The BCS had their hands full this week because they insisted on throwing common sense out the window last week. 

No. 8 LSU barely survived LA Tech, while No. 9 USC got steamrolled during their homecoming against Stanford.  In addition, No. 14 Miami, No. 15 Houston, No. 16 Utah, and No. 17 Arizona all dropped on Saturday. 

Unlike the BCS, only one team in my Top 10 fell short in Week 11.  My rankings are more consistent; they don't have huge jumps from week to week.  More importantly, I have little to no bias.

No. 1 Alabama (Prev. No. 2) was chosen (by a wide majority) to have more trouble on Saturday than Florida.  But the Tide put the Bulldogs out to dry, 31-3—team that almost knocked off Georgia Tech, Florida, and Houston, among others.  

No. 2 Florida (Prev. No. 1) escaped the Gamecocks on Saturday, 24-14.  Florida has a tremendous defense and a potent offense, but they don’t have the big playmakers on the receiving end that they used to have.  Florida will have smooth sailing, until December.

No. 3 Texas (Prev. No. 3) is actually tied with the “Lizards” of TCU this week for the third spot.  The Longhorns dismantled Baylor, 47-14.  It’s too close to call at this point, but most likely one of these Texas teams will play for the title. 

No. 3 TCU (Prev. No. 4) decided to mix up their uniforms last week against Utah, having the “Horned Frog” appear to be shooting blood out of its eyes.  The “lizards” made a statement, knocking off the Utes in blowout fashion, 55-28. 

No. 5 Cincinnati (Prev. No. 5) held onto the fifth spot this week by the skin of their teeth after beating West Virginia in a thriller, 24-20.  The Bearcats appear to be out of the title discussion, but with Illinois at home this week and finishing with Pitt on the road, I assure you Cincinnati should definitely be in the title discussion.

No. 6 Boise State (Prev. No. 6) left the Vandals of Idaho dismal on Saturday, in a 63-25 rout.  The Smurfs are ranked last among the undefeated teams, but they’ll most likely stay perfect this season. 

No. 7 Georgia Tech (Prev. No. 7): It’s official: Georgia Tech is the best one-loss team in college football. They’re a very dynamic team, and they’ll finish the season with Georgia, before playing Clemson in the ACC Championship.

No. 8 Ohio State (Prev. No. 9) is the best two-loss team in college football.  The Buckeyes won a buck-game against the Hawkeyes, 27-24 in overtime.  That is why it was listed as my Game of the Week, and not Utah at Texas Christian. 

No. 9 Pittsburgh (Prev. No. 10) edged out the victory over Notre Dame in a thriller, 27-22.  Pittsburgh heads to West Virginia in two weeks and ends the season with their toughest test—the Cincinnati Bearcats. 

No. 10 Oregon (Prev. No. 12) is a very dynamic team with lots of potential.  The Ducks got back to their old selves last week, ripping apart the Sun Devils, 44-21.

No. 11 Iowa (Prev. No. 9) lost a close game to a very good Ohio State team on the road, in overtime.  Iowa will be resilient, hosting a dismal Golden Gopher team that had to rally against the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State. 

No. 12 LSU (Prev. No. 11) was rewarded in the BCS last week for losing to Alabama, moving from No. 9 to No. 8.  LSU won this week, but it was against a weak Louisiana Tech team, 24-16. 

No. 13 Clemson (Prev. No. 14) has been extremely underrated the whole season, much like Wisconsin.  They continue to make improvements and climb up the ladder every week.  The Tigers will have a second chance at Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship. 

No. 14 Oregon State (Prev. No. 20) still has much to prove this season, but they blew out Washington last week 48-21 and already beat Stanford in a shootout.

No. 15 Stanford (Prev. No. 21) climbed six spots this week after crushing USC, 55-21 and ruining their homecoming.  Despite having back-to-back losses to Oregon State and Arizona earlier in the season, Stanford is on a three-game winning streak, and could become the PAC-10 Champions of 2009. 

No. 16 Wisconsin (Prev. No. 16) handed Michigan their sixth loss of the season.  The Badgers haven’t been about "style points" this season, but they’ve won every game that they should have. 

No. 17 Oklahoma State (Prev. No. 18) won a close game against Texas Tech, as expected.  But it was far from the shootout we're used to seeing.  It appears that the Big XII is no longer all about offense.  Okey State has impressed me a couple of times this season, but it was against two teams that combine for a 9-11 record (BU and IA State).

No. 18 North Carolina (Prev. N/R) was on the porch last week, trying to get in the Top 25, but they finally earned their way back by bashing Miami of FL, 33-24.  UNC started the season 0-3 in conference play, but they’ve won three consecutive conference games against VA Tech, Duke, and now Miami (FL). 

No. 19 Penn State (Prev. No. 22) jumped to No. 14 in the BCS.  Penn State has dominated in nearly every game this season, but they were all cakewalks (Akron, Temple, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Northwestern, Syracuse, Minnesota, and Eastern Illinois), except for the teams they lost to (Ohio State and Iowa).  Penn State is a solid team, but they're not a true contender. 

No. 20 Virginia Tech (Prev. No. 25) moved to No. 16 in the AP Poll and No. 15 in the BCS.  But the Tar Heels were nowhere to be found in either poll.  The Hokies will most likely end the season on a four-game winning streak, but their ACC Title hopes have been shattered.

No. 21 Miami (FL) (Prev. No. 15) - It’s easy to read too much into one team, especially when they look like a true contender.  The ‘Canes apparently don’t have as much swagger as we thought. Ultimately, it was the tough schedule that caught up with them.

No. 22 USC (Prev. No. 13) didn’t even show up in Week 11, losing to Stanford, 55-21 (the worst loss in head coach Pete Carroll’s era).  Under Carroll, the Trojans have never lost a game in the month of November, until now. 

No. 23 Mississippi (Prev. N/R) has been up and down all season, but they’re still 7-3 and a potential contender.  The Rebels host No. 12 LSU to be the No. 3 team in the SEC this week. 

No. 24 Rutgers (Prev. N/R) makes its first appearance in the Top 25, after shutting down South Florida, 31-0.  It was quite a statement.  Nearly every “expert” and analyst had S. Florida in their Top 25 last week, but I wasn’t convinced.  Rutgers was clearly the better team.

No. 25 Houston (Prev. No. 17) rounds out the Top 25 after losing a heartbreaker to Central Florida, 37-32.  Houston was inevitably on their toes for too long, so they had a big fall.  Houston will end the season on a high note, winning out from here.

Knocking On the Door

Arizona, BYU, California, Nebraska, Utah