Who's #119?...

It's a valid question, considering that the nation's worst offensive team (Wyoming) beat San Diego State 35-10 last weekend: are the Aztecs the worst team in the Football Bowl Subdivision?

Well, let's look at the competition, by record:

0-8: Washington

1-8: SDSU, SMU, North Texas, Washington State

Every other FBS team has at least two wins, so let's say it's a five-team race for title of the "Worst Team in College Football."

Despite the fact they're winless, I have a soft spot for the Huskies, for two main reasons:

1) they lost Jake Locker for the season early in the season, and his absence completely altered the team's offensive outlook.

2) their nonconference schedule was seen as one of the toughest in the country.

Having said that, the Huskies are miserable, and if you want to call them the "worst," it's tough for me to argue.

Criteria are totally subjective, but in this 5-team comparison, I look at a few questions (in addition to the numbers and rankings):

Does the team at least do SOMETHING well? Does the team have individual standouts who are struggling with a subpar supporting cast? Has the team shown "flashes"? Has the team at least shown the ability to score, or has it been close to winning games it couldn't find a way to pull out?

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I am eliminating North Texas, since UNT is a top 30 passing team and top 50 offensive team, has the nation's number one receiver (receptions per game), and has scored 23 or more on four occasions. They won for the first time last weekend, beating Western Kentucky 51-40. That's good enough for me. But barely. These guys were getting blown out every week before last Saturday (granted, they had LSU, Tulsa and Kansas State on their schedule, too).

I am eliminating SMU, since the Mustangs are a top 15 passing team, they have the nation's number 3 receiver (receiving yards per game), and they've scored 27 or more on 5 occasion this season. They've had four losses by a touchdown or less.

That leaves Washington, Washington State and SDSU.

With Jake Locker, UW had lost two of its four games by a touchdown or less (Locker was hurt in the first half of the fourth game--a 35-28 loss to Stanford), and was averaging 20 points a game. Without him, the Huskies have lost every game by at least 21 points, and are averaging 8 points a game.

But personnel issues aside, the Huskies are still horrible. They are ranked 119th (out of 119 teams) in more categories than any other team in the FBS. Their average national ranking (17 NCAA categories) is 110th. That should be enough to secure the title, however...

Washington State beat Portland State (FCS) for the Cougars only win. In EVERY other game, WSU has been held to 17 points or fewer, and has been held to 3 points or fewer in four games (13 points in the last three games combined). Wazzu is ranked 103rd or worse in every offensive category, and 111th or worse in three of four defensive categories. Their average national ranking is 104th. But... their average margin of defeat is 46.4 points per game!!!!

For the record, San Diego State is not good. The Aztecs' only win came over Idaho. SDSU has been held to 10 points or fewer five times, but they have also lost three nailbiters (including one to Notre Dame, in a game the Aztecs should have won). They are ranked 118th in rushing, and 119th against the run. And again, the team that has still scored fewer points than any other team in the FBS (Wyoming) scored 35 and blew the Aztecs out last week.

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It's a close call, but while the Aztecs are bad, they're not bad enough. The "Worst Team in College Football"... in a photo finish with their cross-state brethren... has to be the Washington State Cougars.

But, as a kind reader notes, the November 22nd Apple Cup meeting between the Huskies and Cougars in Pullman should determine once and for all this year's most putrid pigskin practitioners.

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Random data:

BYU has won eight consecutive games decided by 7 points or fewer. In the first six games of the Bronco Mendenhall era decided by a touchdown or less, BYU was 1-5.

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A win versus San Diego State will set a new school record for consecutive home wins, with 18. It will mark the first time ever BYU has gone undefeated at home in three consecutive seasons.

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The game at CSU was Max Hall's third with a pass efficiency rating of 200+. Ty Detmer and Steve Sarkisian share the school record, with six such games.

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In each of the last two games, BYU has had 4 scoring drives of 70 yards or longer.

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The NCAA only ranks active coaches with head coaching tenures of 5 years or longer. If you were to include all FBS head coaches who have coached at least as long as Bronco Mendenhall, he would stand 5th among active coaches in winning percentage:

Pete Carroll: .847

Urban Meyer: .819

Bob Stoops: .808

Mark Richt: .790

Bronco Mendenhall: .766

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Hoops note: the trade sending Allen Iverson to Detroit included the Pistons shipping center Cheikh Samb to Denver, leaving the Pistons with only two true big men on their roster-- 6'11" Kwame Brown and 6'11" Rasheed Wallace.

During the Pistons' recent summer league run, Samb played most of the minutes at center, while draft pick and former Cougar Trent Plaisted came off the bench. What this trade means for Plaisted is anyone's guess, but his Italian pro career is already on hiatus, as Trent has returned stateside to take care of some health issues.

Before leaving Italy, Plaisted played in two games for Serie A's Angelico Biella, playing a total of 31 minutes off the bench, with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 8 fouls.

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