Has Clemson hit rock bottom in the Bottom 10?

"Inspirational thought of the week: Pale SeptemberI wore the time like a dress that yearThe autumn days swung soft around me like cotton on my skinBut as the embers of the summer lost their breath and disappearedMy heart went cold and only hollow rhythms resounded from within -- "Pale September," Fiona Apple"

"For many, September can't wrap up soon enough. I am of course speaking of the pumpkin spice cartel and the teams of the Bottom 10. The hopes that those teams carried into Week 0 have all but vanished. As October looms, they are already halfway or more to a cache of losses that will guarantee a sub-.500 season. The dreams they shared of earning a 6-6 berth to a December bowl game are nearly as bankrupt as the cryptocurrency bank that failed to make payment on their sponsorship of that bowl game."

"But alas, all is not lost. No team in the FBS ranks has more than four losses. There's still one more game weekend left in September. There is still time for a turnaround. Just make sure you don't get so turned around that you wind up running the ball into the wrong end zone. August 30, 2012: Kent State's Andre Parker returns a muffed punt the wrong way against Towson and was tackled by his opponents. pic.twitter.com/koRDpRmydY- This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) August 30, 2025"

A Fiona Apple lyric titled "Pale September" opens with autumn imagery and a cold, hollow heart. Bottom 10 Headquarters is located in a Miami poolside cabana where university semiotic specialists study Pat McAfee's tan lines. Pool season ending across much of the nation produces a melancholic backdrop. Several Bottom 10 teams have lost ground since Week 0, leaving bowl hopes diminished and many teams nearing a sub-.500 season. No FBS team has more than four losses, leaving room for midseason turnarounds. Teams are warned against embarrassing mistakes, with Andre Parker's wrong-way return offered as an example.

Read at ESPN.com