Here are the latest BCS Rankings. I’ve added a few of my ACC-centric thoughts on it below.
School |
BCS AvG. |
Prev. |
Harris |
USA Today |
CompUTERS |
| 1. Alabama (11-0) | .9881 | No. 1 | No. 1 | No. 1 | No. 2 |
| 2. Florida St. (11-0) | .9697 | No. 2 | No. 2 | No. 2 | No. 1 |
| 3. Ohio St. (11-0) | .9200 | No. 3 | No. 3 | No. 3 | No. 3 |
| 4. Auburn (10-1) | .8236 | No. 6 | No. 5 | No. 5 | No. 4 |
| 5. Missouri (10-1) | .8077 | No. 8 | No. 6 | No. 6 | No. 5 |
| 6. Clemson (10-1) | .7726 | No. 7 | No. 4 | No. 4 | No. 10 |
| 7. Oklahoma St. (10-1) | .7615 | No. 10 | No. 7 | No. 7 | No. 8 |
| 8. Stanford (9-2) | .6665 | No. 9 | No. 8 | No. 10 | No. 9 |
| 9. Baylor (9-1) | .6456 | No. 4 | No. 9 | No. 8 | No. 11 |
| 10. S. Carolina (9-2) | .6101 | No. 11 | No. 10 | No. 9 | No. 12 |
| 11. Michigan St. (10-1) | .5780 | No. 13 | No. 11 | No. 11 | No. 14 |
| 12. Arizona St. (9-2) | .5052 | No. 17 | No. 16 | No. 18 | No. 6 |
| 13. Oregon (9-2) | .4950 | No. 5 | No. 12 | No. 12 | No. 15 |
| 14. N. Illinois (11-0) | .4620 | No. 16 | No. 17 | No. 20 | No. 7 |
| 15. Wisconsin (9-2) | .4448 | No. 19 | No. 15 | No. 14 | No. 13 |
| 16. Fresno St. (10-0) | .4124 | No. 15 | No. 13 | No. 13 | No. 17 |
| 17. LSU (8-3) | .3737 | No. 22 | No. 14 | No. 15 | No. 19 |
| 18. Oklahoma (9-2) | .3380 | No. 20 | No. 19 | No. 17 | No. 18 |
| 19. Central Florida (9-1) | .3364 | No. 18 | No. 20 | No. 19 | No. 16 |
| 20. Louisville (10-1) | .2522 | No. 21 | No. 18 | No. 16 | No. 27 |
| 21. Texas A&M (8-3) | .2243 | No. 12 | No. 21 | No. 21 | No. 23 |
| 22. UCLA (8-3) | .1921 | No. 14 | No. 22 | No. 22 | No. 19 |
| 23. USC (9-3) | .1779 | No. 23 | No. 23 | No. 23 | No. 21 |
| 24. Duke (9-2) | .0885 | NR | No. 24 | No. 24 | No. 26 |
| 25. Notre Dame (8-3) | .0674 | NR | No. 25 | No. 26 | No. 22 |
* So as you can see, we’ve switched over from AP Top 25 analysis to BCS analysis because, well, these are the rankings that really matter. And to be honest, the only one that really, really matters is FSU’s rankings. But the other stuff is interesting too, so we’ll have few notes about it as well.
* But first, the Seminoles. FSU actually gained some ground on Alabama, cutting its deficit in the BCS average by .0061. But that margin is not as important as the gap between the Seminoles and No. 3 Ohio State. That closed from .0792 down to .0497. The Buckeyes still have a game against Michigan left and then after that, a Big Ten title game against Michigan State. The Seminoles have Florida and then … somebody from the Coastal. So it’s likely that that gap will continue to close. But the consensus is still that FSU will be fine provided neither of its next two games are close.
* Clemson has climbed up to No. 6. It’s specific position isn’t as important as its general area in the rankings. Assuming FSU makes the title game, the Orange Bowl will be looking for a replacement. Assuming Clemson can stay in the top 14 of the final BCS standings, the Tigers are the logical pick. That should happen even if Clemson loses to South Carolina. But if it’s a humiliating, West-Virginia-Orange-Bowl level loss? … Let’s just not ponder that right now.
* And … here’s where there’s a long gap until the next ACC team. So for now, let’s take a look at two other teams of interest: Arizona State and Northern Illinois. Why the Sun Devils? Because that’s where former Pitt coach Todd Graham now coaches. The Sun Devils are all the way up to No. 12 in the latest rankings and have a gaudy computer ranking of No. 6. Oh and Arizona State is also playing in the Pac-12 title game, after winning the South Division. I’m sure Pitt fans are just thrilled for Graham’s success.
* As for Northern Illinois, Dave Doeren’s old team has now jumped over Fresno State to No. 14 in the rankings. That means that if the season ended today, the Huskies would be back in a BCS bowl for the second season. Meanwhile, Doeren’s Wolfpack is 3-8 and in danger of going winless in the ACC. I wouldn’t blame Doeren for getting a little nostalgic for his days back in Dekalb … until he checks the bank account.
* Finally, another actual ACC team. And it’s … Duke. Yup. The 9-2 Blue Devils have made their first appearance in the BCS rankings. They’re sandwiched right in between traditional powers Southern Cal and Notre Dame. Every day seems to bring some new milestone for this Duke team. Can anyone remember a battle for the Victory Bell in which both teams came in this hot? (UNC is riding a five-game winning streak)