October 3, 2005

Can anyone run the table?

It's that time of year. The know-it-alls pontificate about which offense is the most potent, about who is the Heisman Front Runner, and what squad is the team to beat this season. But there are more pressing issues in College Football. Namely, can any squad muster up enough foul performances to pull off an 0-fer in '05? Seven Prime Candidates still remain in the hunt.

Army - Shouldn't these guys get a gimmie on this one? Army is the current NCAA Division I-A leader in consecutive losses, sharing that lead with fellow list of shame member, Rice. Both schools have a 9 game losing streak going. The Black Knights have been close twice this season, both Big 12 foes - losing to Baylor 10-20 and Iowa State 21-28. Army is bad across the board. 100th overall in Rushing offense. 100th overall in Total offense. The only bright spot comes with a 42nd overall ranking in total defense, which offers some hope that Army could be on the sunny side of the scoreboard before the season is out.
Looking Ahead: Possible wins could come at Central Michigan (10/08), Division I-AA UMass (11/12) & Arkansas State (11/19). And of course, anything goes when it comes to the rivalry game against Navy (12/03).

Ball State - BSU has been badly damaged by scandal, turning an already meek football team into a complete pushover. They may be the most likely candidate the run the table. The Cardinals rank at or just above the bottom in every major team category. 113th in total offense. 116th in total defense. Bowling Green was the only team that has allowed Ball State to get into the end zone, and they've been shut out twice so far.
Looking Ahead: Any of the directional Michigan’s could succumb, but neither of the three are a pushover and have piled up the points against other, stronger MAC opponents. The other three Ohio Schools on their schedule are all having up years and Northern Illinois is always tough. It'll take a yeoman's effort to catch someone off guard or looking ahead for Ball State to eek out a win or two this season.

Buffalo - Second to last in total offense. Dead last in points scored. It took Buffalo ten quarters to put points on the board this season and four weeks to even put up a fight. Things are pretty bad this year for the Bulls. In all likelihood, Buffalo could be turning it around. All three touchdowns the team has scored this season came in the 4th quarter against Western Michigan. Maybe that run continues and they upend Akron this weekend or Bowling Green next weekend, both home games for the Bulls. Or maybe coach Jim Hofher is thinking that his fifth dismal season in a row will net him another contract?
Looking Ahead: If the 4th quarter of last weekend is a window into the future, then half of their remaining schedule looks like a possible win. However, if the Buffalo squad of the other 15 quarters of 2005 shows up, then possibly only Eastern Michigan at home to close out the season.

Florida Atlantic - The Owls have given two low level teams (Kansas, La-Monroe) a run for their money so far this year, and it stands to reason that at some point, they just might break thru.
Looking Ahead: Nov. 26 at home against Florida International should be circled on their calendars as a must win. La-Lafayette (10/08), Middle Tennessee St. (10/15) and Arkansas State (10/22) also could be within reach.

New Mexico State - It's a good thing Pistol Pete isn't around to see this. The Aggies lost their matchup last Saturday against fellow winless WAC member Louisiana Tech. NMSU has a successful passing attack, and that is evident by 42nd ranked passing attack averaging 242 yards per game. Every other aspect of the game, however, is suspect.
Looking Ahead: With Hal Mumme's passing attack, there are several weak teams that the Aggies could overcome, particularly Idaho (10/29), San Jose State (11/19) & Utah State (11/26).

Rice - The Owls triple option attack has always been adept, as Rice always ranks near the top of the NCAA for rushing, year in and year out. However, just like the rest of the teams on this list, one positive facet is heavily outweighed by terrible performances in every other aspect of the game. Rice ranks dead last in Total defense, a football dead weight if there ever was one.
Looking Ahead: East Carolina (10/08) & SMU (11/05) are both having down years.

Temple - 70, 65, 63, 42. The points allowed so far by Temple this year has not been pretty in any way. The Owls rank no higher than 87th in every major stat category. Maybe it's just a bad season to be an Owl, with three of schools who have Owls as their mascot on this list.
Looking Ahead: If the output so far has been bad, it's not going to get any easier in the coming weeks. The only easy game, if you want to call it that, is the season finale against Navy (11/19). In fact, I'd rank Temple second behind Ball State as the most likely of putting up a zero win season in 2005.

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