Bottom 10 year in review: The best/worst moments of 2023
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Ryan McGee, ESPN Senior Writer
Bottom 10 inspirational thought of the week:
Time flies, messy as the mud on your truck tires
Now I’m missing your smile, hear me out
We could just ride around
And the road not taken looks real good now
And it always leads to you and my hometown …
We could call it even
Even though I’m leaving
And I’ll be yours for the weekend
‘Tis the damn season
— “‘Tis the Damn Season,” by Travis Kelce’s girlfriend
Here at Bottom 10 headquarters, located in an abandoned Houston warehouse packed with unsold Bluebonnet Bowl merchandise, we have spent the days since the end of the regular season and the beginning of bowl season contemplating, well, the season itself.
Last weekend we enjoyed Army-Navy and the various lower-level NCAA playoff games, but, like we were during Championship Week before it, we were like my dog after she buried all her toy bones in the yard and then immediately forgot where she’d hid them. Without our beloved Bottom 10 teams on the field, we were a dart without feathers. Lost.
Final standings were last week. In a shocking development, none of our teams made it into a conference championship game. #robbed https://t.co/1e5JwaZH7w
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) December 9, 2023
To counter such empty mid-December feelings — and, OK, yes, to give myself an excuse to say “sorry, I have to check my phone” at the neighborhood Christmas party to avoid talking to that guy in my cul-de-sac who went to Florida State — we have a procured a list of the most Bottom 10-ish moments and memories of the 2023 college football season. We hope you enjoy it. And we hope that Connor Stalions hasn’t already ruined it for you, because we’re pretty sure we saw a guy in a Central Michigan Chippewas hat with binoculars outside our window earlier.
With apologies to Taylor Swift, 1987 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl hero Brett Stafford and Steve Harvey, here are the Bottom 10 Moments and Other Stuff for 2023.
Bottom 10 Entrance of the Year, presented by Doors & More: Oklahoma, Week 13
No sooner had the Sooners hit the field for their season finale and all-time Big 12 finale against TCU than they accidentally reenacted the scene in “The Replacements” where Keanu Reeves & Co. fell out of the tunnel, though OU replaced the trip wire with a teammate’s head.
Illegal block below the waist! pic.twitter.com/LtDlrKXQ1z
— Devin Staton (@DevinStaton) November 24, 2023
Bottom 10 News Conference Convo of the Year, presented by MCI Calling Cards: James Franklin on throwing deep
In the days leading up to Penn State’s pseudo-bye week against Bottom 10 stalwart UMess, Nittany Lions coach James Franklin was asked a question about taking shots downfield. Franklin reacted as if he had just been told by Jigsaw that he would have to eat his own arm off in order to escape the room. He ended his “no”-filled response by adding, “I’m hoping we can cut this out so that it doesn’t get out into the universe.” In related news, Penn State ranked 73rd in the nation in yards per play.
Quite the scene from #PennState Football HC James Franklin’s press conference this week ☠️ pic.twitter.com/5NDvegIh4s
— Happy Valley Insider (@PennStateRivals) October 10, 2023
Bottom 10 Injury of the Year, presented by Goody’s Back & Body Pain Powders: Western Kentucky’s Bryson Washington
The WKU Hilltoppers were all up in the midst of a seesaw battle with Louisiana Tech when sixth-year linebacker Bryson Washington was involved in a huge tackle for loss. But during his stomp-footed celebration of the play, his right leg bent like my putter after missing a gimme 2-footer at the local muni course and then getting slammed into the green like Thor’s hammer. The bad news? Washington had to be helped off the field, and his crooked leg took over college football social media timelines. The good news? He returned later, recorded seven tackles and an interception, and won Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) October 6, 2023
Bottom 10 Field of the Year, presented by NBC’s “The Blacklist” starring James Spader: SUNY Morrisville
There were already college football fields of blue, grey, teal, and even red and purple. But NCAA Division III competitors SUNY Morrisville rolled out a new playing surface this season that is solid black. That would never work in the
Deep South, where in September such a surface would become one big skillet, but just down the road from Syracuse, the Mustangs have no such worries. Plus, it’s very slimming.
— Matt Rogers (@CoachRogers13) July 6, 2023
Bottom 10 Stunt of the Year, presented by Cirque du Soleil’s Bazaar: Garrett Shrader, Syracuse
Best I can tell, former St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith never did his signature backflip at old Yankee Stadium, but on Nov. 11, Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader did one in new Yankee Stadium as the Orange hosted Pitt. He had split out wide for an attempted halfback pass and apparently believed that the impromptu gymnastics routine would provide the kind of distraction the trick play would need to work. But not only did the cornerback assigned to defend Shrader not see the flip, the play was run on the opposite side of the field, a double pass that ended flat as running back LeQuint Allen caught a lateral and threw a very deep but very incomplete pass.
0:19
Syracuse QB backflips during team’s trick play
Syracuse runs a trick play, and quarterback Garrett Shrader does a backflip as a diversion.
Bottom 10 Other Stunt of the Year, presented by Sansabelt slacks: Iowa Cheer
Hey, at least Shrader kept his pants on …
Bottom 10 “Blind Side” of the Year, presented by the Memphis Lawyers Institute for Billable Hours: New Mexico State vs. Hugh Freeze
When Auburn and first-year coach Hugh Freeze were stunned on the Plains by a 31-10 loss to Bottom 10 legends-turned-Conference USA contenders New Mexico State, it marked only the second time in recent memory that a team went into a game as a 21-plus-point underdog but won by 21 points or more. The last time it happened? One year ago, when those same Aggies did the same thing at Liberty, which was coached by … Hugh Freeze.
2022 Hugh Freeze against New Mexico State and 2023 Hugh Freeze against New Mexico State pic.twitter.com/fEq7lHZCcH
— Jason Kirk (buy my novel) (@JasonKirk_fyi) November 18, 2023
Bottom 10 Uniform of the Year, presented by Pearl Jam’s “Black”: Florida Gators, Week 10
The Gators still own the distinction of having won our Bottom 10 All-Time Worst Uniforms title a few years back, via their duds that were supposed to resemble real gator skin but wound up looking like tree bark. There were no such distracting details in their military salute unis against Arkansas, which instead were solid black. Not orange. Not blue. Not even white. Black. At noon in central Florida. Those in the Swamp were having a difficult time deciding how they felt about the look. But when the Hogs were already up 14-0 after three minutes of play, Florida fans’ minds had gone to a place as dark as the threads on the field.
October 7th, the Miami Hurricanes wore their all black uniforms and lost to Georgia Tech.
November 4th, the Florida Gators wore their all black uniforms and lost to Arkansas.
Good thing Florida State didn’t wear an all black uniform this season
— Commander Sean (@FlSkinsFan4Life) November 4, 2023
Bottom 10 Game of the Year, presented by Timex: Georgia Tech at Miami, Week 6
As that tweeter — or X’er, whatever — had warned, black magic was very real in 2023. Just one month earlier, the Canes seemingly had Georgia Tech put away, up three points in the middle of Yellow Jacket territory as visiting Tech had no timeouts remaining (or maybe they did; there was some confusion about that too). That’s when Miami chose to run the ball instead of taking a knee and presumably ending the game with half a minute remaining, icing the win and successfully defending its No. 17 national ranking. But the Canes ran it. And fumbled it. And then Tech went 74 yards in four plays and 25 seconds. And then Miami lost. And then the nation lost it.
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Miami’s coaching blunder leads to epic Georgia Tech comeback
Miami’s choice to run the ball leads to a crucial fumble, which Georgia Tech recovers and later completes the miracle comeback.
Bottom 10 Exit of the Year, presented by your Uncle Lonnie and his Irish exit later this month after Christmas dinner: O possum, my possum
This mad marsupial being forced to exit Texas Tech’s game with TCU back on Week 10 will be us all in a few weeks as the 2023 college football season comes to a close. And if you think he’s cute, head to Lubbock, where this possum has become a full-on critter corporation, spawning T-shirts and signage wherever the Red Raiders teams show their teeth.
Possum being escorted off the field during the Texas Tech/TCU game ? pic.twitter.com/z2v7RBSTYu
— Dallas Texas TV (@DallasTexasTV) November 3, 2023
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Adam Rittenberg
BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado coach Deion Sanders said he feels “healthy and vibrant” after returning to the field for preseason practices after undergoing surgery to remove his bladder after a cancerous tumor was found.
Sanders, 57, said he has been walking at least a mile around campus following Colorado’s practices, which began last week. He was away from the team for the late spring and early summer following the surgery in May. Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of urological oncology at University of Colorado Cancer Center, said July 30 that Sanders, who lost about 25 pounds during his recovery, is “cured of cancer.”
“I’m healthy, I’m vibrant, I’m my old self,” Sanders said. “I’m loving life right now. I’m trying my best to live to the fullest, considering what transpired.”
Sanders credited Colorado’s assistant coaches and support staff for overseeing the program during his absence. The Pro Football Hall of Famer enters his third season as Buffaloes coach this fall.
“They’ve given me tremendous comfort,” Sanders said. “I never had to call 100 times and check on the house, because I felt like the house is going to be OK. That’s why you try your best to hire correct, so you don’t have to check on the house night and day. They did a good job, especially strength and conditioning.”
Colorado improved from four to nine wins in Sanders’ second season, but the team loses Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, the No. 2 pick in April’s NFL draft, as well as record-setting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the son of Deion Sanders. The Buffaloes have an influx of new players, including quarterbacks Kaidon Salter and Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis, who are competing for the starting job, as well as new staff members such as Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, who is coaching the Buffaloes’ running backs.
Despite the changes and his own health challenges, Deion Sanders expects Colorado to continue ascending. The Buffaloes open the season Aug. 29 when they host Georgia Tech.
“The next phase is we’re going to win differently, but we’re going to win,” Sanders said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be the Hail Mary’s at the end of the game, but it’s going to be hell during the game, because we want to be physical and we want to run the heck out of the football.”
Sanders said it will feel “a little weird, a little strange” to not be coaching Shedeur when the quarterback starts his first NFL preseason game for the Cleveland Browns on Friday night at Carolina. Deion Sanders said he and Shedeur had spoken several times Friday morning. Despite being projected as a top quarterback in the draft, Shedeur Sanders fell to the fifth round.
“A lot of people are approaching it like a preseason game, he’s approaching like a game, and that’s how he’s always approached everything, to prepare and approach it like this is it,” Deion Sanders said. “He’s thankful and appreciative of the opportunity. He don’t get covered in, you know, all the rhetoric in the media.
“Some of the stuff is just ignorant. Some of it is really adolescent, he far surpasses that, and I can’t wait to see him play.”
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Adam Rittenberg
LSU starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier aggravated the patellar tendinitis he has been dealing with in his knee but will not miss any significant time, coach Brian Kelly said Friday.
Kelly dropped in ahead of a news conference Friday with offensive coordinator Joe Sloan to tell reporters that Nussmeier did not suffer a severe knee injury or even a new one. According to Kelly, Nussmeier has chronic tendinitis in his knee and “probably just planted the wrong way” during Wednesday’s practice.
Nussmeier ranked fifth nationally in passing yards (4,052) last season, his first as LSU’s starter, and projects as an NFL first-round draft pick in 2026.
“It’s not torn, there’s no fraying, there’s none of that,” Kelly said. “This is preexisting. … There’s nothing to really see on film with it, but it pissed it off. He aggravated it a little bit, but he’s good to go.”
Kelly said Nussmeier’s injury ranks 1.5 out of 10 in terms of severity. Asked whether it’s the right or left knee, Kelly said he didn’t know, adding, “It’s not a serious injury. Guys are dealing with tendinitis virtually every day in life.”
LSU opens the season Aug. 30 at Clemson.
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