After a surprisingly eventful weekend in college football, the new BCS rankings came out on Sunday night with some big moves both up and down the board. LSU and Alabama remained the top two teams after their victories this weekend, but the Oklahoma Sooners and Wisconsin Badgers both felt the pain caused by their losses to Texas Tech and Michigan State, respectively, as they each plummeted down the rankings.
Here are the full rankings for this week:
1. LSU Tigers (8-0, 5-0 conference) Last Week: 1
The Skinny: The Tigers set up a spectacular 1-2 matchup in two weeks in Tuscaloosa with the Crimson Tide by blowing out the Auburn Tigers 45-10 on Saturday. Add that to their victories already over Oregon and West Virginia (both of which came on the road), and you can see why the computers and voters love the Bayou Bengals.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0 conference) Last Week: 2
The Skinny: The Tide had a good rout of their own on Saturday, thrashing the Tennessee Volunteers 37-6 at home. They have beaten several BCS-ranked squads in Penn State and Arkansas, and they will go into their bye week looking to make an undeniable claim on the top spot in the rankings should they be able to defend home field against LSU on November 5th.
3. Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-0, 4-0 conference) Last Week: 4
The Skinny: After their fellow Sooner State brethren fell on Saturday, the Cowboys took advantage with a 21 point victory over Missouri on the road to jump to the #3 spot in the poll. Three of their remaining five games are against teams currently in the BCS top 20 (vs Kansas State, at Texas Tech, vs Oklahoma), so they will certainly be tested if they want to try to leapfrog one of the top SEC dogs in the coming weeks.
4. Boise State Broncos (7-0, 2-0 conference) Last Week: 5
The Skinny: For the first time in university history, Boise State actually went up in the BCS rankings when ranked in the top 5. Their remaining schedule is obviously weaker than that of their fellow squads in the top five, with only a matchup with TCU really standing out, so they are going to have to root for a lot of chaos to befall the proceedings.
5. Clemson Tigers (8-0, 5-0 conference) Last Week: 7
The Skinny: The ACC hasn’t been a stellar conference in recent memory, but the Tigers sure have looked good so far this season. They beat the other big dog in the conference when they defeated Virginia Tech on the road, and they just scored 59 points against the Tar Heels on Saturday. A couple of road tests against South Carolina and Georgia Tech are all that remains in the way of stumbling blocks for this bunch.
6. Stanford Cardinal (7-0, 5-0 conference) Last Week: 8
The Skinny: The Pac-12 hasn’t been getting much love in the computers or the polls so far this season, and that is likely hurting the Cardinal’s chances to be in the national title game. Scoring 65 points against the #25 Washington Huskies Saturday showed some potential for greatness from this bunch, but they still have some serious work to do to go higher in the rankings. Their November 12th tilt against Oregon looms large.
7. Oregon Ducks (6-1, 4-0 conference) Last Week: 10
The Skinny: The Ducks rose three spots due in large part to Oklahoma and Wisconsin’s losses, and not so much due to their 45-2 victory over Colorado in Boulder on Saturday. If they can manage to win at Stanford and LSU defeats Alabama, the Ducks could skyrocket up the rankings in the coming weeks should they stay unblemished.
8. Kansas State Wildcats (7-0, 4-0 conference) Last Week: 11
The Skinny: The Wildcats beat their in-state rival Jayhawks in Lawrence 59-21 on Saturday, but it’s all uphill from here for them. They still have games coming up this week against Oklahoma, a road test against Oklahoma State the week after, and games against Texas A&M and Texas still remaining as well. It’s a brutal four week stretch that will definitely test their mettle.
9. Oklahoma Sooners (6-1, 3-1 conference) Last Week: 3
The Skinny: The Sooners lost by three points in Norman to the Red Raiders of Texas Tech on Saturday, and their punishment was a six-spot drop in the BCS. They still have opportunities for redemption this week at Kansas State and in a battle at Stillwater with the Oklahoma State Cowboys on December 3rd.
10. Arkansas Razorbacks (6-1, 2-1 conference) Last Week: 9
The Skinny: The Razorbacks have a couple of impressive victories against Texas A&M and Auburn this season, but their loss to Alabama and barely beating Ole Miss this week dropped them a spot. They have five games remaining, two of which come against South Carolina and a road game against LSU. It will be a tough road for the Razorbacks, who will be likely looking to get an at-large bid into the BCS this year.
11. Michigan State Spartans (6-1, 3-0 conference) Last Week: 16
12. Virginia Tech Hokies (7-1, 3-1 conference) Last Week: 12
13. South Carolina Gamecocks (6-1, 4-1 conference) Last Week: 14
14. Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-1, 2-1 conference) Last Week: 13
15. Wisconsin Badgers (6-1, 2-1 conference) Last Week: 6
16. Texas A&M Aggies (5-2, 3-1 conference) Last Week: 17
17. Houston Cougars (7-0, 3-0 conference) Last Week: 19
18. Michigan Wolverines (6-1, 2-1 conference) Last Week: 18
19. Penn State Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-0 conference) Last Week: 21
20. Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-2, 2-2 conference) Last Week: n/a
21. Arizona State Sun Devils (5-2, 3-1 conference) Last Week: n/a
22. Georgia Bulldogs (5-2, 4-1 conference) Last Week: n/a
23. Auburn Tigers (5-3, 3-2 conference) Last Week: 20
24. Texas Longhorns (4-2, 1-2 conference) Last Week: 24
25. West Virginia Mountaineers (5-2, 1-1 conference) Last Week: 15