The newest BCS rankings are released, and as expected the upset victory by the UCLA Bruins over the Arizona St. Sun Devils knocked them out of the top 25. Arizona State's road to the BCS is pretty much one-dimensional now. ASU has to win out and hope UCLA loses one, then win the Pac-12 championship game and get to the Rose Bowl. Their hope for a BCS at-large pretty much faded to dust this weekend in Pasadena.
Of far greater national importance is the upcoming battle between the Oregon Ducks and the Stanford Cardinal this week. Both Oregon and Stanford pretty much control their own destiny in the Pac-12 race (win out and they earn the BCS automatic bid for the conference). What's of greater importance is whether either team will be able to make thier way into the BCS title discussion.
Stanford does trail one-loss Alabama in the newest rankings (barely), but they should leapfrog the Crimson Tide with a victory over the Ducks this weekend. It's unclear how much of an effect beating Stanford will have for Oregon, but they could spring to at least the top five by passing Stanford and Oklahoma. Considering they have a common loss to one opponent (LSU), Oregon passing Alabama is a little bit more unlikely. The Ducks just have to keep winning to keep their BCS hopes alive, with the Rose Bowl in Pasadena their likeliest landing spot even if they lost to the Cardinal.
Click here for a comprehensive list of the rankings. Top 25 listed below.
1. LSU
2. Oklahoma State
3. Alabama
4. Stanford
5. Boise State
6. Oklahoma
7. Oregon
8. Arkansas
9. Clemson
10. Virginia Tech
11. Houston
12. Penn State
13. South Carolina
14. Kansas State
15. Georgia
16. Texas
17. Michigan State
18. Wisconsin
19. Nebraska
20. Auburn
21. Georgia Tech
22. Southern Miss
23. Cincinnati
24. Michigan
25. Baylor
For more on the Cardinal, go to Rule of Tree. For more on the Ducks, go to Addicted to Quack.