BCS Rankings 2013 Week 14: Most Compelling Developments from Updated Polls

The 2013 college football season hasn't gone according to plan. Predetermined favorites have fallen out of the championship picture, Heisman Trophy front-runners have been eliminated from contention, and a new breed of powers are emerging.

During Week 13, that madness was embodied in a series of games that continued to shake up the rankings. High-profile teams were on the wrong side of blowouts, and the national championship picture became slightly clearer.

The question is, what were the most compelling developments from this week's BCS Rankings?

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1.	Alabama	.9881
2.	Florida State	.9697
3.	Ohio State	.9200
4.	Auburn	.8236
5.	Missouri	.8077
6.	Clemson	.7726
7.	Oklahoma State	.7615
8.	Stanford	.6665
9.	Baylor	.6456
10.	South Carolina	.6101
11.	Michigan State	.5780
12.	Arizona State	.5052
13.	Oregon	.4950
14.	Northern Illinois	.4620
15.	Wisconsin	.4448
16.	Fresno State	.4124
17.	LSU	.3737
18.	Oklahoma	.3380
19.	UCF	.3364
20.	Louisville	.2522
21.	Texas A&M	.2243
22.	UCLA	.1921
23.	USC	.1779
24.	Duke	.0885
25.	Notre Dame	.0674

Auburn, Alabama Set Up for Top Five Clash

The most compelling development from the updated BCS rankings is the rise of the Auburn Tigers. Head coach Gus Malzahn has led the Tigers to No. 4 overall after moving to 10-1 entering their Week 13 bye.

Auburn will now host the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in a game that could determine whether or not the SEC sends a team to the BCS National Championship Game.

The No. 2 Florida State Seminoles and No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes are still undefeated, and that makes this game one of extreme importance. If Auburn is able to pull out the upset and both Florida State and Ohio State win out, the SEC would be all but certain to be without a team in the title game.

With that being said, both Florida State and Ohio State have rivalry and conference championship games remaining. At least one of those teams, if not both, could end up losing.

If that does transpire, then Alabama vs. Auburn would result in one of two things. The more likely outcome would be that it could determine which team heads to the SEC Championship Game with the opportunity to play for the national title.

The bigger stretch would be that, if both Florida State and Ohio State lose, Alabama and Auburn could end up meeting in the BCS National Championship Game.

That's thinking very far ahead, but it's something that must be considered with the high-stakes nature of a meeting between Top Five teams at this juncture. Both squads are dominant, and neither can afford to lose this game.

The BCS rankings just made a high-stakes game a landscape-altering one.

Arizona State Eclipses Oregon

The Oregon Ducks were uninspired and downright disappointing during Week 13 of the regular season. Oregon went on the road and lost 42-16 to the unranked Arizona Wildcats, displaying no heart, passion or focus in a game that ended up having significant ramifications.

Oregon is now in danger of being on the outside looking in on the Pac-12 Championship Game.

The Arizona State Sun Devils were long known as Pac-12 bottom-feeders, displaying signs of promise but often falling short in critical moments. They had just one winning season since 2007 but have been an entirely different squad under Todd Graham.

In 2013, the Sun Devils have turned heads by moving to 9-2 with one game remaining. The result: Arizona State has eclipsed Oregon in the BCS rankings.

If I had told you that the Sun Devils would be ranked higher than the Ducks at any point in this season, you'd have laughed. If I told you that Arizona State would be ranked higher than Oregon with one game remaining in the regular season, you would've stormed off.

Well, it's happening. And the BCS got it right by placing an inspired Sun Devils squad over a lifeless Ducks unit.

Arizona State has won six consecutive games, including its most recent 38-33 road win over the No. 22 UCLA Bruins. Oregon, meanwhile, seems to be lifeless since losing a heartbreaking and purely dreadful game against the Stanford Cardinal.

It may not be expected, but it's the right decision.