End-of-season Bottom 10: Stacking up the best of the worst
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Ryan McGee, ESPN Senior Writer
Inspirational thought of the week:
So this is me swallowing my pride
Standing in front of you, saying, “I’m sorry for that night”
And I go back to December all the time
It turns out freedom ain’t nothing but missing you
Wishing I’d realized what I had when you were mine
I’d go back to December, turn around and make it alright
I go back to December all the time
— Taylor Swift, “Back to December”
Here at Bottom 10 Headquarters, located behind the giant industrial fans used to cool the massive warehouse of computer servers that store Pete Thamel’s contact list, we come once again to Championship Weekend, which means it’s time for us at the Bottom 10 to make like the head coach of a college football team named the Owls and get the hell out of town.
But before we commenced with our annual Scotch-Irish exit out the side door that sets off the fire alarm, we assembled our Bottom 10 Selection Committee to help sort out the final rankings. When we shouted into the air “Bottom 10, assemble!” we were immediately joined by our usual list of longtime esteemed colleagues that includes me, my dad, Captain Morgan (aka my stepdad), former LSU coach Ed Orgeron, current Northwest Oklahoma defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville and Ed “Straight Arrow” Gennero, the man who joined forces with Sinbad and Supervisory Special Agent Dwayne Cassius Pride to save the Texas State Armadillos from the death penalty.
Bo Pelini served on the committee one year ago but never showed up this time around, so we replaced him with Mack Brown, who immediately tried to cast five votes for North Carolina. For the second consecutive season, we also invited Jimbo Fisher but were told that he was too busy racing Rich Rod and Anthony Becht in kayaks up the Monongahela River toward Morgantown.
As per usual, we were told by the posh Gaylord Texan, where the hoity-toity College Football Playoff people hang out, that there was no room at the inn. So we hotwired an RV from a nearby Buc-ee’s and parked it behind an abandoned Dickey’s BBQ adjacent to the Gaylord, so close that it allowed Coach O to irritate Mike Riley and Gary Pinkel by aiming a laser pointer at them through the conference room blinds.
One more sleep until the final #Bottom10 rankings of 2024. It’s crowded in here, but the Bottom 10 Selection Committee is used to cramped quarters…and potpourri spray. pic.twitter.com/0TD6NaTpVU
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) December 3, 2024
And once again we leaned on our Bottom 10 FPI formula. No, not the ESPN Football Power Index, but rather the Faux Pas Index.
Because everyone loves math, here’s how it works. Teams receive one point for each win, minus one point for each loss, minus one point for each loss of their longest losing streak of the year, plus a minus-10 bonus if that longest losing streak is currently active. We also subtract the number of points they have surrendered on the season from the number of points they scored, subtract or add points based on their season turnover margin and subtract their weakness of schedule (WoS) ranking. If a team fired its head coach, that earned a 50-point subtraction, aka the Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus.
Divide all of that by the number of games played, and there’s your Bottom 10 FPI score. See? Simple as pie. A Shaker lemon cherry rhubarb strawberry walnut pecan quiche with lattice crust and cranberry-pear cookie crumble topping.
So, with apologies to Tulsa lineman Ender Aguilar, former Toledo Rocket Alex Enders, former Wisconsin kicker Andrew Endicott and Steve Harvey, here are the season-ending Bottom 10 rankings for 2024.
Wins: +0
Losses: -12
Longest losing streak: -12 (current -10)
Point differential: -362 (167 for, 529 against)
Turnover margin: -9
WoS: -46
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: N/A
Total: -451
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -37.58
Nick Saban’s alma mater successfully defended its 2023 Bottom 10 title by finishing the season as the nation’s only 12-loss team. Saban also lost 12 games … over his last nine years at Alabama.
Wins: +1
Losses: -11
Longest losing streak: -19 (current -10)
Point differential: -202 (117 for, 319 against)
Turnover margin: -19
WoS: -110
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: -50
Total: -420
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -35
The Molden Eagles nearly swooped in for the Bottom 10 upset as Kent’s season finished early with some midweek #MACtion and Southern Miss played one more game, a 10th straight loss, the nation’s third-longest active losing streak. They did so by surrendering 21 points in less than two minutes to season-long Bottom 10 Wait Lister Troy Bolton State. The bad news is all of the above. The good news is that Brett Favre has already filed the paperwork to see if the season qualifies for disaster relief so he can use the funds to buy the team the gold-plated private plane used in the movie “Richie Rich.”
Wins: +3
Losses: -9
Longest losing streak: -4 (current -10)
Point differential: -210 (300 for, 510 against)
Turnover margin: -7
WoS: -133
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: -50
Total: -420
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -35
In other gold-covered natural disaster news, the Golden Hurricane didn’t just lose their last four games, they lost them by surrendering 59, 38, 63 and 63 points, including three games against EC-Yew, You A Bee? and FA(not I)U, all of whom spent large chunks of time in the Bottom 10 this season.
Wins: +1
Losses: -11
Longest losing streak: -11 (current -10)
Point differential: -290 (189 for, 479 against)
Turnover margin: -14
WoS: -6
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: -50
Total: -391
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -32.58
The Buttermakers churn into winter riding the nation’s second-longest losing streak, their only 2024 win coming in Week 1 against the Indiana State Sycamores. In their defense, they did play the nation’s sixth-toughest schedule, according to our ESPN Analytics Ouija board of truth. Also in their defense, Sycamores are tough to chop down, so they were pretty tired.
Ryan Day is 66-10 at Ohio State, but 1-4 against Michigan. On the flip side, Jim Harbaugh at Michigan was 0-5 against Ohio State before winning his last three. On the flip side of that, Harbaugh also had that guy named after a bunch of horses stealing signs for him. On the flip side of that, I’ve tried to watch that Netflix documentary about that guy like five times but keep turning it off because I can’t see that sign-stealing guy as the sort of sympathetic genius that he wants me to. On the flip side of that, Ohio State fans are having a hard time seeing Day as a sympathetic genius, either.
Wins: +2
Losses: -10
Longest losing streak: -6
Point differential: -176 (198 for, 374 against)
Turnover margin: -6
WoS: -132
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: -50
Total: -378
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -31.5
Who outlasted all Owl-based FBS programs this season? Kennesaw, that’s who. That’s who also beat out the Rice Owls, FA(not)U Owls and Temple of Doom Owls, all of who-m fired their head owls this season. But who fired their coach, who then showed up to hoot it with his former pigskin parliament the next weekend anyway? These Owls, that’s who.
Wins: +3
Losses: -9
Longest losing streak: -5
Point differential: -176 (259 for, 435 against)
Turnover margin: -13
WoS: -108
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: N/A
Total: -308
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -25.67
The Other Aggies had climbed out of the Bottom 10 like Bruce Wayne from that deep-hole prison in that movie where no one could understand what the bad guy was saying and appeared to be in the clear after outdueling fellow CUSA scrambler Muddled Tennessee State two weekends ago. But then they dropped the season’s final Pillow Fight of the Week, literally, with two fumbles that were returned for two UTEPid touchdowns. It was a finale fight almost as badly choreographed as that same movie’s finale fight between Batman and Bane.
Wins: +2
Losses: -10
Longest losing streak: -4 (current -10)
Point differential: -156 (270 for, 426 against)
Turnover margin: -1
WoS: -74
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: -50
Total: -303
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -25.25
The Minuet-men employed the same battle tactics they employed at Bunker Hill, waiting until they saw the whites of their enemies’ eyes. Unfortunately, in football that means you’ve already been run over.
Wins: +2
Losses: -10
Longest losing streak: -6
Point differential: -151 (185 for, 336 against)
Turnover margin: -16
WoS: -11
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: N/A
Total: -192
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -16
The Semi-No’s spent their entire offseason in court desperately trying to prove they had no business playing football in the ACC. Then they spent the entire season proving beyond a shadow of doubt that, no, they certainly didn’t.
Wins: +3
Losses: -9
Longest losing streak: -9 (current -10)
Point differential: -101 (326 for, 427 against)
Turnover margin: -8
WoS: -35
Randy Edsall Fired Coach Bonus: N/A
Total: -169
Games played: 12
Final Bottom 10 Faux Pas Index: -14.08
Back in July, the Fightin’ Gundys were picked by many to be spending this weekend playing in the Big 12 championship game. Instead, they went 0-9 in the conference and ended the season with the nation’s fourth-longest losing streak. It’s enough to make someone declare that they are a man and they are 40, even after a season like this one, when they looked 90.
Waiting list: Miss Sus Hippie State, FI(not A)U, FA(not I)U, Temple of Doom, Baller State, Georgia State Not Southern, Why OMG?, UTEPid, Muddled Tennessee State, treating flag planting like a TikTok trend.
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
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