Oh, Orange and Screaming Eagles, how far hath thou fallest.

108. Syracuse Orange (2-10)-

Best Game-W 20-12 Buffalo. It seems to me Syracuse used to be a good team in the not-so-distant past. Am I wrong? Nope, I just checked, I’m not. Even in the 2000s, Syracuse has made bowl games. What went wrong? Well, for one thing the Big East has gotten tougher. In the old days, playing Rutgers and South Florida wouldn’t have posed too much difficulty. For another thing, credit Syracuse for lining up a tough non-conference schedule. They scheduled two Big 10 teams, a Pac 10 team and, well, Buffalo. Louisville would have been their best game if Louisville was as good as they’ve been in the past. Syracuse’s win ended a two-game winning streak for Buffalo, their longest ever. (Just kidding.) (I think.)

Worst Game-L -0-35 Iowa. This game fooled people into thinking Iowa was a good team when it turned out Syracuse was just a bad one. The Orange had 1 yard of offense in the first half. They didn’t pick up their initial first down until the third quarter. See what they get for scheduling tough opponents. Surprisingly, the Hawkeyes led the turnover battle, 3-1. By the way, how long have I been sleeping? When did the Orangemen become the Orange? Is this another one of those politically correct decisions? Or is there, dare I say it, racism at hand here. I didn’t want to be the one to point this out, but there seems to be extreme anti-Oompa-Loompa bias in Syracuse.

107. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (3-9)-

Best Game-W 34-24 Middle Tennessee State. Okay, I have a new favorite nickname in Division 1-A schools. (For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with this fascinating blog, I know it’s Football Bowl Subdivision now and not Division 1-A, but like a first love, it will always be Division 1-A to me.) This win stopped a three-game losing streak for Louisiana-Lafayette, but one of those was against Tennessee. The Ragin’ Cajuns had two runners rush for 100 yards, QB Matt Desormeaux and Tyrell Fenroy. It’s good to write up some of these teams I’ve never heard of. (And neither have you, admit it.) It does seem to indicate that it’s hard to motivate players when the team has a goofy nickname.

Worst Game-L 21-52 Arkansas State. Now admittedly, the Ragin’ Cajuns defense was always pathetic. But allowing 52 points to Arkansas State? Really? The Indians (where’s the PC police now?) quarterback Corey Leonard set a school record with five touchdown passes. The team set a school record with 681 yards. Despite that, there was still a point in the game in which Louisiana-Lafayette only trailed 24-21. I’m looking on Yahoo Sports, where is where I’m getting most of my information and I see I have an opportunity to purchase a Lousiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns Red hoody. And there’s a part of me that is saying that would be so cool to own! What is wrong with me? Hmm, with a t-shirt, the combo goes for $34.95. Must….resist….

106. Rice Owls (3-9)-

Best Game-W 56-48 UTEP. As someone who types thousands of words, I appreciate teams like the Rice Owls. No matter whether I’m typing Rice or whether it’s Owls, it’s only four letters. Typing Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns almost gave me carpal tunnel. Rice allowed 30 or more points 10 of their 12 games, including this one. This looks like it would have been a fun game to watch. In the fourth quarter, the Owls were behind 48-28, but with that famous Owls chant of Hoo! Hoo the man! Rice caught on fire. Quarterback Chase Clement accounted for eight touchdowns, a Conference USA record. His six touchdown passes set a Rice record…pause….FOR A SEASON! (Just kidding.) I wouldn’t want that one fan hunting me down.

Worst Game-L 31-45 Tulane. Picture it. Rice is on a roll. No, no, we’re not in a Japanese restaurant. Okay, the Owls are on fire. No, no, this isn’t a U.S. Forest Service commercial. Anyway, Rice had won two games in a row, a school record. Not really, but those two wins brought that kind of pride to their fan in Houston. Now they have Tulane at home. Tulane is 3-7, Rice is 3-7. Bobby Frank Johnson of Houston is recording this game because history could be made. Rice could win their third in a row. And then it happens! The Owls have a 7-3 lead. Stop the presses, Houston Chronicle! Oh, and then Tulane pulls away and wins big. Fun while it lasted.

105. Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-11)-

Best Game-W 41-35 Miami (OH). Minnesota usually starts out strong in my rankings, usually due to a weak non-conference schedule, but not this year. It was Tim Brewster’s first win as a Golden Gopher coach and I’m sure it shocked him it was his last of the year. It was just a couple of years ago the Gophers were exciting to watch with Laurence Maroney, now one game away from the Super Bowl, running all over the place. Someday, they’ll win a national championship just like the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles coached by Hayden Fox. Man, that was a good team! Defensive genius Luther, another coach named Dauber whose job title escapes me. Quick games, too. 30 minutes tops.

Worst Game-L 21-27 North Dakota State. This might be unfair. North Dakota State did go 10-1 and then also pounded another Division 1-A team, Central Michigan. Minnesota would be a good choice to have a quick turnaround next season. Six of their 11 losses came by 7 points or less. This loss was the one that assured the Golden Gophers would not be in a bowl game for the first time since 2001. Brewster had an interesting quote after this game. "I've been to 16 bowl games as a player and as a coach, going to a bowl game does not excite me. Playing in a championship bowl game excites the heck out of me." Haven’t you heard the expression “Baby steps” dude?