Four wins, three fired coaches, and plenty of Power 5 bottom feeders fill up the final of the dreaded bottom 100 rankings. Granted there are not 100 teams in the bottom 100, but for conference power index purposes anyone rated 100 or fewer counts against the strength of a conference. The number of teams ranked below 100 is going to grow by two teams next season and potentially 12 teams by 2025 if I get my wish.
Here's a look at the list of those who couldn't escape the abysmal triple-digit rankings:
110. Central Michigan (4-8, 108.3 WP, 67.4 LP)
Prediction and Preseason Rankings: 7-5 (72)
Last Year Rank: 33
Recap: The Chippewas went into the final two weeks with a chance to become bowl eligible, win the Michigan-MAC Trophy, and ruin the seasons of their in-state rivals. Then a blizzard hit Mt. Pleasant and stifled the CMU offense to give WMU a 12-10 victory. Still, they could upend EMU's bid for a share of the MAC West, but instead were doubled up and sent home losing their final two games. A lack of consistent quarterback play was the biggest issue for Jim McElwain's bunch.
109. Texas State (4-8, 96.8, 66.4)
PR: 2-10 (123)
LYR: 99
Recap: The Jake Spavital era is over in San Marcos after four straight losing seasons. The Bobcats jumped out to a 3-3 start but collapsed with just one win in their final six games. They had several close calls with four losses being decided by one score. They did get a big win over Appalachian State.
108. Rutgers (4-8, 94.3, 47)
PR: 3-9 (80)
LYR: 96
Recap: The Scarlet Knights began the season with three straight wins and even carried four wins into their match-up with the Wolverines, who they smothered in the first half. Like every other team this year, Rutgers watch Michigan run away in the second half, and subsequently, that marked the end of the season for the Knights. New Jersey's only FBS team ended the year on a five-game losing streak and finished dead last in the Big Ten East.
107. Cal (4-8, 93, 52.3)
PR: 5-7 (77)
LYR: 91
Recap: The hot seat for Justin Wilcox might be getting warmed up in 2023 after a third-straight losing season. The Bears got off to a 3-1 start, but things went south when they were the lone victory for the Colorado Buffaloes. That overtime loss was one of five games that saw the Bears fall short by 7 points or less.
106. Louisiana Monroe (4-8, 92.5, 57.1)
PR: 3-9 (122)
LYR: 97
Recap: Things haven't quite been going as they might have hoped in Monroe. The Warhawks knew they would take some lumps early with Texas and Alabama on the schedule, but then came four more losses that put them at 2-6. They rallied with back-to-back wins by a total of four points but then were blown out by two bowl-bound teams to end their season.
105. Iowa State (4-8, 88.3, 33.5)
PR: 7-5 (47)
LYR: 56
Recap: The Cyclones came out of the gates strong with three-straight wins, including a 10-7 slugfest over Iowa to win the CyHawk Trophy. Then came the losses, five straight to be precise. The first four of those defeats came by a total of 14 points. They snapped that streak with a win over West Virginia but lost two more close contests to drop out of bowl contention. He shouldn't be, but college football is so fickle these days that Matt Campbell could be on the hot seat.
104. Indiana (4-8, 83.8, 47)
PR: 2-10 (97)
LYR: 122
Recap: The Hoosiers season exceeded my expectations when they survived Western Kentucky in overtime to earn three-straight wins to start the season. Their first win came against Illinois and for a while, was the lone defeat for the Illini. Then Luke Fickell got his practice beating down on Big Ten bottom feeders when Cincinnati routed IU to start a seven-game losing streak. They snapped that when they stunned Michigan State in double overtime and nearly followed it up with a win against Purdue, but they had their momentum deflated when quarterback Dexter Williams went down with a non-contact injury.
103. Georgia State (4-8, 75.8, 62.9)
PR: 7-5 (79)
LYR: 45
Recap: I really had higher hopes for the Panthers, but then they rolled out four straight losses to open the season and put my prediction in jeopardy. They got back on track with four wins in five games but were derailed by, of all teams, Louisiana Monroe. For good measure, they closed out with a two-point loss to James Madison and a five-point loss to Marshall. This is the first losing season for the Panthers since 2018.
102. Navy (4-8, 67.8, 74.4)
PR: 2-10 (112)
LYR: 98
Recap: The Midshipmen were doomed from the get-go as they lost 14-7 to Delaware (FCS) to open their season. More losses came, including a three-point loss to Air Force to ensure they wouldn't win the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy. They did get a nice win over UCF and were up late against Army in their biggest game of the year, but then the Black Knights rallied back and won in double overtime. Shortly after the game, Ken Niumatalolo was fired after 15 seasons as the head coach. Navy will now look to capture the success of their recent hires as Niumatalolo and Paul Johnson were the only two coaches from 2002-2022.
101. Nebraska (4-8, 67.3, 47.6)
PR: 6-6 (81)
LYR: 111
Recap: What an utter disaster 2022 was for Nebraska and that's saying a lot considering what they've been through in the Scott Frost era. It started across the pond with a loss to Northwestern in Dublin, Ireland, the only win the Wildcats would get all year. A win over North Dakota (FCS) briefly staved off Frost's firing, but that came the following week when the Cornhuskers lost to another Sun Belt school during his tenure, this time Georgia Southern. Frost was immediately let go and Mickey Joseph became the first African-American head coach at Nebraska. That tenure began with a shellacking at the hands of Oklahoma, but then back-to-back wins in the Big Ten got them to a 3-3 record. Then the losses piled up and Joseph watched his opportunity to stay on go down the drail (he also ruined that chance when he was arrested for assault at the end of the year). To the Cornhuskers' credit, they didn't go down without a fight and made sure that Iowa wouldn't win the Big Ten West when they dropped the Hawkeyes 24-17. After being fired by the Carolina Panthers, Matt Rhule became available and accepted the head coaching job for a Nebraska team that is itching to get back to relevance.
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