Bottom 10: Without Kansas, it’s the point of no return
Inspirational thought of the week:
You’re not in Kansas anymore
Can’t be too careful that’s for sure
City lights will lead you on
Morning comes and they’ll be gone
So, write my number on your wall
And call me anytime at all
I’m so happy now, boy
You’re not in Kansas anymore
— “You’re Not in Kansas Anymore” Jo Dee Messina
Here at Bottom 10 Headquarters, located in the safe where Mike Leach keeps the $10,000 per kid he offered for them to elope and none took it, we have spent this first week of October watching and rewatching “The Wizard of Oz” while simultaneously listening to “Dust in the Wind” and sniffing a sunflower while also gnawing on a barbecue rib.
Why? Because after spending so many years of watching bad football played in a stadium as barren as the Great Plains that surround it, now the entire college football world is migrating to Lawrence, Kansas, to see the 5-0, 19th-ranked Artists Formerly Known as the Kansas Nayhawks … and we aren’t invited.
I mean, you’d think College GameDay would at least call and ask us to sit with the Bear and provide some perspective gleaned from remaining dedicated to keeping tabs on a team that won 23 games over the dozen seasons before this one, right? A team that was as much a part of these rankings as Pillow Fights of the Week, the Coveted Fifth Spot and making fun of Randy Edsall. A program that was so bad for so long that we have annually included former head coach Charlie Weis on our Bottom 10 Playoff Selection Committee.
You really think Rece Davis has spent as much time watching Kansas over the past decade? OK, that’s a bad example. Rece watches every game and knows every player’s name and where they grew up and what their parents do for a living … but you get the point here, don’t you?
Though we may not be invited, we will be watching from afar. Like a dad on that pivotal day of high school when his child first turns to him and says, “Just drop me off at the corner and I’ll walk from there. I’m a cool kid now and I don’t want you to embarrass me.”
OK, Big Jay, have fun eating lunch at the middle table in the cafeteria with the cheerleaders and lettermen. Just know that when you inevitably snort milk through your beak when you laugh or trip over your own claws or fail to cover against the TCU Horned Frogs, the Plastics will once again turn on you. And we’ll be waiting around the corner, the ones in the repossessed U-Haul truck with bald tires, Kansas plates and the “2008 Insight Bowl Champions” bumper sticker.
With apologies to Paul Rudd, Mandy Patinkin and L. Frank Baum, here’s our post-Week 6 Bottom 10 rankings.
1. Colora-duh (0-5)
The Buffs take over the top spot, running past their instate rivals faster than Ralphie now sprints back to his trailer asking to get the hell out of Boulder and go back to his barn. Why? Because they fired not just the head coach, but the defensive coordinator as well. The interim head coach is offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, whom we all remember as the guy who led the Western Kentucky Hillstoppers to a spot in these rankings in 2018. Mike Sanford is actually Mike Sanford Jr., son of Mike Sanford, who coached unLv to multiple Bottom 10 rankings in the mid-2000’s. That whole paragraph reads better if you go back and read it aloud while also playing the theme from “Sanford and Son.”
2. Colora-duh State (0-4)
The Rams followed up their stunning Week 4 loss to Sacramento State with an even more shocking 21-3 loss to Open Date.
3. Huh-Why?-Yuh (1-4)
The Warriors managed to escape their own defeat against the Fightin’ Byes of Open Date U., but only because the visitors fell asleep on the beach.
4. Fres-No State (1-4)
How does a team jump/fall from the trailing edge of the Bottom 10 Waiting List all the way to No. 4? By losing on the road at UCan’t after being favored to defeat the Huskies by 23 points, that’s how. So, it takes over this spot that was occupied by Connecticut one week ago and UConn — wait … did UConn leave the Bottom 10 and move onto the Waiting List? That’s even more depressing than the whole Kansas thing!
5. The 13th Man (3-2)
Jimbo Fisher is slated to make $90 million over the next 10 years. In related news, $90 million was also the reported production budget for 2019’s movie version of “Cats.”
6. UMess (1-4)
The Minutemen fell to a former Bottom 10 regular, the Eastern Michigan University Emus. Over the remainder of the season, UMess will run through a banana peel gauntlet of current Bottom 10 contenders from Whew Mexico State and Arkansaw State to UCan’t and … oh looky there on Nov. 19 … it’s Texas A&M! Meanwhile, EMU faces Western Michigan before hosting…
7. Northern Ill-ugh-noise (1-4)
The Other Huskies were upset by Baller State in a clash of then-1-3 teams, the first act of a two-act Pillow Fight of the Week #MACtion Double Feature. Now everything that transpires in the MAC feels like a muddy trudge to a regular season finale that is sure to put the “thanks” in Thanksgiving, a Nov. 26 visit from…
8. Akronmonious (1-4)
The Zips lost by three at home to fellow 1-3 MAC daddy Boiling Green. Now they play Ohio Not Ohio State, which has won 13 of the past 14 against Akron. Oddly, Akron and Ohio don’t have any sort of rivalry trophy, despite being in the same state, only three hours apart. Akron and Kent State have the Wagon Wheel. Maybe Ohio and Akron should have the Wheelhouse, as in, “Here at Ohio, beating Akron is always in our Wheelhouse.”
9. Charlotte 1-and-5ers
It could be worse. They could be Charlotte’s other football team, the Carolina Panthers.
10. Whew Mexico State (1-4)
The Other Aggies made a statement by beating Hawai’i and leaving the top bottom spot in these rankings. But then they made another statement by losing to Bottom 10 Waiting Listers FI(not A)U at home. What kind of statement will they make this weekend when they play no one? Because you could make a pretty good argument that they already played no one over the past two weeks and they still only hit .500.
Waiting List: U-Can’t, US(not C)F, Georgia State Not Southern, Arizona Skate, Strandford, FI(notA)U, Utah State Other Other Aggies, Lose-iana Tech, firing a guy who had you in the Rose Bowl like 10 minutes ago.
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Greg Wyshynski
ELMONT, N.Y. — The Colorado Avalanche entered Thursday night’s game at the New York Islanders as a juggernaut, having lost just once in regulation in 26 games. Islanders coach Patrick Roy’s message to his team before that game: “If there’s a team that could surprise them, it’s us and the way we’ve been playing.”
St. Patrick was prophetic: Roy’s team defeated the mighty Avalanche 6-3 to snap Colorado’s 17-game point streak in a statement win for the Islanders (15-10-3).
The Islanders built a 4-0 lead against Colorado and responded every time the Avalanche crept back into the game. That included a late third-period penalty kill, as the Avalanche pulled goalie Mackenzie Blackwood for a 6-on-4 advantage. Forward Casey Cizikas iced the win with an empty-netter.
“That’s a really good hockey team over there,” Cizikas said. “They’ve proved it all season. They’re never out of a game, so you’ve got to complete it.”
Even after the loss, Colorado remained the NHL’s top team in points percentage (.815), goal differential (plus-47), offense (4.04 goals per game) and defense (2.19 goals against per game). The Avalanche have the NHL’s leading scorer in center Nathan MacKinnon (46 points) and the leading scorer among defenseman in Cale Makar (33 points).
But Islanders forward Mathew Barzal said New York’s 4-1 loss in Denver on Nov. 16 gave his teammates confidence they could hang with the NHL’s best.
“We feel like when we played them in Colorado, we probably should have won,” said Barzal, who had a goal and two assists in the win. “As a group, too, we know who we’re playing and that always makes a difference. Against Colorado, if we don’t show up, it could be ugly.”
The Islanders showed up on the scoresheet at 5:56 in the first period, on a controversial goal by forward Kyle MacLean. His shot sailed into the top corner of the net with Blackwood (36 saves) flat on the ice. Replays showed that after a scramble in the crease, the stick of Islanders center Marc Gatcomb had become wedged in Blackwood’s pads as Blackwood attempted to defend the net.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar challenged the goal. The NHL Situation Room cited Rule 69.7 in upholding the goal, which states that “in a rebound situation, or where a goalkeeper and attacking player(s) are simultaneously attempting to play a loose puck, whether inside or outside the crease, incidental contact with the goalkeeper will be permitted, and any goal that is scored as a result thereof will be allowed.”
Bednar disagreed with that assessment.
“Listen, I think goalie interference is a joke. If that’s not goalie interference, I don’t know what is. You can’t just shove the goalie’s pads out of the way to create a loose puck,” said Bednar. “I’m not going to challenge unless it’s obvious. And I thought that was obvious.”
On the other end of the ice, Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin was great when he needed to be in making 35 saves against the high-octane Avalanche. Roy cited one save in the second period where Sorokin stopped Artturi Lehkonen on a 2-on-1 before Barzal increased their lead to 5-2 with a power-play goal.
“I think that gave us the confidence. Ilya made the key save at the right time,” said the coach.
The Islanders’ win over the Avalanche came on a poignant night at UBS Arena for the players. Their fathers and mentors were in attendance, ahead of their road trip to Florida. The game also marked the return of former Islanders star Brock Nelson, who was sent to Colorado at last season’s trade deadline. He received a standing ovation from Islanders fans after a video tribute.
It was just the second loss for the Avalanche (19-2-6) in the past 14 games.
“It’s closer than you think, but it still wasn’t good enough,” Bednar said. “We’ll refocus on the things that we need to do to make us successful.”
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