BCS Rankings Predictions 2013: How Stanford's Win Will Impact Standings
The impact of Stanford taking down Oregon on Thursday night will certainly shake up the BCS rankings after Week 11 of the college football season.
After taking a 26-0 lead, it was smooth sailing for the Cardinal in their 26-20 upset win. Oregon rallied in the last 10 minutes, but it was too little for the Ducks, guaranteeing that the next BCS rankings are going to be shaken up a bit.
| 1. | Alabama | 8-0 | 1 |
| 2. | Florida State | 8-0 | 2 |
| 3. | Ohio State | 9-0 | 4 |
| 4. | Stanford | 8-1 | 5 |
| 5. | Baylor | 8-0 | 6 |
| 6. | Oregon | 8-1 | 3 |
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The top two teams will stay the same, as long as Alabama and Florida State are able to avoid being upset on Saturday. That is certainly not a given with the Crimson Tide taking on LSU, but the Cardinal's win won't affect either of the top two teams.
Things will get much more interesting at the No. 3 spot, however, now that Oregon has lost. The three teams that have a case for staking their claim as the new No. 3 are Ohio State, Stanford and Baylor.
Ohio State probably has the best case, as it is undefeated. After a dominating 56-0 win over Purdue last week, the Buckeyes don't have a game this week, meaning that they're safe from being upset in Week 11.
However, as successful as Ohio State has been, it has not had to play the opponents that Stanford has faced this season. The Cardinal have a loss against Utah, but they also have convincing wins over Arizona State, Washington, UCLA, Oregon State and now, Oregon. They've been tested constantly, but keep finding ways to pull out convincing wins.
The Baylor Bears certainly could make a case as well with their high-powered offense and undefeated season. They just took down Oklahoma, 41-12, but it was also their first true test. Baylor is fifth in the AP Top 25. If the Bears can get some love from the BCS computers as well, they could move up in the BCS rankings.
With all of that being said, I actually think that these three teams will each move up a spot. They all have solid cases to climb the rankings, but not a ton has changed despite Stanford and Baylor getting big wins over key opponents.
Meanwhile, I expect Oregon to fall to No. 6 and no lower. The Ducks' first loss of the year came against one of the best teams in the country. Based on the struggles that Clemson has had this season, it's safe to say that Oregon is the better team, and the BCS rankings will reflect that.
The rest of the BCS rankings will adjust based off of what happens on Saturday, but after the big win by Stanford, we should see a little bit of shuffling between those teams ranked third through sixth.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
