1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-0) LW 3
By the time Notre Dame got done routed Wake Forrest they couldn't have believed by the end of the day they'd be the #1 team come Sunday night. It was the Irish that thought they'd be left out of the National Title picture, but now all they need is a win over USC and they are a lock.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1) LW 4
SEC fans were all up in arms at the notion that their conference champion being left out of the National Title Game. However all they needed was a little patience and with KState and Oregon both losing, that leaves the title game wide open. Alabama after their loss to A&M are now on track for a possible back to back championship season. Just have to get past Georgia now.
3. Georgia Bulldogs (10-1) LW 5
Georgia is sitting in a good spot now. Because of the top two teams losing, the Bulldogs are a SEC Championship away from making it to the National Title Game. They'd face Alabama, but as we saw against A&M they are clearly beatable.
4. Oregon Ducks (10-1) LW 1
I guess we saw how good the Ducks offense truly is. Facing off against poor Pac 12 defenses all season, the first true test for the Ducks was Stanford. It was Stanford's physical defense that beat down the Ducks fast offense and held them to only 14 points. Ouch! Now Oregon needs UCLA to beat Stanford or Oregon can't even compete for the conference championship.
5. Florida State Seminoles (10-1) LW 7
The Seminoles make the jump up to five mainly because they are playing much better than KState and Florida. This past weekend they blew out Maryland to improve their record to 10-1 with a game against in state rival Florida coming up this weekend. If the 'Noles can play like they did this weekend, they should be able to beat the struggling Gators for the third straight year.
6. Kansas State Wildcats (10-1) LW 2
What stings the most about the Baylor loss is that how could the Wildcats only score 24 points on one of the worst defenses in the nation? But Kansas State fans should be use to this. If you remember 1998 the Wildcats were ranked #1 and poised to go to the championship game before losing to Texas A&M. Another case of history repeating itself.
7. Florida Gators (10-1) LW 6
Ever since the Georgia game, the Gators just haven't been right. Probably doesn't help that starting QB Jeff Driskel didn't play most of the Louisiana-Lafayette game and all of the Jacksonville State game. But even without they they should have lost to both Missouri and Lafayette. They better get things figured out, cause if they don't Florida State will roll right over them.
8. LSU Tigers (9-2) LW 8
LSU almost had a scare against Ole Miss but used a TD with 15 seconds left on the clock to take the lead and get the win. Not what Tiger fans were thinking going into this game. But they were lucky to get the win and as long as they don't lay an egg against Arkansas they should find themselves in the Sugar Bowl.
9. Texas A&M Aggies (9-2) LW 9
A&M must feel like a true SEC team now. This week they got their standard FCS opponent before the end of the season. It's truly amazing that people criticize other schools for scheduling FCS schools, but nobody ever says anything about the SEC doing it. Anyways, A&M cruised past Sam Houston State and now has their final game against fellow SEC newcomer and old Big 12 mate Missouri. A win here could put the Aggies in contention for a BCS Bowl.
10. Clemson Tigers (10-1) LW 10
They no longer have as shot at going to the ACC Title Game, but with a win over South Carolina the Tigers could make it back to their second straight BCS Game. However they haven't won in over three years. The game should be interesting since both HCs have been taking shots at each other all year long. I don't think they'll brawl again, but this game means a lot to both schools.
11. Stanford Cardinal (9-2) LW 14
Not too many people (me included) thought too much of Stanford going into this season. Not only are they two years removed from Harbaugh, but they lost a ton of talent on a record setting offense. They offense has struggled this year, but the defense has picked up the slack. They've knocked off both Oregon and USC and should have beaten Notre Dame if not for a questionable replay review. If they beat UCLA this weekend they will have their chance at winning the Pac 12 for the first time since 1999.
12. Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0) LW 11
I'm really curious to see where the Buckeyes would be ranked in the BCS if they weren't on NCAA probation. Even with an undefeated record I couldn't see them too high. They really haven't beaten anybody besides Nebraska and have struggled with some poor teams. We should see how good they really are when they face Michigan this weekend.
13. South Carolina Gamecocks (9-2) LW 12
Tied at halftime with Wofford, it was clear that the Gamecocks were looking ahead to in state rival Clemson. However South Carolina kicked it into gear in the 2nd half and put away the FCS school to get their 9th win of the season. The Gamecocks have to be looking forward to the Clemson game to get their 4th straight win over the Tigers. But they can't start slow in this one, or Clemson's high powered offense could put the game out of reach.
14. Oklahoma Sooners (8-2) LW 13
In a wild game against West Virginia, the Sooners were able to escape with the win in the final seconds. It took a Kenny Stills TD reception with 24 seconds left to take the lead and secure the win. But you have to be concerned about Oklahoma's defense who gave up 344 yards rushing to Tavon Austin and 205 yards receiving to Stedman Bailey. With Oklahoma State coming to town this weekend they cannot afford another poor defensive showing against another powerful offense, because the Sooner offense might not be able to keep up again.
15. Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-2) LW 15After weeks of come from behind wins, the Huskers had an easy one against Minnesota. The Huskers jumped out to a 38-0 lead before pulling the starters on senior day. The win puts the Huskers one more game away from clinching the Legends Division and setting up a rematch game against Wisconsin, who they beat earlier in the season.
16. Texas Longhorns (8-2) LW 16
With no more Big 12 Championship Game, we are seeing some teams in the conference taking a bye week so that they can still have a game the last weekend of the year. But add that with Texas playing TCU on Thursday and that's why the Longhorns are off. It will be interesting to see how Texas' offense does against the test TCU defense. They could get QB David Ash fits all game long.
17. Louisville Cardinals (9-1) LW 17
Before their beat down against Syracuse the Cardinals looked to be cruising towards the Big East Title. But now they needed to use the bye week to refocus and finish the season out strong. They shouldn't have any trouble with UConn this weekend, but with Rutgers on the horizon, they cannot afford to look ahead.
18. UCLA Bruins (9-2) LW 20
Beating USC is a big step forward for the Bruins, now they are the team on the rise while the Trojans are spinning their wheels. But they cannot stop there with Stanford on the schedule next. A win against the Cardinal will set up the Bruins to face Oregon in the Pac 12 Title game. But a loss to Stanford would mean a rematch in Palo Alto.
19. Oregon State Beavers (8-2) LW 21
Oregon State got a great blowout victory over Cal to improve to eight wins. However they are effectively eliminated from the Pac 12 Championship race. Even with a win over Oregon and UCLA beating Stanford, the Cardinal would have the tie breaker against them. But if that does take place and UCLA wins the Pac 12 Title, we could see Oregon State become an at large team in the BCS. But they have to beat a pissed off Oregon team first.
20. Michigan Wolverines (8-3) LW 22
In their game against Iowa we got to see a glimpse of what the Wolverines plan on doing with both Devin Gardner and Dennard Robinson. And frankly it's a smart idea. Even when his arm is 100%, Robinson isn't a great thrower and the offense was better with Gardner at QB. But against Iowa they used Robinson as a RB, QB, and WR. It made the defense have to guess what he was going to do. Add in that Gardner has been playing at WR, they can leave both in at the same time and do multiple things. That should drive the Ohio State defense crazy and could be enough to score a bunch of points against them.
21. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-1) LW 25
With their win over Cincinnati the Scarlet Knights are in the drivers seat to win the Big East. All they need to do is beat Pittsburgh and then Louisville and they are the Big East Champions. And we've seen they have the defense to do so. They held Cincinnati to only 3 points. But they can't look past Pittsburgh because they are very capable of knocking off the Scarlet Knights.
22. Kent State Golden Flashes (10-1) 24
Kent State's victory over Bowling Green gives the Flashes the most wins in their program's history and also puts them into the MAC Title Game against Northern Illinois. But the Golden Flashes can't be thinking ahead because they have a very tough game against Ohio this weekend. The Bobcats might be struggling now, but they were a top 25 team earlier this year and could halt Kent State's momentum before the championship game.
23. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-3) LW NR
After a horrible three game stretch where the Bulldogs went from undefeated to three losses, the streak finally came to an end against Arkansas. Miss State blasted the Razorbacks and got back into the win column. Now all that's left is in state rival Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. However this isn't the same Ole Miss they've seen lately. It will be a hard fought game that is even harder since it's at Ole Miss.
24. Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-3) LW NR
Oklahoma State was just too much for Texas Tech and for a second straight year the Cowboys dominated the Red Raiders for the win. The win improves their record to 7 wins and gives them some much needed momentum going into Bedlam with in state rival Oklahoma. The Cowboys have to be licking their chops seeing what West Virginia's offense was able to do to the Sooners. We could see much the same with #6 passing attack.
25. Northern Illinois Huskies (10-1) LW NR
Northern Illinois win over Toledo secured their place in the MAC Title Game against Kent State. Now all they have to do is not look past Eastern Michigan and they have a huge showdown against the Golden Flashes. The Huskies make their debut in the rankings because of a MAC leading offense that has carried them to 10 wins on the season.
Dropped From the Rankings: USC, Louisiana Tech, Texas Tech
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