A weekend that seemed like snooze turned in a BCS standings riddled with wrinkles, all of which will need to be ironed out next weekend — the last of the 2011 college football season.

LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma State find themselves in relatively familiar positions, the top three, which all three have occupied for many weeks this season (although Oklahoma State’s loss to Iowa State last weekend momentarily kicked them out of there).

Stanford, who finished last season at No. 4, sits there once again, with a very good shot of reaping the benefits of the position once again. If the third place team in the final BCS standings does not win its own AQ conference, it automatically receives a bid to a BCS bowl. The same goes for the fourth-place team if the third-place team is in fact an AQ conference champion. Stanford achieved that qualification last season, and if Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma next weekend, the Cardinal will once again be on its way to a BCS bowl.

No. 5 Virginia Tech has its own easy path to a BCS bowl, win the ACC championship game next weekend.

Houston can clinch its spot in a BCS bowl game with a victory in the C-USA championship game, which would assure the Cougars of being the highest-ranking non-AQ conference champion and a top-14 finish, enough to get the Cougars an automatic bid to a BCS bowl as well.

Some of those on the outside looking in, at least at this point, include No. 16 Michigan. The Wolverines, although a plenty attractive at-large team for any BCS bowl, need to enter the top 14 on the last weekend of the season to be eligible.

Just one week remains. Check out the projections from last night to see a complete list of the important games next weekend, and be sure to stay tuned to BCS Know How and @BCSKnowHow for all the latest.

Here’s the seventh BCS rankings of 2011:

BCS Standings Week Seven — November 27

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Some thoughts:

• BCS Know How’s Projected BCSvs. Actual BCS Rankings
  • Another odd week. Thought Arkansas would drop far less than they did.

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Virginia Tech is the beneficiary of Arkansas’s loss Saturday to No. 1 LSU, moving up to No. 3.

LSU remains a unanimous No. 1.

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USA Today Coaches’ Poll – November 27

Stanford takes Arkansas’s place as No. 3 in this week’s penultimate Harris Poll.

Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State round out the top five, while Houston sees a boost in support, though Boise State is stagnant at No. 8.

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Harris Interactive College Football Poll – November 27

After last week, it felt like it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see every favorite in the nation get upset and throw the BCS into chaos once again.

It wasn’t to be, however, as favorites around the country prevailed throughout the extended Thanksgiving weekend, although some did have some trouble in the early goings and set up a drama-filled final weekend.

Even LSU had relatively little trouble with last week’s BCS No. 3 Arkansas. So the BCS standings aren’t going to be very shaken up come Sunday night, but the implications haven’t been bigger this season.

Not surprisingly, LSU and Alabama will be set to stay atop the rankings. Alabama, despite missing the chance to play in the SEC title game, is likely secure in its positioning to make it to the BCS title game. Of the five teams to finish in the top two in the seventh BCS standings who didn’t play in the season’s final week in the BCS era, all have made the title game.

LSU will still have to beat Georgia to absolutely secure its spot in the title game, but of course, there are scenarios where a loss would still give the Tigers a chance at the BCS national title. Who would take LSU’s place if they were to fall out of the picture? Well, it wont be Arkansas, which will take a fall after its loss to LSU, but it shouldn’t be too harsh. Arkansas’s computer support should remain strong, and a loss to LSU in Baton Rouge shouldn’t sway voters away from the Razorbacks too much.

It could be new No. 3 Oklahoma State, who will be the main benefactor from Arkansas’s drop. With strong computers support and likely resurgent human poll support, the Cowboys might recover nicely from their loss to Iowa State last weekend. And with a strong victory over Oklahoma next weekend, the Cowboys will have a compelling case for a shot at the BCS title. But a compelling case might not be enough  to overcome behemoths Alabama and LSU this season.

Virginia Tech, Stanford and Arkansas should fill in spots four through six, followed by Boise State and Houston, with little differential changes from last weekend, the only difference being Arkansas’ small drop. Many will be looking for BCS bids next weekend, both at-large and automatic, including Virginia Tech’s attempt at another ACC champion; Stanford and Boise State’s quests for at-large bids, and Houston’s hopes for the automatic bid given to the highest-ranking non-AQ conference champion.

Oklahoma and Oregon should come in at Nos. 9 and 10, although either could finish ahead of the other depending on human poll support tomorrow as the distance between the Ducks and Sooners was quite small last weekend.

Next weekend will be full of important championship games and BCS positioning battles. Some of the highlights and their implications:

• SEC Championship Game: LSU vs. Georgia (LSU victory gives Tigers BCS title game bid. A Georgia victory? Chaos.)
• ACC Championship Game: Virginia Tech vs. Clemson (Orange Bowl bid on the line)
• Big Ten Championship Game: Michigan State vs. Wisconsin (Rose Bowl bid on the line)
• Pac-12 Championship Game: UCLA vs. Oregon (Rose Bowl bid on the line)
• C-USA Championship Game: Southern Miss vs. Houston (Houston victory gives Cougars the automatic BCS bid)
• Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State (Fiesta Bowl bid on the line, and possible title game bid for Oklahoma State)
• West Virginia vs. South Florida and Cincinnati vs. UConn (Victories by WVU and Cincinnati make the BCS the tiebreaker for the Big East’s automatic BCS bowl bid)

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Remember, we’ll be here to take you through all of it, starting with tomorrow’s releases of the human polls, computer rankings and BCS. Follow along all day tomorrow @BCSKnowHow and right here to stay up to the second with projections, mathematical breakdowns of all of the computers, human polls and everything in between. Then follow along this week as we break down scenarios and implications.

Got all that? Hope so.

Here’s what the BCS standing will likely look like when they are released tomorrow at 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN:

Projected BCS Standings – BCS Week Seven (November 27th)

Trent Richardson

Saturday really could not have gone better for Trent Richardson and the Crimson Tide. Knowing that their chances for a spot in the SEC Championship Game had been ruined by LSU’s victory Friday, Alabama was playing for a likely shot in the BCS title game in its annual Iron Bowl matchup with Auburn.

Richardson and the Tide made up for a loss to Auburn last year, beating the Tigers 42-14, while the junior running back rushed for a career-high 203 yards on the afternoon.

What will be Richardson’s final impression on the Heisman voters was a good one, topped off with a five-yard touchdown catch.

Richardson finishes the year with 1,583 yards rushing on the season and 20 rushing touchdowns to go with 327 yards receiving and three more scores through the air. The junior is likely headed to New York City as a Heisman finalist at the very least.

Case Keenum

For Case Keenum the Friday after Thanksgiving gave the senior and Houston much to be thankful for.

Houston clinched a spot in the C-USA title game with its dominating 48-16 victory over Tulsa while Keenum passed for five touchdowns and 457 yards to once again fill up the stat sheet and keep his Heisman hopes more than alive.

With a game added to Keenum and Houston’s schedule, the record-breaking quarterback will have yet another opportunity to add to his FBS records and bolster his chances at a finalist spot for the Heisman.

Andrew Luck

Two weeks of substandard performance made many question Andrew Luck’s viability as a Heisman hopeful entering the final month of the week. Luck’s performance on Saturday, though, was more up to his usual effective and efficient numbers.

Luck finished with 233 yards and four touchdowns in what will be his final regular season game and the final performance Heisman voters will have to judge the senior quarterback on.

Luck finishes the year with 3,170 passing yards and 35 touchdowns on the season against just nine interceptions. The presumed frontrunner for the trophy all season will certainly have competition for this trophy, but is likely assured of a trip to New York City for the presentation as a trophy finalist.

Kellen Moore

A somewhat weak start to its game against Wyoming Saturday might have been troubling for Moore’ Heisman hopes and Boise State’s continued hopes at an at-large berth in a BCS bowl.

But a 46-yard touchdown pass from Moore to Matt Miller provided just the spark the Broncos needed, and the Broncos walked off their blue turf with another victory and Moore walked off with another great game under his belt.

Moore passed for 279 yards and three touchdowns against just one interception against the Cowboys defense. Moore has one more shot to impress Heisman voters next weekend against New Mexico. A strong performance there would do wonders for Moore’s chances at being a finalist for a second straight year.

Robert Griffin III

An apparent injury restricted Griffin from playing at all in the second half of Baylor’s game against Texas Tech on Saturday, severely hurting Griffin’s stat line.

Griffin finished with 106 yards passing and 62 yards rushing, to go with two rushing touchdowns. If Griffin’s injury isn’t too bad, he’ll get another chance to impress Heisman voters next weekend against Texas, where the national exposure could do wonders for his Heisman hopes and leave a strong final impression.

Matt Barkley

Admittedly a late addition to this Heisman watch, but junior quarterback Matt Barkley’s performance late Saturday night was one not to be forgotten.

Breaking USC and Pac-12 records time and again, Barkley finished the game with 423 yards and six touchdowns as he led the Trojans to a 50-0 beat down of USC’s crosstown rivals, UCLA.

Barkley finishes the year with 3,528 yards and 39 touchdowns. Could Barkley make his way to New York City as a finalist despite USC being ineligible for postseason play? With all of the upheaval in this race recently, it wouldn’t be all too surprising.

Down the stretch of the BCS season, a team’s opponents become an important component of a team’s overall resume to watch.

Not only does it help to define the relative strength of said team, but also has a large effect on that team’s BCS computer performance.

With that in mind, we’ve compiled a look at the BCS’s top teams and their important games — both already played and upcoming — to get a better perspective on which teams’ performances will have implications on the BCS.

Each week we’ll give the rundown for the number of teams that seem to be within striking distance of the top two spots. This final set of BCS implications go down to the race for the Big Ten, between No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 6 Ohio State. It is rather unlikely that Ohio State will pass Wisconsin — actually all but impossible — but we’ll include stats all the way down to No. 6 for comparison’s sake.

Once again, each team is listed with their current BCS rank, record and strength of schedule (according to Jeff Sagarin’s ratings).

Below each BCS contender are their most important opponents, both which they have already played (with those results) and those upcoming.

Their opponents will also be listed with a record and their current Sagarin or BCS ranking depending on which is available. Teams will be listed in order of importance to that team’s BCS performance. Each opponent is also listed with an SOS to give you a better sense of how they might perform in the coming weeks.

BCS No. 1 Auburn Tigers (12-0) SOS: 24

Important Games Already Played

• BCS No. 7 Arkansas Razorbacks (10-2) SOS: 17 — Win 65-43
• BCS No. 10 LSU Tigers (10-2) SOS: 26 — Win 24-17
• BCS No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide (9-3) SOS: 15 — Win 28-27
• BCS No. 19 South Carolina Gamecocks (9-3) SOS: 25 — Win 35-27
• BCS No. 22 Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4) SOS: 32 — Win 17-14

Important Games Remaining

• SEC Championship Game vs. BCS No. 19 South Carolina Gamecocks — December 4th
  • Note: Most computers only give a team credit for beating a team once, therefore this game will have little impact with the computers, but could still be important to the human poll voters.

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BCS No. 2 Oregon Ducks (11-0) SOS: 19

Important Games Already Played

• BCS No. 4 Stanford Cardinal (11-1) SOS: 8 — Win 52-31
• BCS No. 23 Arizona Wildcats (7-4) SOS: 11 — Win 48-29
• Sagarin No. 24 USC (7-5) SOS: 6 — Win 53-32
• Sagarin No. 27 Washington Huskies (5-6) SOS: 1 — Win 53-16
• Sagarin No. 36 Arizona State Sun Devils (5-6) SOS: 7 — Win 42-31
• Sagarin No. 38 California (5-7) SOS: 5 — Win 15-13

Important Games Remaining

• Sagarin No. 29 Oregon State Beavers (5-6) SOS: 3 — December 4th

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BCS No. 3 TCU Horned Frogs (12-0) SOS: 76

Important Games Already Played

• BCS No. 20 Utah Utes (10-2) SOS: 67 — Win 47-7
• Sagarin No. 25 Baylor Bears (7-5) SOS: 28 — Win 45-10
• Sagarin No. 29 Oregon State Beavers (5-6) SOS: 3 — Win 30-21
• Sagarin No. 35 Air Force Falcons (8-4) SOS: 68 — Win 38-7
• Sagarin No. 43 San Diego State Aztecs (8-4) SOS: 91 — Win 40-35

Important Games Remaining

• None Remain

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BCS No. 4 Stanford Cardinal (11-1) SOS: 8

Important Games Already Played

• BCS No. 2 Oregon Ducks (11-0) SOS: 19 — Loss 52-31
• BCS No. 23 Arizona Wildcats (7-4) SOS: 11 — Win 42-17
• Sagarin No. 24 USC (7-5) SOS: 6 — Win 37-35
• Sagarin No. 27 Washington Huskies (5-6) SOS: 1 — Win 41-0
• Sagarin No. 29 Oregon State Beavers (5-6) SOS: 3 — Win 38-0
• Sagarin No. 32 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-5) SOS: 22 — Win 37-14
• Sagarin No. 36 Arizona State Sun Devils (5-6) SOS: 7 — Win 17-13
• Sagarin No. 38 California (5-7) SOS: 5 — Win 48-14

Important Games Remaining

• None Remain

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BCS No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers (11-1) SOS: 71

Important Games Already Played

• BCS No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1) SOS: 64 — Win 31-18
• BCS No. 10 Michigan State Spartans (11-1) SOS: 60 — Loss 34-24
• Sagarin No. 33 Iowa Hawkeyes (7-5) SOS: 46 — Win 31-30
• Sagarin No. 34 Michigan Wolverines (7-5) SOS: 30 — Win 48-28
• Sagarin No. 36 Arizona State Sun Devils (5-6) SOS: 7 — Win 20-19

Important Games Remaining

• None Remain

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BCS No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1) SOS: 64

Important Games Already Played

• BCS No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers (11-1) SOS: 71 — Loss 31-18
• Sagarin No. 33 Iowa Hawkeyes (7-5) SOS: 46 — Win 20-17
• Sagarin No. 34 Michigan Wolverines (7-5) SOS: 30 — Win 37-7
• Sagarin No. 39 Penn State Nittany Lions (7-5) SOS: 50 — Win 38-14
• Sagarin No. 40 Illinois Fighting Illini (6-5) SOS: 42 — Win 24-13
• Sagarin No. 47 Miami Hurricanes (7-5) SOS: 31 — Win 36-24

Important Games Remaining

• None Remain

Changes at the top, changes at the middle, developments in a variety of conference championship races — the dominoes certainly started to fall on rivalry weekend, and with a new set of BCS rankings finally out, we can begin to judge the impact.

The changes start at the very top — Auburn retakes the No. 1 spot on the strength of their victory over Alabama, leaping Oregon by a a scant .0002 points to ascend to No. 1.

Auburn made up a big chunk of ground on Oregon in both the Harris Poll and Coaches’ Poll after their thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Tide, which was instrumental in the somewhat unexpected change.

TCU — who seemed to all to be on the verge of losing their No. 3 spot to Boise State — instead retains that position after the Broncos took an unexpected tumble to Nevada.

The Broncos fall all the way to No. 11, and will likely be left out of the BCS picture come bowl selection time, a result of two costly missed field goals.

The positioning at the top is interesting, although the changes have basically no impact on the BCS and national title picture. The changes a little further down, though, have serious implications as we head to the final week.

Stanford is the new No. 4, which is an enviable position to be in without a game remaining on their schedule. If Stanford remains at that spot the Cardinal will automatically qualify for inclusion in the BCS standings as the highest-ranking automatically-qualifying BCS conference member who did not win their own conference’s automatic bid and is in the top our.

Despite being ranked fifth in both human polls, the Cardinal utilized very strong support from all six computers to jump into that all-important No. 4 spot.

The Cardinal are followed by Wisconsin, who does just enough to stay ahead of Ohio State to claim that No. 5 position. The fact that the Badgers held off the Buckeyes is huge, as the BCS standings will be used on December 5th to decide which of the three (Michigan State is the third) Big Ten teams who all claimed a share of the conference crown will be headed to the Rose Bowl. With no games remaining on any of the teams’ schedules, Wisconsin is all but booking their tickets to Pasadena.

A little further down the standings, another conference race was decided by the BCS standings, as the Oklahoma Sooners captured the Big 12 South crown and a Big 12 title game bid by finishing ahead of both Oklahoma State and Texas A&M in this week’s BCS standings. The Sooners will face Nebraska next Saturday for the right to the Big 12′s automatic BCS bowl bid.

So with all of that in mind, here’s this week’s set of BCS rankings:

BCS Standings Week Seven – November 28th

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Some thoughts:

• BCS Know How’s Projected BCS vs. Actual BCS Rankings
  • The gains that Auburn made were not completely unexpected. If you’ve been following the bowl projections we’ve been doing, you will have seen that next to Auburn we’ve placed “(BCS No. 1),” so this ascension was coming, it only just came a week earlier than expected.
  • Other than the switch at the top, pretty good week, nailed 3-8, switched around 9-11 yet again, my bad.
• Next weekend will be filled with conference championship games, could BCS drama also be in store? Make sure you stick with BCS Know How throughout the next seven days to get the best end-to-end coverage of everything Bowl Championship Series.

As in the newest Coaches’ Poll, Stanford and Wisconsin slide into the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the Harris Interactive Poll after losses by LSU and Boise State.

Auburn also gains ground on Oregon in Harris voting as well, which very likely could be enough to get the Tigers to the No. 1 spot in tonight’s BCS standings.

Arkansas makes a nice jump into the top ten after their victory over LSU, and are the highest ranking two-loss team.

TCU reclaims the No. 3 spot after losing it for a few weeks to Boise State, and will likely be headed to the Rose Bowl if neither Oregon nor Auburn lose next weekend.

Oregon picks up 70 first place votes, while Auburn takes home 42. TCU is left with just two.

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Harris Interactive College Football Poll – November 28th

Fueled by losses by LSU and Boise State, the Wisconsin Badgers and Stanford Cardinal are rewarded for convincing wins on the weekend, jumping up to No. 4 and No. 5 respectively.

TCU also reclaims the No. 3 spot after seeing it slip through their grasp and into the hands of the Broncos these past few weeks.

Oregon remains the No. 1 team, although they lose some of their lead on the Tigers, who pick up most of the first place votes that the Broncos lost.

Only Oregon, Auburn and TCU receive first-place votes, with the Ducks receiving 46 of the possible 59, Auburn taking 10 and TCU claiming the remaining three.

Boise State falls from No. 3 to No. 10 and LSU falls from No. 6 to No. 12.

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USA Today Coaches’ Poll – November 28th