2012 NCAA College Football Polls: First BCS Rankings and Week 8 Calculations

The official 2012 NCAA college football BCS rankings for Week 8 will be revealed Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET. The following data is the updated simulations of the BCS rankings. It is compiled with the latest points from the USA Today Coaches poll and the Harris Interactive poll. Each of these polls provides one-third of the BCS rankings.

The final one-third is calculated through six independent computer rankings. The computers’ scores are determined by results and strength of schedule. For each team, the BCS drops the highest and lowest rankings from the six computers, and uses the four remaining rankings for the final one-third score. These projections are the most difficult, but are the final key to determine the standings.

The actual standings will be revealed on Sunday’s BCS show on ESPN.  

BCS Team/Ranking         Coaches Poll         Harris Poll          Computers

1.  Alabama         .9728            1.000                  .9983                   .9200                             

2.  Oregon            .9293            .9586                  .9593                   .8700

3.  Florida            .8925            .8793                  .8883                   .9100

4.  N. Dame          .8774            .8481                  .8442                   .9400

5.  Kansas St.       .8463            .8861                  .8828                   .7700

6.  LSU                   .7188            .7993                  .7871                   .5700

7.  S. Carolina      .6963            .6861                  .6929                   .7100

8.  Oklahoma        .6664           .6922                  .6470                   .6600

9.  Oregon St.       .6541           .5688                  .6435                   .7500

10. USC                  .5825            .6746                 .6330                   .4400  

11. Georgia          .5413            .5464                  .5475                   .5300

12. Miss. St.          .4679            .4549                  .4689                   .4800

13. W. Virginia     .4593            .4590                  .4490                   .4700

14. Florida St.      .4411             .6231                  .6602                   .0400

15. Louisville       .3928             .4712                  .4271                   .2800

16. Texas Tech    .3372             .1858                 .1857                    .6400

17. Clemson        .3341             .5024                  .4998                   .0000

18. Rutgers          .3250             .3356                  .3294                   .3100

19. Cincinnati      .3150             .3092                 .2758                    .3600

20. Texas A&M    .2575             .2692                 .2334                    .2700

Computer Love

Notre Dame, Florida and Alabama will draw the best computer rankings. SEC powers LSU and South Carolina will also figure strongly in the BCS, and figure to rank ahead of USC and Oklahoma.

Oregon was idle and though they solidified their No. 2 ranking, the Ducks will need to keep an eye on Notre Dame who later has games at Oklahoma and USC. Should the Fighting Irish go undefeated, their strong computer support will put them past Oregon, even if the Ducks remain at No. 2 in the human polls.

Oklahoma and USC are climbing back into the top ten. Undefeated Oregon State has played a tougher schedule and scored well with the computers, but the Beavers will need to impress the human pollsters, which is tough given their lack of consistency and tradition over the years. In addition, the Beavers can win ugly, which doesn’t impress the pollsters.

 

Computer Hate

Kansas State is the big loser with the BCS rankings. They finished third in the Coaches poll but fourth in the Harris poll, behind Florida and Notre Dame who are beloved by the computers.

Florida State and Clemson score extremely low with the computers. FSU only finished in the top 25 with three of the computers. However, the human pollsters are more enamored with their tradition and potential.

Louisville and Rutgers keep creeping up the polls, but their computer performance is rated abysmally low. With their soft schedules, look for at least one of them to find their way into the BCS Top 10 within a few weeks. Texas Tech is the big mover this week from outside the top twenty.

Click here for week 7 BCS calculations

Click here for week 6 BCS calculations