BCS Rankings Are Out

After a couple of blah weeks, the college football season picked up again this past weekend. Several Top 25 showdowns along other games of national or at least conference rivalry interest made for some interesting watching.

And. at the end of it all, the first BCS standings!

Not that I’m thrilled about the Bowl Championship Series–as anyone who has been reading my writing over the last year knows, I despise the BCS–but I admit to a sordid interest in seeing what surprising results, if any, the convoluted BCS formula would generate.

So, the highlights… Oklahoma suffered their third loss, something even BCS math can’t rationalize for championship consideration. The Sooners did give Texas a run for their money; should the Longhorns be concerned? Maybe, especially considering that Colt McCoy injured his thumb in the game.

Even more encouraging than Oklahoma’s defeat, Ohio State lost to, of all teams, Purdue! We should thank the O-highly overrated ones for taking themselves out of an embarrassing and undeserved national title bid early for a change. Joining the Buckeyes as Top Ten losers were the Hokies, as Virginia Tech became the latest team to rocket up the rankings only to be thwacked and drop ten or more slots back down again.

Even Florida survived a big scare from Arkansas, a game the Razorbacks should have won.

Cincinnati, on the other hand, continued to impress, doubling up South Florida. Although the two remaining potential BCS busters both won, they did so in decidedly different fashion. Boise State struggled against Tulsa, 28-21, while TCU demolished Colorado State 44-6 in a game that didn’t even seem that close after the first quarter. TCU faces BYU next week in a Top 25 match-up of top non-BCS conference programs. With the Broncos suddenly struggling, the Horned Frogs are making their push to be the true BCS buster, a fact reflected in the first BCS standings. Boise State clocked in at #4, but TCU is coming up hot behind at #8.

Ah, the first BCS standings. Gotta like having two non-BCS schools in the Top 8! In fact, the only conference of any sort, BCS or non, with more than one team in the Top Ten is the Southeast Conference (#1 Florida, #2 Alabama, and #9 LSU). I don’t think anyone would argue that the SEC is the best conference in college football this year; year in and year out, the SEC rarely disappoints. But one of Alabama or Florida must fall. The Tide (who just passed Florida in the AP Poll) play LSU on November 7. Assuming they win that game and the Gators win out, those two teams will showdown in the SEC Championship Game, meaning one will lose… and the chances of an all-SEC national title game are slim.

In fact, only seven undefeateds currently remain: Florida, Alabama, Texas, Boise State, Cincinnati, Iowa and TCU. Who will be next to go down?

• December 8, 2009 -- Bowl Challenges Set (0)
• November 17, 2009 -- As The Season Dwindles Down… (0)
• October 13, 2009 -- Saturday Snoozer (2)
• December 23, 2009 -- TCU’s Gary Patterson AP Coach of the Year – NCAA College Football (0)
• November 3, 2009 -- Iowa’s Pass (0)