BCS Rankings: Teams That Benefited from Their Biggest Win of the Season

The latest BCS rankings are out after marquee matchups across the country this Saturday, a few elite teams benefited from victories that are the most important results of their seasons thus far.

With the bowl games rapidly approaching, the nation's top programs are all looking for statement wins, and a few received them this weekend.

These victories allowed some teams to climb up the rankings, while it simply affirmed dominance for others.

Here are the teams that made of the most of their opportunities this weekend.

No. 1 Alabama 

Alabama retained their top spot by beating LSU 21-17, while the Tigers dropped from No. 5 to No. 7.

Les Miles’ team did not deserve to drop very far for this loss as this game lived up to its billing as one of the best matchups college football fans would watch this season.

LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger stepped up and played his best game of the year while the defense clamped down on the Crimson Tide to lead a second-half surge. The Tide’s perfect season was in serious jeopardy until AJ McCarron hit T.J. Yeldon for a 28-yard touchdown pass with under a minute to play to take lead and earn a victory. 

It was a fantastic battle between two elite programs, and it was undoubtedly Alabama’s most important victory of the season. It is unlikely the Tide will face another challenge this difficult in any of their remaining scheduled games.

No. 3 Oregon 

Scoring 51 points usually leads to a victory, but USC found out that Oregon’s offense is extremely special as the Ducks put up 62 points and moved up to No. 3 in the rankings.

Oregon had been at No. 4, despite being ranked No. 2 in both the AP Top 25 Poll and the USA Today Poll. But the BCS Rankings slighted the Ducks because they had not faced any formidable opponents. 

After traveling to Los Angeles and torching the Trojans defense behind Kenjon Barner's 321-yard, five-touchdown performance, the team finally got the recognition it has deserved for its play this season.

With games against No. 14 Stanford and No. 11 Oregon State to round out its schedule, the Ducks have more opportunities to solidify their status as the second-best team in the country.

No. 15 Texas A&M

Texas A&M had flashed potential this season, but failed to deliver in games against the SEC’s top programs. 

After narrowly losing to Florida and LSU, the only win the Aggies had against a ranked team came in a wild 59-57 thriller over then-No. 23 Louisiana Tech.

But freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel and the Aggies put on their finest performance of the season by going on the road and trouncing Mississippi State 38-13. The Bulldogs dropped from No. 15 to No. 21 while the Aggies improved one spot.

Manziel rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries while also completing 30-of-36 passes for 311 yards. The Aggies will need a performance at least this strong next week against Alabama, but for now, the team should be proud of this impressive victory. 

Full BCS Rankings

Rank	Team
1	Alabama
2	Kansas State
3	Oregon
4	Notre Dame
5	Georgia
6	Florida
7	LSU
8	South Carolina
9	Louisville
10	Florida State
11	Oregon State
12	Oklahoma
13	Clemson
14	Stanford
15	Texas A&M
16	Nebraska
17	Texas
18	UCLA
19	USC
20	Louisiana Tech
21	Mississippi State
22	Texas Tech
23	Rutgers
24	Northwestern
25	Toledo