Powerless Five: Better than the Group of Five, these teams are not

The best of the Group of Five just keeps getting better, and with that, logically, the worst of the Power Five just keep getting worse.

This week we rank the absolute worst of the Power Five, all of whom would likely lose not only to a nationally ranked Appalachian State, but the vast majority of unranked G5 teams as well.

5. Kansas Jayhawks

The Jayhawks have been working hard to make this list, and this week sees them at number five of the worst the Power Five has to offer. It’s true, they came within two of taking out nationally ranked Texas last week, but Texas isn’t exactly racking up the quality wins, either.

At 2-5 (0-4) Kansas has given up more points than any other team in Big 12 conference conference games (175) and second most overall (228). Highest quality win? Boston College, currently 4-3 over all, and 2-2 in the ACC. Not poor, but not great either— and it was in week three, since which Kansas has lost four in a row.

4. West Virginia Mountaineers

Who’s the only Big 12 team to give up more points than Kansas so far this season? Why yes, that would be the Mountaineers with 234 points over seven games.

Once considered a top Big East team, especially after the departures of Miami and Virginia Tech, WVU has been ranked season after season since joining the Big 12 and, more often than not, have faded down the stretch, consistently losing key conference games. In 2019, after the departure of Dana Holgorson for Houston, the Mountaineers have fallen to even lower depths, currently 3-4 (1-3), their lone FBS wins over Kansas and North Carolina State.

Why ranked lower than Kansas? Texas may not have quality wins, but they do have wins over better Power Five teams, and Kansas came close last week. West Virginia did not.

3. Arkansas Razorbacks

Say hello to your official worst team in the SEC, after Vanderbilt managed to pull out a win against nationally ranked Missouri last week.

The Razorbacks, meanwhile, were blown out against Auburn and their highest quality win remains Colorado State way back in week three. It doesn’t look good for Arkansas against Bama next week, but two weeks after that they can truly test themselves against the tops of the G5, as they host C-USA East leading WKU.

2. Northwestern Wildcats

Currently last place in the Big Ten West, the Wildcats didn’t just lose to Ohio State this week, they got swept off the field and dumped into trash cans on the curb.

In four quarters against the Buckeyes, this team only managed a single field goal all day. We wish them well against nationally ranked Iowa this Saturday. We wish our favorite C-USA team had Northwestern on the schedule this year.

1. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

This season is so abysmal for the Scarlet Knights, we might have to move them into their own special section. In a week where Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech both won (see last week), the pride of New Brunswick was obliterated by Minnesota, 42-7. Through five Big Ten conference games, Rutgers (0-5) has now been outscored 207-14.

To add insult to injury, next weeks opponent, FBS independent Liberty, opened as 4-point favorites for this weekend, and those odds continue to get worse, as Rutgers was a 7.5 point underdog as of Wednesday. We hate to say it, but something is definitely rotten in the state of New Jersey.