0-9 Northern Illinois Leads Bottom 10 as Michigan Joins List

Michigan landed in ESPN's Bottom 10 this week, joining the rankings after a loss to a rival, according to the network's Week 10 roundup published Nov. 11, 2026, by writer Ryan McGee.

The column, posted on ESPN.com, ranks college football's worst-performing teams through Week 10 of the 2026 season. Michigan's appearance comes with the label "Toothless Wolverines," tied directly to the rivalry defeat, per ESPN.

What Is ESPN's Bottom 10 Ranking?

The Bottom 10 is a weekly ESPN.com feature written by senior writer Ryan McGee that inverts the usual Top 25, spotlighting teams with the season's worst results. McGee has written for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com and has won two Sports Emmy awards, in 2010 and 2014, and was named NMPA Writer of the Year, according to his ESPN byline.

The Week 10 edition opens with a themed "inspirational thought of the week," a device McGee uses each column. This week's selection quotes Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Gimme Three Steps," tied to the three weeks remaining in the regular season, ESPN reported.

"Gimme three steps, gimme three steps, mister / And you'll never see me no more" — Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Gimme Three Steps," as quoted in ESPN's Bottom 10 column.

Why Did Michigan Make the List?

ESPN's headline states Michigan earned its spot in the Bottom 10 after a loss to a rival. The column does not provide further box-score detail in the portion available, but the framing — "Toothless Wolverines" — signals an offense that struggled in that result, per ESPN's own description.

Michigan's inclusion fits a season McGee frames broadly: with three weeks left in the 2026 regular season, several marquee programs are jockeying to avoid, rather than climb into, this list.

Who Sits Atop the Bottom 10 This Week?

Northern Illinois holds the No. 1 spot in the Week 10 Bottom 10 at 0-9, according to ESPN. The Huskies' most recent loss came on the road at San José State, the column states.

McGee refers to Northern Illinois in the column's trademark nickname style — "Northern Ill-ugh-noise" — a running bit the writer uses for teams at the top of the list. The 0-9 start places the Huskies among the season's winless programs as the schedule nears its final stretch.

How Many Games Are Left in the 2026 Season?

ESPN's column frames the entire Week 10 Bottom 10 around one number: three. McGee writes that three weeks remain in the 2026 regular season, calling it a stretch during which teams can either "salvage one's fall" or "just fall."

That countdown matters for teams like Michigan and Northern Illinois alike. A late-season loss can cement a spot in the rankings for the year; a win, even an ugly one, can start the climb back out. ESPN's column treats both outcomes as live possibilities with three Saturdays — or, in the case of Mid-American Conference football, sometimes Tuesdays and Wednesdays — left on the calendar.

Who Writes the Bottom 10 Column?

Ryan McGee has written the Bottom 10 for ESPN.com, building the weekly piece around a running joke, a themed quote, and nickname-driven team write-ups. The Nov. 11, 2026, edition carries his byline along with a note crediting multiple authors, per the ESPN page.

The piece sits within ESPN's broader college football coverage, which this week also includes the College Football Playoff committee's second top 25 release and bowl-bubble analysis, according to links on the same ESPN page. The Bottom 10 itself, however, stays separate from playoff rankings, focused instead on the sport's weekly low point.

For the full Week 10 rankings, including entries beyond Northern Illinois and Michigan, ESPN's column is available at the originating story.

Michigan's next three games will determine whether the program stays on the list or works its way off it before the regular season ends, based on the three-week framework McGee lays out in the column.

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