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Fourth BCS Rankings: Alabama, Florida and Texas Rumble Along
It’s a wonder how such huge losses last Saturday could have such little impact on the upcoming weeks of college football.
In this week’s BCS standings, Alabama (as expected) retook the No. 2 ranking from Texas, who fell to third.
Let’s examine how little this actually means:
With their win over LSU on Saturday, Alabama clinched the SEC West crown, punching their ticket to the SEC Championship Game.
If the Tide and the Florida Gators meet undefeated, the winner will play in the BCS National Title game, regardless of where in the losing team falls in the rankings.
The hardest remaining game for Florida is its trip to South Carolina, while Alabama still must play at Auburn, however both of these opponents are unranked.
The undefeated Texas Longhorns should also finish strong against a depleted Big 12, and will likely meet a four-loss underdog in the Big 12 Championship Game.
Win out and Texas is in the BCS National Title game too.
So three top 10 teams lose on Saturday, and the national title picture hasn’t changed in the slightest.
The interesting part of the BCS actually starts at No. 4.
This week TCU jumped up to claim that spot from Iowa, giving them a good shot at an at-large BCS bowl bid.
No. 5 Cincinnati needed a near-perfect performance from QB Zach Collaros to stay undefeated, and is now the top-ranked team from a BCS conference outside of the Big 12 and the SEC.
No. 6 Boise State should be thanking its lucky stars that No. 10 Iowa lost on Saturday.
Now it’s unlikely that the Big 10 will get more than one BCS bowl bid, which opens the door for non-BCS conference teams like the Broncos.
No. 7 Georgia Tech gained the most from the weekend losses by jumping up three spots. The Yellow Jackets should be Orange Bowl-bound.
There is a huge gap between No. 7 and No. 8, but after their loss, LSU should be pleasantly surprised.
The No. 9 USC Trojans find themselves back in the BCS top 10 this weekend, after just one week outside, but have no chance at a national title.
No. 11 Ohio State and No. 12 Pittsburgh round out the top 12, with the Panthers giving the Big East two top-12 teams for the first time this season.
BCS Rankings – November 8th
| Rank | Team | BCS Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | .9842 |
| 2 | Alabama | .9516 |
| 3 | Texas | .9234 |
| 4 | TCU | .8620 |
| 5 | Cincinnati | .8580 |
| 6 | Boise State | .8126 |
| 7 | Georgia Tech | .7552 |
| 8 | LSU | .6138 |
| 9 | USC | .5922 |
| 10 | Iowa | .5745 |
| 11 | Ohio State | .5733 |
| 12 | Pittsburgh | .5628 |
←Harris Interactive and Coaches’ Poll: November 8th
Computer Rankings Week Four: Alabama and Cincinnati Prosper →
Recent Comments
2 Comments
2009-11-09
12:18:40
Zach Collaros has been amazing! Ironically enough, Tony Pike won the starting job when the senior QB in front of him got hurt last year. Now it seems the same may happen to him.
I think momentum, confidence, and the hot hand are critically important, especially for QB's. Not only is Pike's fragile arm a big question, but Collaros' running ability adds an extra dimension and he's the QB of the future.
I say go with Collaros and bring in Pike if need be. You can't take the ball out of the hands of a QB that's hot - especially later in the season with so much on the line and so much doubt about Pike's arm and how he'll play after sitting out a few weeks.
It's heartbreaking for Pike - no question. But it's not about one guy - it's about the team - and I think Collaros will give the team the best chance of success from here until he proves otherwise.
2009-11-20
19:35:56
[...] It’s a wonder how many teams lost on Saturday, but how little impact it truly had on the upcoming weeks of college football will hold. In this week’s BCS standings, Alabama – as expected – retook the No. 2 ranking in this week’s BCS back from Texas, … Those same Trojans find themselves back in the BCS top ten this weekend, after just one week outside, at No. 9, but have no chance of a national title bid. No. 11 Ohio State and No. 12 Pittsburgh round out the top twelve, …This Post [...]