Tennessee v Florida
Getty Images

If this isn't rock bottom for Florida, then it's coming on Saturday. The Gators just lost at home to Tennessee for the first time since 2003, and they didn't even put up a fight, falling behind 31-0 in the first half. If Florida doesn't bring a significantly better effort against Florida State to close the season, it will finish with fewer than four victories for the first time since going 0-10 in 1979.

To make matters worse, the Gators are believed to be running third in the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes as they seek their fifth head coach since Urban Meyer's run ended after the 2010 season. Between Meyer (2005-2010) and Steve Spurrier (1990-2001), this program flew among the sport's elite for the better part of two decades. It's been a rough 15 years since Meyer's departure. 

No coach has lasted more than four years without getting fired, and this will go down as Florida's sixth losing season in the past 13 years. If there's any consolation for the Gators, it's that Florida State is similarly miserable. If the Seminoles don't beat Florida, it will mark the fourth time in six seasons under coach Mike Norvell that they've failed to reach a bowl.

But only one of them is in the Bottom 25 as they prepare to meet Saturday to cap off what's been a miserable campaign for both. The Gators aren't just bad. It looks like they've quit.

This year's Bottom 25 formula has been tweaked to ensure fair representation from across the sport. Each of the Power Four leagues gets an automatic bid to the Bottom 25 each week, and a total of 10 Power Four schools must be represented.

Bottom 25 Rankings

^ Joined Bottom 25 this week

Interim coach island

Life on interim coach island is a roller-coaster. One day, you're on a three-game winning streak and are the toast of college football. The next, you've dropped four straight by an average of 32.3 points. That's the situation for UCLA and Tim Skipper as the Bruins head into a rivalry game against USC as a three-touchdown underdog. Hey, it could be worse. You could be Florida. The Gators are 0-4 under interim coach Billy Gonzales and look like a team with two feet in the transfer portal.

25. UCLA^
24. Air Force^
23. Virginia Tech (24)
22. Florida (23)
21. UAB^

Orange singing the blues

Syracuse's 70-7 loss at Notre Dame was the program's worst defeat since 1893. But when you're starting a walk-on from the lacrosse team at quarterback, what can you really expect? Here's how inept Syracuse was: Notre Dame built a 21-0 lead without even running an offensive play. The Orange have dropped seven straight -- all by double digits -- since an injury to quarterback Steve Angeli.

20. Colorado (21)
19. Nevada (14)
18. Michigan State (20)
17. Purdue (17)
16. Syracuse (22)

Bad as a motorcycle wreck

Bobby Petrino's stint as Arkansas' interim coach has been an on-field sequel to his famous motorcycle wreck. He was supposed to provide a spark after taking over following a 2-3 start and potentially even earn the full-time job. Instead, the Razorbacks are sinking toward a Chad Morris level of incompetence. Barring an upset of Missouri this week, the Razorbacks are going to finish 2-10 like they did under Morris in 2018 and 2019. Without a victory on Saturday, this program will have suffered through three winless SEC campaigns in an eight-year span. Yikes.

15. Bowling Green (16)
14. San Jose State (13)
13. Northern Illinois (12)
12. Louisiana-Monroe (11)
11. Arkansas (1)

Battle for the ACC cellar

Saturday's Boston College vs. Syracuse game is a high-stakes showdown to determine once and for all who the ACC's worst team is in 2025. The Eagles have held a firm lead in that debate all season, but Syracuse is making an impressive late push with levels of wholesale ineptitude that are almost hard to fathom. Boston College's only win is against Fordham, but 'Cuse is so bad that the Eagles are somehow road favorites.

10. UTEP (9)
9. Boston College (8)
8. Colorado State (7)
7. Middle Tennessee (5)
6. Sam Houston (15)

Minutemen's final stand

It all comes down to Tuesday night for UMass. The Minutemen have produced some putrid seasons during their 14 years at the FBS level, but they've never gone winless in a non-COVID season (they were 0-4 in 2020). That will change if they don't beat Bowling Green to close the year. The Falcons are 14.5-point road favorites, which is pretty wild since they are Bottom 25 team themselves and riding a five-game losing streak.

5. Oregon State (6)
4. Charlotte (4)
3. Georgia State (3)
2. Oklahoma State (2)
1. UMass (1)