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?

I know what you're saying. Do I really have to wait 30 days to see number 1? My answer...at least!

112. SMU Mustangs (1-11)-

Best Game-W 45-31 North Texas. June Jones is leaving a one-loss program, Hawaii, and wonderful weather to come to this? The good thing about one-loss teams is that it makes it easy to figure out their best game of the year. Part of the reason SMU is rated above other teams which won more than it did is because they were involved in quite a few close ones this season. Five of their games were lost by a touchdown and an extra point or less. Jones will be taking over a 10-game losing streak, which, when combined with his 1-game losing streak in Hawaii makes it an 11-game losing streak. Wait, that doesn’t make any sense. Will Jones now wear cowboy hats instead of Hawaiian shirts?

Worst Game-L 7-28 Southern Miss. SMU was just coming off of an inspiring 3-point loss to UTEP. Then they ran into a buzz saw known as the GOLDEN EAGLES OF SOUTHERN MISS. Now Southern Miss had just lost to Rice, the only Division 1-A team named for a food. This was the Mustangs chance to turn their season around and give their fan hope and meaning in his life. But, alas, due to complicated NCAA guidelines too complicated to explain, games must still be played on the field, even fields in Hattiesburg, Miss. After spotting the Golden Eagles a 28-0 lead, SMU started launching its comeback in the fourth quarter, but then one of those pesky NCAA rules about games only being 60 minutes ruined even that.

111. Kent State Golden Flashes (3-9)-

Best Game-W 33-25 Ohio. How many Division 1-A teams have the name Golden in their nicknames? And what the heck is a Golden Flash? Were there ever any portrayed on the Golden Girls? Would we have seen some at the Golden Globes had they not been cancelled? I don’t think they should have nixed the Globes just because no actors were going to be there. Sure, the ratings would have stunk, but I would have watched just to not have to hear actors spew political all over my newly cleaned TV screen. This is another youth soccer team name and I already used all of my jokes for that in my North Texas write-up.

Worst Game-L 14-24 Temple. Did you know at one point of the season Kent State was actually 3-2? Golden Flashes fans were already starting to save up for their bowl games tickets. Their problem was Ohio. Not the school (they beat them, see above) but the state. They scheduled five games in a row with teams from the Buckeye state, including the Buckeyes and lost four of those and their season was done. By the time they got to this game against the Owls, all they had left to play for was Kent State pride and really, how far can that carry you? Check out Golden Flashes quarterback Jon Brown’s line in the second half. He was 1-for-11 with four interceptions. Very Ryan Leaf-esque.

110. New Mexico State Aggies (4-9)-

Best Game-W 45-31 Idaho. Just like Kent State, there was a point in the season where New Mexico State was 3-2. They had pounded down juggernauts like Southeastern Louisiana and Arkansas-Pine Bluff which are schools just down the road from good schools like LSU and Arkansas. But unlike the Golden Flashes, the Aggies didn’t just fold like Hillary Clinton in Iowa. (Lame, I know, but since this blog is on Townhall.com, I’m legally obligated to throw in a Hillary Clinton dig. Not that it wasn’t fun.) No, when they fell to 3-4, they battled back against the 119^th-rated Vandals. Only then did they phone in the rest of the season. Hey, that’s the difference between 111 and 110.

Worst Game-L 17-51 San Jose State. Exhibit number one that the Aggies were just playing out the string. New Mexico State shouldn’t be losing by 34 points to the Spartans. Heck, no one should ever lose by 34 points to San Jose State. Heck, no one has ever lost by 34 points to San Jose State! This made the third victory for the Spartans over teams named Aggies. They beat Utah State and UC Davis also. There are only 120 Division 1-A teams (or 119 according to Sports Illustrated, I’ll talk about this later). Why do so many of the teams have the same nicknames. There are at least three Aggies and three Huskies. It’s like the CFL having two out of eight teams being named the Roughriders.

109. Temple Owls (4-8)-

Best Game-W 24-17 Miami (OH). Temple was rolling along as it usually does with all of the fire and passion of a Fred Thompson presidential campaign. (Townhall.com, we salute you!) Meaning that five games into the season, they were 0-5, having given up 30-or-more points four times. But something happened after that 21-37 loss to 113^th ranked Army. Was it Temple pride? Was it Owl anger? We may never know. What we do know is that Temple then won three games in a row for the first time since 1990, the third one being this powerful win against the RedHawks. And, yes, it’s true the Owls then lost three of four after this, but let’s celebrate the positive, shall we? Speaking of which…

Worst Game-L 7-42 Buffalo. Admittedly, losing to Buffalo 42-7 is pretty bad. But you know what else is bad. That one of the most celebrated sports web sites missed the fact that Western Kentucky became a Division 1-A team this season. Sports Illustrated ranked the college teams week-after-week, a daunting task to be sure, but only rated 119 of them. Why? Does it know something I don’t? Did one team drop out of Division 1-A when Western Kentucky entered in? Nope, because if you go through their rankings, Western Kentucky is nowhere to be found. What am I saying? I’m saying if you want to see the final rankings of 120, not 119, teams, you’re at the right place.

116. Duke Blue Devils (1-11)-

Best Game-W 20-14 Northwestern. And the Duke fans go crazy! This game ended a 22-game losing streak for the Blue Devils. But fear not. Duke is working on another 9-game losing streak. Maybe Northwestern just pitied the Blue Devils, remembering their own 34-game losing streak in the late seventies, early eighties. It’s still the longest in Division 1-A history,  Is having a Satanic name hurting the Blue Devils? Obviously not in basketball. And even in football, the Demon Deacons and Sun Devils did pretty well this season. Funny quote: "I hope this will be a springboard for us and we will understand what it feels like to win and the reward that goes along with hard work," Duke coach Ted Roof said.

Worst Game-L 7-28 Notre Dame. I remember someone on ESPN predicting Duke to win this game. Obviously, if there was a year the Blue Devils were going to beat the Fighting Irish, it was this year. And, indeed, with less than two minutes remaining in the game, the score was 0-0. If only Duke could have held for that last 32 minutes, they probably had a pretty good shot to win in overtime. Certainly, now former Duke coach Ted Roof thought so. "It's very disappointing," Duke coach Ted Roof said. "It's 0-0 and what did they get, 14 points in the last minute in the first half? You were talking about a one-play game that could go either way.”

115. Northern Illinois Huskies (2-10)-

Best Game-W 27-20 Kent State. This game followed their worst game of the season. (See below). It was also the last win for long-time Huskies Coach Joe Novak. The exciting part is that the new coach is named Jerry KILL! Which would also be my last name if I took out the middle four letters. That is a great, yet scary, last name for a head football coach. But he has the stats to back up his name, going 56-32 in seven seasons at Southern Illinois. I don’t know if there’s an Eastern Illinois or a Western Illinois, but they would seem to be next on the Kill tour. Wasn’t that the name of an Iron Maiden concert tour?

Worst Game-L 21-70 Toledo. There was a time when losing to Toledo wouldn’t have been such a shame. A time when the Rockets were among the mid-majors cream of the crop. This wasn’t one of those years. Toledo went 5-7. But they must really hate the Huskies, or just dogs or house pets. They had 812 yards of offense in this game. Two runners ran for over 100 yards, four for over 50. They scored 2 30-yard touchdowns, IN THE FIRST QUARTER!  They were ahead 42-0 with 9:09 left in the first half. No wonder the Huskies were so pumped up against Kent State. The Huskies only lost by 41 points to Wisconsin and they’re a good team. In Toledo’s defense, five of their seven losses were to bowl teams.

114. Baylor Bears (3-9).

Best Game-W 34-21 Buffalo. Unfortunately for Baylor, after this game they started their Big 12 schedule and they never got within 20 of another win. Yet at this point of the season, Baylor was actually 3-1, winning three straight. Fortunately for the Bulls, after this game they would start their Mid-American schedule and go 4-4 the rest of the year. In Baylor’s defense, seven of eight of the Big 12 teams to which they lost ended up winning bowl games. This was the stock market game, Bears against Bulls. Maybe Baylor winning this game sent the stocks tumbling. As a Nebraska fan, I’m glad for teams like Baylor in the Big 12, so my Huskers aren’t the worst team.

Worst Game-L 13-51 Kansas State. This is the one Big 12 team they lost to which didn’t make a bowl game and they still lost by 38. Usually when you lose this badly, you can be sure turnovers played a part. They did. Baylor turned over the ball seven times. Maybe Baylor should schedule Nebraska next year. My rating system adjusts for games played against tough teams, but it helps if you get close. After the win over Buffalo, the Bears only led in a game twice. Teams like this must feel the same way I do when my Slo-Pitch softball team gets mercied. “Oh, man, we’re down 13-1 in the first inning. I wish this game would just end so we could go home.”

113. Army Black Knights (3-9)-

Best Game-W 37-21 Temple. The good news. The surge is working! The bad news, some of the Army had to stay back in the states to play football. This game was the Black Knights’ first win over a Division 1-A school in over a year. Fortunately, Army didn’t have to rely too much on their offense. They had a punt return, a kickoff return and a recovered fumble for touchdowns. This was the start of a two-game winning streak, which preceded a six-game losing streak. Besides Army, there are three other independents in Division 1-A-Navy, Western Kentucky and Notre Dame . Who would’ve thought that it would have been Notre Dame that matched Army’s 3-9 record. Not me and I’m an expert.

Worst Game L 3-38 Navy. This game was on my birthday this year. It’s always on or around my birthday. It’s always a good show, good television viewing, as long as you don’t watch the game too closely. Except for Navy-Notre Dame, it’s usually the only time all year you ever see these two on TV. In the M*A*S*H episode entitled “The Army-Navy Game,” Navy ends up beating Army 42-36. That has never been the score of a Black Knights-Midshipmen match up. In 1951, Navy did beat Army 42-7. Before Navy’s current six-game winning streak, Army actually led this series, 49-46-7. Navy now leads 52-49-7. Future generations are going to wonder how teams tied, since they’re now verboten in college football.

120. Florida International Golden Panthers (1-11)-

Best Game-W 38-19 North Texas. It had been two years since the Golden Panthers last won a game, beating Middle Tennessee State 38-35 on Dec. 3, 2005. You have to give FIU credit, though, because all of the losses were to Division 1-A teams. (I’m sticking with Division 1-A. Easier to type.) They took on the big boys and paid for it. No wins in 2006. It looked like they were going to suffer a similar fate in 2007. Of course, if they were going to win, North Texas (2-9 at the time) was as good of chance as any. When Lionell Singleton returned a kickoff 84 yards to give the Golden Panthers a 14-13 lead, they never looked back.

Worst Game-L 23-55 Florida Atlantic. Yes, Florida Atlantic did win the New Orleans Bowl over Memphis. Still, they’re not the kind of team that should rough you up by 32 points. Only Penn State and Arkansas scored more than the Owls. The defense allowed 571 yards. Only Kansas, a team which went 12-1 garnered more. FAU averaged almost 10 yards a play. Need I go on? On the good side, this was the last of the Golden Panthers 23 losses in a row. They finished the year on a one-game winning streak. (See above.) Think about it, the Owls lost to Louisiana-Monroe and still beat FIU by 32 points. One last stat from the game: Three of Florida Atlantic’s scores were 40 yards or more.

119. Idaho Vandals (1-11)-

Best Game-W 20-13 Cal Poly. See, Florida International, this is why you schedule the lesser division teams. Against Division 1-A teams, the Vandals were 0-11. But against Division 1-AA schools, they were 1-0. That’s exciting! That’s something to put in the media guide. Phrase it skillfully. For instance, “Against teams it was supposed to defeat, Idaho came through every time.” Side note, Marcus Pedro, who played on the defensive line for the Vandals is the son of a friend of mine. He ended the year with three total tackles. That’s something that can be built on next year. Side note #2, Deonte Jackson, who ran for 214 yards, is from Hope, Arkansas, hometown of Bill Clinton and Mike Huckabee.

Worst Game-L 31-45 New Mexico State. The Aggies finished 4-9, but one of those sweet, sweet wins came against the Vandals. As mentioned above, Idaho made the costly mistake of schedule 11 games from their own division. They could’ve stuck with the weaker divisions. I believe there are two Cal Polys. Cal-State Fullerton no longer has a football team. That could have been a win by forfeit. Side note-Marcus Pedro played at Fullerton College. Heck, he could have probably arranged a game against Fullerton College. Side note #2-I used to cover Fullerton College sports for the Fullerton College Hornet. At one point, Idaho led this game 14-10. But a Kenneth Buckley touchdown reception and a 100-yard interception return by Davon House put New Mexico State ahead for good.

118. North Texas Mean Green (2-10)-

Best Game-W 31-21 Louisiana-Monroe. The team with a name only a soccer mom could love came to play against the Warhawks. (I’ll bet Michael Moore hates that name!) But enough about football, let’s get back to Mean Green. Were they named after Mean Joe Greene? Does a mom walk the sidelines in their games collecting a dollar for every score? Do they have punch and cookies after the game? Oh, yeah, the game! It was Todd Dodge’s first victory in Division 1-A. He came from coaching high school. And even he had to laugh at that name, didn’t he? This win kept their faint bowl hopes alive. Mean Green fans throughout the nation cheered wildly, waking up his neighbor.

Worst Game-L 19-38 Florida International. Even a high school coach could’ve motivated a team for this game, right? “Okay, boys, we’re 2-9, but we’re playing a team which hasn’t won since Britney Spears was sober. Let’s keep them winless! Mean Green (snicker) on two. MEAN! GREEN! RRRRRROOORRRR!” Oh, enough of this. Back to the soccer team jokes. Do they have a banner on the sidelines with all of their names on it? Are they required to play everyone on their team at least one quarter? That would be interesting if college football teams were required to do so. Some would say losing 79-10 to Oklahoma was a worse game. Write your own blog. Last one. Do the parents form a tunnel for the team after the game?

117. UAB Blazers (2-10)-

Best Game-W 26-21 Tulane. Unfortunately, if you don’t have “Trail” in front of Blazers, we have to assume you’re named after clothing. The only way someone would not notice the name Blazers is if you’re playing the Green Wave. This game is typical on how bad teams win. Dexter Barnett runs for 5 yards…and fumbles on the one-yard line. But Terence Edge is there for the Blazers to fall on the ball and save the day and the game. Not to mention, Matt Forte rushed for 209 yards against UAB. The Green Wave totaled 504 yards against the Blazers. Yet, in the end, it’s the score that counts and UAB won its second and, unfortunately, last game of the season.

Worst Game-L 9-25 Memphis. The wonderful kaleidoscope that is college football says, you don’t have to be a good team to go to a bowl game. Memphis proved this. (As did Florida Atlantic and…well, you get the point.) How did the mighty Tigers defense hold the Blazers to 9 points? The only time all year they’d even held anyone under 20 points was when they gave up 14 to Division 1-AA Jacksonville State. There’s an interesting story in regards to the fumbled run mentioned above. It kept the Blazers from having a rushing touchdown until this game, their 11^th game of the year. Brandon Thornton scored it on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter. Can you say Heisman?