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California)|date=September 6, 1972|page=III-6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/164420931/?terms=steve%2Bharvey%2C%2Bbottom%2B10|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 30, 2017}}{{Open access}}</ref> ESPN now publishes the rankings "With apologies to Steve Harvey."<ref>[https://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?page=bottom100712 ESPN.com Bottom 10 Rankings] "Final Bottom 10 finds 2007's real McCoys", David Duffey, January 14, 2008</ref> In 2008, Harvey resumed his "Bottom 10" columns for college and NFL football in the ''Los Angeles Times''.<ref>Steve Harvey, [http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-bottom-ten24-2009sep24,0,5892463.story College Football - Bottom 10], ''Los Angeles Times'', September 24, 2009</ref>
==See also== * Futility Bowl
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings ESPN.com college football ranking index]
Category:College football rankings Category:ESPN