BCS Standings – Sunday 17 October
The Bowl Championship Series standings were released for the first time this season on Sunday 17 October and they have set up what should be a very exciting finish to the season. Moreover, a thrilling and surprising week seven in the NCAA meant several teams
dropped further in the ranking than expected.
Top five
The top five were largely expected after an exciting week of NCAA football. Oklahoma is now the top ranked team in the country as they sit comfortably with an unbeaten record. Oregon sits right behind Oklahoma also unbeaten this season. Boise State was once
again snubbed and now sits third. The Broncos will have a tough time making up ground, as they have no remaining games against ranked sides. Following Boise State is Auburn, who completed a big win over Arkansas to jump into fourth spot. Rounding out the top
five is TCU, who will also struggle to make up ground with a weak schedule.
6-10
The 6-10 range sees a couple surprise clubs, who will certainly vie for the top five as the season progresses. The sixth spot currently belongs to an unbeaten LSU side, who perhaps could have been ranked higher. The seventh place spot goes to the surprising
Michigan State, who continues to charge up the rankings. Eighth spot features Alabama, while the ninth position belongs to an impressive Utah side. Meanwhile, finishing out the top 10 is Ohio State, who was the favourite to sit number one before losing to
Wisconsin on Saturday 16 October.
11-15
The 11-15 range features several exciting teams, who were perhaps underrated to start the year. The 11th ranked side is Missouri, who started the year unranked. Nevertheless, their unbeaten record has helped to push them up the rankings. Following
Missouri is Stanford, who is still trying to recover from their loss to Oregon. Wisconsin checks in at the 13 spot after defeating Ohio State, while Oklahoma State has managed to push their way into the 14th spot. The top 15 is finished off by Iowa,
who has been unable jump in the rankings despite an impressive schedule.
16-20
The 16-20 range features several teams who are on the rebound after faltering early in the campaign. The 16th spot belongs to Nebraska, who was devastated in a loss to Texas on Saturday 16 October. Florida State follows the Cornhuskers up in 17th
spot, as they continue to climb after being dropped from the AP Top 25 in week one. Arizona struggled last week, but has managed to maintain a spot in the top 20. Meanwhile Texas jumped back into the rankings after defeating Nebraska. The top 20 is rounded
out by West Virginia, another team who pushed their way back into the conversation with a 5-1 record.
21-25
The bottom five is filled out with surprise clubs who were either not expected to be ranked, or entered the standings much lower than expected. The 21 spot belongs to South Carolina, who dropped after losing to Kentucky in week seven action. Kansas State
moves into 22nd spot, despite losing to Nebraska in week six. The bottom fell out on an Arkansas, who was surprised by Auburn on Saturday 16 October. Meanwhile, Mississippi State surprised everyone when they were ranked 24th despite losses
to both Auburn and LSU. Finally the top 25 is rounded out by the surprising Virginia Tech, who has forced their way into a ranked spot after starting the season off with two losses.
The rankings featured several surprises, which included Kansas State at the 22 spot, despite not making the AP Top 25. Moreover, USC was not included and Miami (FL) was left out even though they entered the AP Top 25 in the 25th spot.
Perhaps more pertinent is the decision to drop the unbeaten sides of Boise State and TCU to third and fifth respectively. Unfortunately both schools will struggle to make up group on Oklahoma and Oregon, as they have much weaker schedules.
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