😡 CFB Bottom 10: NC State had a really bad day

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  Ryan McGeeSep 23, 2026, 09:30 AM ET

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  • Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com
  • 2-time Sports Emmy winner
  • 2010, 2014 NMPA Writer of the Year

Inspirational thought of the week:

"You can't go back home to your family, back home to your childhood ... back home to a young man's dreams of glory and of fame ... back home to places in the country, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting, but which are changing all the time -- back home to the escapes of Time and Memory."

-- "You Can't Go Home Again" by Thomas Wolfe

Here at Bottom 10 Headquarters, located in the industrial-sized clothes dryer used to the dry out the perspiration-saturated suits we wore in the 110 degree heat of Oxford for last weekend's "Marty & McGee" from Ole Miss, it was during that visit that I found myself in a moment of reflection. Sure, some of that was me peering down into a puddle of my own sweat, but really it was about the idea of going back. I recalled the seminal work of my fellow North Carolinian scribe Thomas Wolfe, who wrote the novel "You Can't Go Home Again" about a former local hero who returned home after a lifetime of fortune and fame, only to find that the people who helped him get there were seething angry because of what he had written about them after he left.

Sound familiar? It sure did as I stood on a balcony overlooking the Square on the morning of the Ole Miss-LSU game, seeing homemade images of Lane Kiffin as a dartboard, Lane Kiffin as a potbellied pickleball player, Lane Kiffin as a donkey's butt, and Carly Simon-inspired signs proclaiming, "You're so Lame, you probably think this game is about you." And that night, seeing Kiffin's former Ole Miss players pointing various fingers at their old coach after they had iced the victory. As I left town, an overserved gentleman dressed in powder blue Landshark overalls shouted at me, "Hey, McGee! I saw your Lame Kiffin documentary! He needed Oxford more than Oxford needed him? Oxford needs him like we need a jock rash!"

All of that made me remember another book written by another college football coach with a title that was a play on Wolfe's. Tennessee football hero Johnny Majors, who left Pitt after winning a national title in 1976 to return to his alma mater, years later wrote a memoir titled, "You CAN Go Home Again." I remember that because when I was a Tennessee student, I bought a copy at the school bookstore ... right before Majors was fired.

With apologies to Troy kicker Hayden Wolfe, San Diego State tight end Ryan Wolfen, Temple long snapper Sam Wolfenden and Steve Harvey, here are the 2026 post-Week 3 Bottom 10 rankings.

1. Northern Ill-ugh-noise (0-3)

The Other Huskies backed up their loss to FCS Illinois State by losing at Arizona 42-17 in a game in which quarterback Noah Fifita accounted for five touchdowns and became the Wildcats' all-time passing leader. It was the worst beatdown seen in Tucson since they shot "Tombstone" at Old Tucson Studios.

2. Boiling Green (0-3)

The Brown Falcons surrendered a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Iowa State's Cameron Pettaway. Pettaway's previous personal best for a kick return was a 98-yard TD dash one year ago ... when he played for Bowling Green.

3. ULM (pronounced "Uhlm") (0-3)

Ulm, the Hawks hosted their first, ulm, home game of the season, welcoming in, ulm, the Southeastern Louisiana Lions, who earned their, ulm, first win over an FBS team, ulm, since reinstating the football program, ulm, in 2003 following, ulm, an 18-year hiatus, snapping an, ulm, 0-for-35 streak. That's, ulm, embarrassing.

4. Charlotte 0-and-3ers (0-3)

The Three'ers, er, sorry, Niners, nearly pulled a longest-losing-streak-snapped hat trick. Week 1: UMass had the nation's longest drought and beat Rutgers. Week 2: Oklahoma State had the longest drought and beat Oregon. Week 3: Charlotte had the longest drought and ... almost beat App State.

5. NC State Woofpack (1-2)

The Coveted Fifth Spot is traditionally reserved for a good team that had a bad day. NC State was a pretty good team that was having a pretty good day before it suddenly turned into a very bad team that had a day so very bad that it not only bent the rules of space, time and football logic, it most definitely altered the rules of the Coveted Fifth Spot. Full disclosure: I grew up in Raleigh as a huge State fan. It's like a lifelong trip to the dentist.

6. Sackreminto State (1-3)

The Sacks host the Artists Formerly Known as UMess, our preseason top Bottom 10 team that is now 3-0. It's a conference matchup, despite the schools being 2,940 miles apart. Imagine, a Mid-American Conference game in which the teams' only chance to see middle America is if they have a window seat on the plane.

7. In a Rut-gers (0-3)

The Scarlet Blights and USC just read that last paragraph about transcontinental conference football and were like, "Yeah, and?" Give Rutgers credit, it nearly upset the Trojans despite the inevitable emotions that come with hosting such a traditional B1G matchup.

8. Western Kentucky Hillstoppers (0-3)

It's not that WKU lost at Georgia and Indiana by a combined score of 108-20, because those games also brought a combined check of $3 million, and that buys a lot of pain liniments. It's that the Hillstoppers opened the season with a 49-14 loss to ...

9. No-vada (1-2)

The Other Woofpack has followed up their Week 1 win over Big Red & Co. with big losses to FCS champs Montana State and former Bottom 10 Wait Listers Muddled Tennessee State. If they lose to 1-1 Air Force this weekend -- the mystical ESPN computers have them hovering around a 50% chance -- then we could be looking at a legit Pillow Fight of the Week (PFOW) against at UTEPid on Oct. 10. So, plan accordingly.

10. Baller State (1-2)

Speaking of getting PFOWed, our friends at #MACtion are always willing to hit the bedding section of Ollie's Wholesale in order to keep us entertained. The Cards barely edged out State of Kent to seize this week's final spot, thanks to a laying on of the hands from Liberty, 51-15. Those two MAC squads face off this week, and the winner will turn its swollen eyes toward catching the two MAC teams currently higher/lower ranked ahead/below them.

Waiting List: State of Kent, UTEPid, Woo Pig Blooey, Sam Houston We Have A Problem, Utaw State, Whew Mexico State, Mizzou State, Southern Missed, calling out a fan base that's already looking for any excuse to run you out of town.