NCAA College Football BCS Standings Week 12

NCAA College Football BCS Standings Week 12

There's no question about 1 and 2. 'Bama is now #1 in all three components of the ranking system (including every single first place vote in the Harris Poll), and FSU is #2 in all three. Although they won 59-3, FSU actually lost ground with the computers because of the "strength of schedule" component. While Alabama was convincingly staving off a challenge from a powerful opponent in LSU, FSU was merely drubbing puny Wake Forest, one of the weak sisters in the ACC.

Anyway, the current system makes the 1-2 debate irrelevant since those two teams get to play for the championship. There is no advantage to being #1 rather than #2 because whichever one wins that game will be #1. It does look like it will be those two teams going for all the marbles on January 6th. Neither seems to have an especially difficult path to an undefeated season, although Alabama will finish the regular season on the road against #7 Auburn and will then have to defeat the winner of the SEC East (probably #9 Missouri) in the SEC championship game.

Oregon, as expected, dropped to #6.

The controversial 3-4-5 slots finished like this:
3. Ohio State (9-0)
4. Stanford (8-1)
5. Baylor (8-0)

Stanford, despite an earlier embarrassing loss to Utah, took third in the computer ratings, beating out the two undefeated teams. On the other hand, OSU took third in both human polls while Stanford was relegated to fifth. In order to get a shot at the brass ring, those three teams need one of the Big Two to drop a game.

The minor conference undefeated teams, Fresno and idle Northern Illinois, improved to 14-15 from 16-18.

Big losers: Miami dropped all the way from #11 to #23 after getting their asses kicked by Virginia Tech; Oklahoma tumbled from #10 to #18 after losing to Baylor; LSU dropped from #13 to #21 after losing to Alabama (a punishment which seems not to fit the crime); Texas Tech and Notre Dame took the early retirement package.

Big winners: UCLA jumped all the way from #19 to #13 on the strength of a win over Arizona, and the computers give them a lot of love at #11. Texas A&M didn't impress me in allowing Mississippi State to score 41, but they impressed someone, because they vaulted from #15 to #11. As predicted, Texas and Georgia took the spots vacated by Texas Tech and Notre Dame.

Just off the list, waiting for the next vacancy: Minnesota. That will be a short wait if they win next week, since they play Wisconsin, and can knock the Badgers off the list. I'll be surprised if Minnesota can run the table, however. After Wisconsin they face Michigan State.