Final Rankings 70-61: A List of Bowl Under Performers

This is the first block of ten in which every team made it to a bowl game. Tulane, Baylor, and Wake Forest all took care of business (technically TCU did to, but no one really wins a game that finished 10-7 with nine interceptions). The rest of this group didn't just lose, but put some sorry efforts together.

Previous Rankings: 130-121 120-111 110-101 100-91 90-81 80-71

70.)TCU (7-6, 89.6 WP, 42.8 LP)

The Horned Frogs entered the season ranked and even had a big showdown against Ohio State, but the Buckeyes revealed that they were not quite worthy of their rank. Maybe that was also showcased in their loss to Kansas, their first since 1997, that was oddly undone by Darius Anderson running into his lineman's backside and fumbling inside the Jayhawks 10 with just over a minute left.

They ended up putting things back together by winning three of four down the stretch to become bowl eligible. Unfortunately that bowl game featured the Horned Frogs throwing four interceptions and had just 28 yards through the air. Luckily, Cal doesn't have an offense either and they threw five picks to set up the game winning field goal in overtime for a 10-7 victory. Who said defense is dead?

Best Win: Iowa State

Worst Loss: Kansas

2017 Finish: 14

69.)Georgia Tech (7-6, 87.3 WP, 40.3 LP)

The Yellow Jackets had their ups and downs throughout Paul Johnson's final season as the coach of Georgia Tech. At one point they rattled off six wins in seven games including two where they scored over 60 points. Wins over Miami and Virginia helped get them bowl eligible before they were steamrolled by Georgia. The bowl game presented a decent opponent to send Johnson out a winner and hand the baton to Geoff Collins (at Temple in 2018). However, Minnesota had much different ideas and the Gophers raced past the Jackets in the Quick Lane Bowl 34-10.

With Collins taking over, the Georgia Tech offense will likely be welcomed to the 21st century as the option could go with Johnson out the door.

Best Win: Virginia

Worst Loss: Minnesota

2017 Finish: 83

68.)Tulane (7-6, 84.6 WP, 50.5 LP)

The Green Wave started the season off at a 2-5 mark and seemed destined to miss out on a bowl bid for the fourth year in a row. Then their conference schedule softened and they shocked USF to set up a must win in the last week. Willie Fritz elected to roll the dice and have Tulane go for two instead of settling for overtime with Navy. That bold choice paid off and got the Green Wave a spot in the Cure Bowl were they throttled fellow Louisiana natives the Ragin' Cajuns.

Best Win: USF

Worst Loss: SMU

2017 Finish: 90

67.)Baylor (7-6, 84.1 WP, 31.6 LP)

The Bears had one of the better turn arounds from 2017. Last year Baylor dropped bad games to Liberty and UTSA en rout to a 1-11 finish. This year they put up points and gave Texas a run for their money. With both teams entering at 5-6 and a bowl bid on the line, the Bears gave an impressive performance to eliminate rival Texas Tech from bowl contention.

Matt Rhule's squad put up one of the more exciting offensive performances in the bowl season. A back and forth affair with Vanderbilt ended with a 45-38 Baylor win in the Texas Bowl. They may still have a tough road ahead in the Big 12, but they should give a lot of teams fits with their offense.

Best Win: Oklahoma State

Worst Loss: TCU

2017 Finish: 127

66.)South Carolina (7-6, 83.6 WP, 30.2 LP)

The Gamecocks found themselves near the lower middle of the SEC barrel that usually breeds success out of conference. That proved to be true as they went 3-0 in non-conference play including the most pointless game played between them and Akron during championship week to essentially improve their bowl spot.

Maybe they would've been better not improving that spot as they faced a seething Virginia team that was looking to punish anyone for their disappointing loss to Virginia Tech. In a bowl season where SEC offenses reinvented themselves to rack up the points, South Carolina put up a goose egg in the 28-0 Belk Bowl loss to Virginia.

Best Win: Missouri

Worst Loss: Virginia

2017 Finsh: 30

65.)Wake Forest (7-6, 81.9 WP, 34 LP)

If someone told you they had Wake Forest figured out, they were lying. They escaped Tulane with an overtime win and played an electric game with Boston College where they came up just short. Then the kicker forgot to run on the field for a field goal attempt against Notre Dame and they put up only three points against Clemson. Needing a win in the final week against rival Duke, the Demon Deacons blasted the bowl bound Blue Devils 59-7.

They started the Birmingham Bowl off with a disastrous 28-10 deficit. From that point they outscored Memphis 27-6 to finish with a winning record. Another high note for Wake Forest is that 1,000 receiver Greg Dortch will return next season to hopefully lead a high powered offense in the ACC.

Best Win: NCST

Worst Loss: Florida State

2017 Finish: 40

64.)San Diego State (7-6, 79.9 WP, 55.5 LP)

The Aztecs jumped out to a 7-2 start with plenty of close games in the mix. Seven of their first nine games were decided by eight points or less including a shocking win over ranked Arizona State. Then the wheels came off starting with a stunning loss to UNLV to give the Rebels just their third win of the year. That followed with a loss to Fresno State and then to Hawai'i in overtime when the Aztecs failed to convert a two-point conversion.

Limping into the Frisco Bowl, San Diego State was shut out by Ohio, 27-0, to finish the season with four straight losses and five in their final six.

Best Win: Arizona State

Worst Loss: UNLV

2017 Finish: 24

63.)Miami (7-6, 76.6 WP, 50.8 LP)

There was a lot of buzz in Miami for the Hurricanes after they put up 10 wins in 2017, but that was tempered by a loss to LSU to start the season. Five straight wins had things buzzing again before Virginia, Boston College, Duke, and Georgia Tech all came away with victories. Miami finished with two wins going into the bowl season, but questions about the defense came up when it was announced that defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was leaving to take the Temple job.

With Diaz leaving and Mark Richt seemingly having lost control of the locker room, the Hurricanes were throttled by Wisconsin, 35-3, in the Pinstripe Bowl. Richt retired and Diaz shocked Temple by leaving without coaching a game and instead taking the Miami vacancy.

Best Win: Pitt

Worst Loss: Georgia Tech

2017 Finish: 18

62.)Cal (7-6, 74.3 WP, 65.8 LP)

One of the more painful experiences in college football this season was the quarterback play from the Cal Bears. In the 13 games, the Bears played four different quarterbacks who threw 16 touchdowns and 20 interceptions, including five picks in their 10-7 overtime loss to TCU in the Cheez-It Bowl.

They began the year 3-0 then lost three before picking up a huge win over Washington. Seven of their games featured 17 points or less, but the defense was a good as any in the country. Seven times that defense held opponents under 20 points including Washington State's high powered offense to 19, although the Bears only scored 13 in that game.

There's great potential for the Bears if they could just find a quarterback.

Best Win: Washington

Worst Loss: UCLA

2017 Finish: 85

61.)Arizona State (7-6, 72.3 WP, 37.8 LP

Herm Edwards first season in the college world was a good start. He got the signature wins over Michigan State, Utah, and USC, but also dropped games to San Diego State and Colorado. The season ended with a one point win over Arizona to keep the Wildcats from a bowl game. That bowl game featured their second loss to a Mountain West school when they lost 31-20 to conference champs, Fresno State.

A big bright spot for next season is the return of Eno Benjamin. He finished with over 1,600 yards rushing and had 16 touchdowns in his Sophomore campaign.

Best Win: Utah

Worst Loss: San Diego State

2017 Finish: 54