Decade Rankings 100-76: A Cumulative Look Back at How Teams Fared From 2010-19

Previous Rankings: 131-101

This portion of the list has some of the biggest drop offs from the previous decade. Cal (-31) Bowling Green (-32), Hawai'i (-37), Tennessee (-39), Texas Tech (-40), and Boston College (-46) all took huge steps back in the last ten years. Meanwhile, SMU (+16.6), Buffalo (+17.5), FIU (+24.9), and Army (+27.3) all saw a positive change over the years.

Here's the list:

100.)Ball State (Average Rank: 82.2, Previous Decade: 76.3)
The Cardinals had two winning seasons from 2012-13, but haven't won more than five games since those two campaigns.

99.)Buffalo (AR: 81.6, PD: 99.1)
Since Turner Gill left in 2009, the Bulls have had just two winning seasons. They made an appearance in the MAC Championship in 2018, but lost 30-29 in a comeback win by Northern Illinois.

98.)North Texas (AR: 81.5, PD: 83.2)
Much like the previous decade, it was feast or famine in Denton. The Mean Green went to four bowl games throughout the decade, but there was also a 1-11 finish in 2015.

97.)Hawai'i (AR: 81.5, PD, 44.4)
The Rainbow Warriors appeared in six bowl games and even made it the Sugar Bowl in the early 2000's. The Norm Chow era from 2012-15 dismantled all that progress as they went 11-39 and had people asking if Hawai'i should drop football. Nick Rolovich has since led the Warriors to three bowl games in his first four seasons.

96.)Vanderbilt (AR: 81.4, PD: 95.3)
The Commodores began the decade on a roll under James Franklin who led them to a 24-15 record from 2011-13 that included two Top 25 appearances. Derek Mason hasn't been able to duplicate that success as even their two bowl seasons resulted in 6-7 finishes. The seat is hot in Nashville in 2020.

95.)Iowa State (AR: 80.9, PD: 69.3)
The Cyclones have made five bowls during the 2010's and have made a habit of being a defensive thorn in the high powered offenses of the Big 12 under Matt Campbell. They end up this far down because of a rough patch from 2013-16 when they went 11-37.

94.)Bowling Green (AR: 80.3, PD: 48.5)
The Falcons four bowl appearances also matches the number of coaches they've had in the same time frame. Dave Clawson left for Wake Forest, while Dino Babers jetted off to Syracuse leaving BGSU with the Mike Jinks years (9-27).

93.)Virginia (AR: 79.9, PD: 57.9)
The Cavaliers appeared in just one bowl game under Mike London from 2010-15, but have gone to three straight under Bronco Mendenhall. They also beat Virginia Tech for the first time since 2003 and made their first ever ACC Championship Game, both coming in 2019.

92.)ECU (AR: 79.8, PD: 65.5)
The Pirates made a bowl game in four of the first five years of the decade, but have since managed no more than five wins in any given season. They lost back-to-back season openers in 2017 and 2018 to FCS schools (James Madison and NC A&T).

91.)Cal (AR: 78.9, PD: 47.9)
The Bears were a PAC-12 doormat in the first eight years as they made only two bowl games. Those lean times included a 1-11 season in 2013, but Justin Wilcox has led Cal to back-to-back bowl games to close out the decade.

90.)Colorado State (AR: 78.3, PD: 63.1)
After three straight losing seasons, the Rams erupted for five straight bowl appearances from 2013-17. Then things returned back to the beginning of the decade and CSU won just seven of their 24 contests and the Mike Bobo era came to a close. Former Boston College coach Steve Addazio will lead the Rams in 2020.

89.)Wyoming (AR: 78.1, PD: 86.1)
The Cowboys had two very different halves of the decade. The first half saw only one bowl appearance while Craig Bohl has led Wyoming to three bowls in the last four years and was 6-6 in the season he missed out. Wyoming also produced a rare first round draft pick in quarterback Josh Allen.

88.)Wake Forest (AR: 78.1, PD: 62.6)
The Demon Deacons began as ACC doormats from 2010-15 making just one bowl game and finishing with a losing record in all six seasons. The final four seasons have all resulted in bowl appearances with Wake Forest currently boasting a three-game bowl winning streak.

87.)Army (AR: 77.8, PD: 27.3)
The Black Knights are one of the bigger success stories in the later part of the decade. Army took Oklahoma and Michigan to overtime in the past two seasons and had won three straight prior to this seasons loss to Navy, who had won the previous 14 meetings. They also claimed the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy in back-to-back seasons in 2017-18 and it was the first time they won the trophy since 1996. Army also made four bowl appearances in the decade and by comparison, they made just four bowls total from 1980-2009.

86.)Arkansas (AR: 77.8, PD: 51.9)
People in Madison are still getting big laughs from Bret Bielema's decision to leave the steady Wisconsin for Arkansas. The Razorbacks were 29-34 under his guidance with three bowl appearances, but what they would give to have that kind of success back. His replacement, Chad Morris, went 4-18 before being fired in under two seasons. Morris will be remembered as the coach who lost to Colorado State, San Jose State, Western Kentucky, and North Texas. They barely escaped Portland State (FCS) in a 20-13 win to begin this season.

85.)FIU (AR: 77.5, PD: 102.4)
The Panthers were most known in the previous decade for their all-out brawl with their inner city rival Miami. They capped this decade by actually beating the Hurricanes on the scoreboard for the program's biggest win. Mario Cristobal built up the program by leading them to their first two bowl games in school history and know Butch Davis has kept that success going, as FIU is set to play in their third-straight bowl game.

84.)SMU (AR: 77.2, PD: 93.8)
The Mustangs were running under June Jones to start the decade as they made three straight bowls, but then they fell into a rut where they won just 13 games in four seasons. In 2019, SMU finished with ten wins for the first time since 1984 when they played in Southwest Conference.

83.)Central Michigan (AR: 76.6, PD: 65.9)
The Chippewa's were blessed with some great talent in the 2000's, but couldn't replicate their success during this decade. That's not to say they were bums as they made six bowls, but didn't record a single double digit win season compared to the two they posted previously. They went 38-17 (2006-09) to close out the previous decade compared to their 39-49 record to start the decade (2010-16).

82.)Syracuse (AR: 75.8, PD: 79.9)
The Orange went 4-0 in their bowl games during the decade and had their best year in 2018 when they went 10-3 and were ranked as high as No. 12. That season was the only winning season posted by Dino Babers in his four years so far.

81.)Kentucky (AR: 75.6, PD: 75.3)
The Wildcats maintained their status from decade to decade, but did accomplish some milestones in this half. Kentucky won 10 games in 2018 for the first time since 1977 and that included a win over Florida, something they hadn't done since 1986. Lynn Bowden Jr. began this season on the Biletnikoff watchlist, but was forced to make the switch from receiver to quarterback due to injuries. All he did was win the Paul Hornung Award for most versatile player, and was named a 1st Team All-American. He set the SEC record for rushing yards by a QB with 284 in the season finale against rival Louisville.

80.)Boston College (AR: 74.2, PD:28.6)
The Eagles miss the days of Matt Ryan and a decade in which they made a bowl game in all ten years. That streak was finally snapped in 2011, but the Eagles still managed to make appearances in six bowl games. A.J. Dillon (pictured) was the breakout star of the decade with 4,382 yards rushing in three seasons while scoring 40 all-purpose touchdowns. Former Ohio State Co-Defensive Coordinator, Jeff Hafley, will lead BC in 2020.

79.)Tennessee (AR: 73.8, PD: 34.9)
In the 2000's the Volunteers had four seasons with 10+ wins and were contenders for the BCS throughout the decade, but after the Lane Kiffin debacle in 2009, they were never quite the same. Tennessee made five bowl appearances, but also had six losing seasons including their worst season since 1909 when they finished 4-8 in 2017. Their four consecutive losing seasons to start the decade was the first time they posted four straight losing seasons since they did so from 1903-06.

78.)Ole Miss (AR: 73.2, PD: 59.7)
After a decade of Eli Manning and Michael Oher, the Rebels settled for controversy in the 2010's. Hugh Freeze got the program a two-year bowl ban after Ole Miss was hit with charges of academic and recruiting violations to go along with his penchant of using university phones to call escort services.
One of his recruits, Laremy Tunsil, had his draft stock in 2016 drop from the projected No. 1 pick overall to No. 13 after a social media post came out on draft day showing him smoking a bong through a gas mask.
Finally, on a much lesser scale, the Rebels had a chance to tie Mississippi State in this year's Egg Bowl, but receiver Elijah Moore celebrated his touchdown by getting on all fours and lifting his leg like a peeing dog, which led to an unsportsmanlike penalty, that pushed back the extra point, that was ultimately missed.
I also would be remiss if I didn't point out that they had two mascot changes. In 2010, a bear mascot began roaming the sidelines after he was chosen to replace Colonel Reb, who was proven to be too racist even for Mississippi standards back in 2003, when he was retired. Not satisfied with this decision, the student body chose a new mascot in the form of a Landshark, to go along with the celebration used by Ole Miss athletes in big moments.

Oh gosh, how could I forget, Lane Kiffin is back in the SEC and will be the Rebels head coach in 2020.

77.)Texas Tech (AR: 73.1, PD: 33.3)
The Red Raiders were the epitome of mediocrity in the 2010's after a decade that featured one of the most iconic moments from that era. Under Tommy Tuberville, Kliff Kingsbury, and Matt Wells, Texas Tech never finished with more than eight wins in any given season. They've also posted losing seasons in six of the last seven years. Somehow, Kingsbury failed up and after being fired by Texas Tech, was hired to be the Arizona Cardinals head coach, where he is currently leading a mediocre team.

76.)UAB (AR: 72.5, PD: 76.2)
What a wild ride for the Blazers. UAB announced in 2014 that it was dropping football all together, which was unfortunate, because they finally became bowl eligible for the first time since 2004. Their untimely death was not long lived as they were right back in Conference USA to start the 2017 season. In what can only be a storybook ending, the Blazers had their best season at the FBS level and went to a bowl game in the first year back. They were crushed by Ohio in the Bahamas, but hey it was a start. UAB bounced back and not only won Conference USA, but won their first ever bowl game in 2018 to go along with a historic 11-3 finish. Bill Clark is an amazing 34-18 and what's more impressive is his dedication to the program. Clark was a first year coach for UAB in 2014 when they shut things down and came back to pick up where he started.