Inspirational considered the week:
(Cole Trickle drives his mangled Chevy Lumina into the pit stall)
Buck Bretherton: “Nicely, how about that? One thing we do not have to repair!”
(Crew chief Harry Hogge walks over and kicks a dent into the aspect of the automotive Bretherton is )
Harry Hogge: “I do not need you to get spoiled, Buck.”
— “Days of Thunder”
Right here at Backside 10 Headquarters, positioned behind the footlocker on the “Faculty GameDay” bus the place Nick Saban retains his secret stash of “Anchor Down” Vanderbilt soccer attire, we’re starting to fret that maybe these of you who go to these rankings, as the children say, “on the common” is perhaps like those that benefited from Saban’s time in Tuscaloosa. You are getting just a little spoiled.
Simply two weeks in the past, we had an all-time majestically meh Pillow Combat of the Week of the Yr Mega Bowl matchup between UMess and State of Kent, winners of numerous the newest Backside 10 titles. (We tried to lookup precisely what number of, however somebody spilled Yoo-hoo on the archival floppy disk.) Then, this previous week, we had the Sam Houston Bearkats kutting it up with UTEPid. Now the stage is about for a 3rd consecutive PFOWY, as Georgia State Not Southern hosts the South Alabama Redundancies. And, as you’ll learn within the phrases forward, that is simply the tip of a season-sinking iceberg of not-big video games coming, because the spotter on the Titanic shouted approach too late, “Proper forward!”
So, for all of the speak about Energy Autonomous Haughty 4 convention realignment, in-conference scheduling, CFP committee résumé studying and the headliner showdowns that all the above appear to convey with them, how about some props for a similar occurring down right here with us? And by props, I completely imply rubber chickens, whoopee cushions and a kind of Groucho Marx plastic-nose-on-the-glasses issues.
With apologies to former Wichita State broad receiver Mike Proppe, former Drake tight finish Hal Proppe, USC DB Prophet Brown and Steve Harvey, listed below are the post-Week 8 Backside 10 rankings.
The Minuetmen continued their Backtion in #MACtion schedule, taking part in a former fellow Backside 10 anchor, the Buffalo Bulls Not Payments. With 59 seconds remaining, the Amherst Amblers hauled in an interception that appeared to ice a 21-20 win. Because the ESPN Analytics Ouija board mentioned that they had a 90.9% probability of victory, UMass gamers proceeded to demonstratively wave goodbye and do fake snow angels in celebration, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. After a three-and-out adopted by a punt, the Minuetmen surrendered a four-play, 50-yard, 22-second TD drive to lose within the closing seconds, their lead turning out to be as actual as that snow.
The dangerous information? The Bearkats misplaced the Pillow Combat of the Week of the Yr Episode II: Assault of the Groans to UTEPid 35-17. The excellent news? If they do not inform anybody it occurred, nobody is prone to ever know, as a result of the gang they performed in entrance of was so small it might have saved time within the pregame to have had the PA announcer introduce the folks within the stands to the beginning lineups as an alternative of the beginning lineups to the folks within the stands.
Official attendance for Sam Houston vs. UTEP : 671
Smallest crowd in SHSU historical past https://t.co/rnNmBetqfQ
— UTEPnews (@theUTEPnews) October 16, 2025
What a stretch for the Beavs. They lastly gained a recreation, beating the Lafayette Leopards, present leaders of the Patriot League. After per week versus the Fightin’ Bye of Open Date U, they are going to play the primary of their in-season home-and-home double function in opposition to Washington State, with whom they’re presently tied for first within the 2Pac. Then they host Sam Houston State within the Pillow Combat of the Week of the Yr Episode IV: A New Dope.
The Minors gained their second recreation of the season, however their boat stays mired within the Backside 4 as a result of Pillow Combat victories over different groups within the Backside 4 include trophies made from lead. Plus, that pickax of theirs is all the time by accident punching holes within the boat.
Ah, the rites of autumn. You’ll be able to set your clock to their inevitability. The cool dip of the night temperatures. The altering colours of the leaves. Suburban mothers mainlining pumpkin spice. The Miami Hurricanes interrupting their newest “We’re again!” marketing campaign with a midseason loss that lands them within the Coveted Fifth Spot. And the followers of these Canes not understanding what the Coveted Fifth Spot is although they’re right here yearly and thus elevate Cane by filling my social media timelines with strings of cuss phrases stronger than Cuban espresso.
The Woof Pack retains dropping shut video games, the most recent being their two-point defeat on the paws of New Mexico. However you recognize what they are saying. Shut solely counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. And atomic bomb checks, which occurred about 300 miles east of Reno. Feels fairly near us.
Very like we must always all hold a protected distance between ourselves and atomic bomb testing, the Blew Raiders have a built-in buffer between Murfreesboro and the Backside 5 within the type of Novada, whom they edged by the closest of margins, 14-13 approach again in Week 3. However their Nov. 22 go to from Sam Houston does have the makings of a potential boundary-smashing Pillow Combat of the Week of the Yr Episode VII: The Farce Awakens.
In the meantime, the Pillow Combat of the Week of the Yr Y’all Version was gained by Georgia Southern Not State over Georgia State Not Southern. I made a joke final week that the loser must change their identify from GSU to GUS however was angrily knowledgeable that this recreation already has a GUS within the type of the Georgia Southern Eagles mascot named, sure, Gus. The nastiest letter I acquired wasn’t signed, nevertheless it was lined in white feathers.
Our second-favorite purple, white and blue group named USA returns to those rankings simply in time for its matchup with Georgia State Not Southern, a gathering of the last-place groups in every division of the Enjoyable Belt, aka the Pillow Combat of the Week of the Yr Episode V: The Empire Seems to be Wack.
In my thoughts I can see this one resident of Massachusetts who had his coronary heart damaged by the Pink Sox to begin the MLB postseason … so he determined to go to the UConn-Boston Faculty recreation to clear his head, solely to look at the Eagles get run over by the Artist Previously Recognized As U-Cannot … however then had the thought, “Hey, I could make it out to Amherst for the second half!” and began waving bye with 0:59 remaining when he thought UMass was going to win and watched the Minuetmen blow it … so, when he lastly received dwelling to Southie, and after his canine bit him, he made himself really feel higher by opening a six-pack of Sam Adams and occurring the brand new ESPN App to look at the replay of Invoice Belichick’s Tar Holes dropping to Cal by fumbling the ball on the aim line late within the fourth quarter.
Ready checklist: Northern Unwell-ugh-noise, State of Kent, EMU Emus, Oklahoma State No Pokes, Charlotte 1-and-6ers, Wisconsin Unhealthy-gers, Akronmonious, UNC Chapel Invoice, the USC-Notre Dame sequence ending.