Plucked Eagles hit bottom of heap
So what if college officials have rejected proposals for a Bottom Ten Bowl game that would be played in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.?
Just Saturday, two winless non-powers collided in a matchup that was almost as good, or bad. The result, based on accounts from the few fans who admitted attending, was a well-earned 27-29 loss for the No. 1 Eastern Michigan Eagles (0-7) against No. 9 Ball State (1-7).
There’s more to come: No. 2 Western Kentucky (0-7) stumbles into No. 6 North Texas (1-6) in a game that figures to be so horrible it’s being played on Halloween.
Meanwhile, how about a Bottom Ten welcome to No. 20 Michigan State (4-4), a 13-15 loser to Iowa? The winning Hawkeyes took one more step toward what every college football fan should be dreading: a boring Trojans-Hawkeyes Rose Bowl match on New Year’s Day that will end in another USC rout.
| Wreck | W-L | Last loss | Next loss |
| 1. E. Michigan | 0-7 | 27-29, Ball State | Arkansas |
| 2. W. Kentucky | 0-7 | 24-62, Mid Tenn | North Texas |
| 3. Miami (O.) | 0-8 | 22-27, No. Illinois | Toledo |
| 4. Akron | 1-6 | 14-28, Syracuse | Northern Ill. |
| 5. New Mexico | 0-7 | 17-34, UNLV | |
6. North Texas
1-6
26-50, Troy-x
W. Kentucky
7. Rice
0-8
7-49, C. Florida
SMU
8. Florida Int.
1-6
10-27, Arkansas St.
La-Lafayette
9. Ball State
1-7
d. E. Mich., 29-27
Ohio (Ohio)
10. Illinois
1-6
14-24, Purdon’t
Michigan
11. San Jose State (1-5); 12. Washington State (1-6); 13. Colorado (2-5); 14. Utah State (2-5); 15. Vanderbilt (2-6); 16. Alabama Birmingham (2-5); 17. Hawaii (2-5); 18. Tulane (2-5); 19. Moved, left no forwarding address; 20. Michigan State (4-4).
x-Composed of USC’s fifth- and sixth-stringers.
Others not receiving votes: Texas at El Precision Paso, a 28-24 winner over Tulsa.
Rout of the week: Michigan (5-3) at Illinois (1-6).
Crummy game of the week (month/year): Western Kentucky (0-7) at North Texas (1-6).
Holy Toledo: Minnesota’s Goldy Gopher mascot allegedly mocked a Penn State player who was kneeling and praying before a recent game. But, wrote one YouTube viewer: “Did anyone … consider the possibility that the Gopher dude is a Christian himself and was simply joining in? It’s not like he’d be capable of wiping off the goofy Gopher grin and taking a more reverent expression …” Minnesota apologized.