BCS Rankings Week 11: 25 Things We Learned From The Fourth BCS Rankings Poll
BCS Rankings Week 4 continues. It is now time to widen our perspective to see if we can't learn a thing or two.
We know who is too high and who is too low. We know who got screwed. Now it's time to reflect on all 25 teams and think of what they taught us about themselves this past weekend.
Start the slideshow for some quality learning time.
25. Texas A&M
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What We Learned: Mike Sherman sure knows how and when to get off the hot seat.
The Aggies pulled off a huge 33-19 win over Oklahoma, formerly No. 8 in the BCS, at home this weekend, catapulting them into the BCS standings and putting Mike Sherman in good graces with all his haters.
Yes, Sherman's 10-15 record in his first two seasons at the helm can temporarily be forgiven, as his team has now won three in a row.
Big ups to junior quarterback Ryan Tannehill who has 674 yards and six touchdowns in his last two games.
No. 24 Kansas State
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What We Learned: Texas may be terrible, but beating them is still a great way to get noticed.
At what point do we admit that we are all partially responsible for putting Texas at No. 5 in the preseason polls? After all, the faster we do it, the faster we can stop giving credit to teams like Kansas State for beating them.
Every single one of the Wildcats needs to send Garrett Gilbert some kind of gift basket. If he doesn't throw five interceptions, they're probably not among the nation's elite.
By the way, Kansas State actually got out-gained by a wide margin against the Longhorns: 412 to 270.
No. 23 South Carolina
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What We Learned: South Carolina's defense just really is not that good.
With Ryan Mallett and his SEC-best passing numbers coming into town, it was a foregone conclusion that South Carolina's pass defense was in for a long night.
Mallett did indeed go on to have another 300-yard day, but South Carolina also let sophomore running back Knile Davis torch it for 110 yards and three touchdowns.
In the SEC, only Mississippi, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt give up more yards than the Gamecocks. South Carolina is the only one of the four with better than a .500 record.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 22 Florida
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What We Learned: Clawing your way to the top of the SEC East is worth certain consideration, no matter how dreadful the division is.
The Gators did what they had to do against Vanderbilt, putting away the game with a 41-0 halftime score and ultimately winning the game 55-14.
For some reason, such a big win over the 2-7 Commodores was enough to get them into the BCS standings for the first time this season. I hope that they too sent out thank you cards, namely to the three teams from the bottom five of last week's standings, for getting beat.
They host No. 23 South Carolina on Saturday, so they will get their shot at silencing their critics (hello!).
No. 21 Nevada
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What We Learned: Nevada can move the ball as well as anyone.
The Wolf Pack racked up a school-record 844 yards in their 63-17 win over Idaho, which is also the highest total by any FBS team since 2004.
In other words, Boise State wasn't the only WAC team setting school records for offense on Saturday. In fact, Nevada is just behind Boise in scoring average, at 44.2 points per game.
It's the birthplace of the pistol, folks. And the Wolf Pack's is the best there is.
No. 20 Virginia Tech
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What We Learned: The Hokies are officially the best team in the ACC.
OK, maybe that's not so much a lesson as it is a reality, as they are the team with the best record and the only team with an unblemished conference mark (5-0). But I, for one, didn't think people wanted to believe it as long as Florida State's only conference loss was in a game that they should have won.
But the Hokies certainly looked far from unbeatable against Georgia Tech, and they certainly weren't nearly as dominant as they were in the previous six games of their seven game win streak. They have to play at North Carolina and at Miami in the next two weeks, and neither game is going to be an easy win.
No. 19 Mississippi State
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What We Learned: The best way to avoid all the bloodshed that takes place in the top 25 in early November is to avoid playing altogether.
The Bulldogs were idle this weekend and they took advantage of all the top 25 calamity by moving up one spot, from No. 20 to No. 19.
They might not be long for the rankings anyway. They have to play at Alabama against a Tide team that is likely going to be itching to destroy something (anything) after their title hopes were dashed. Then they have to play host to Arkansas.
Nevertheless, they stand a chance as long as their solid defense (17.0 points/game) can hold the line.
No. 18 Arizona
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What We Learned: Nick Foles sure looked rusty, didn't he?
There were very few redeeming things in Arizona's bad loss in Palo Alto, and Nick Foles was certainly not one of them. He returned to action after a two-game absence from a knee injury, and he promptly laid an egg. He completed 28 of 48 passes for just 248 yards, and he was sacked six times.
The loss all but drops Arizona out of the already-crowded Rose Bowl hunt in the Pac-10, and the road doesn't get any easier with USC and Oregon coming up next.
No. 17 Missouri
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What We Learned: So much for Blaine Gabbert...
It's not entirely Gabbert's fault that the Tigers have lost two in a row after starting 7-0, but he certainly hasn't helped matters with his play either. After Saturday's lousy 99-yard performance, he has just 294 yards in his last two games, completing barely more than 40 percent of his passes, with one touchdown and one pick.
Ultimately, I suppose it's easy to get off to a 7-0 start when six of your first seven games are played at home.
No. 16 Oklahoma
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What We Learned: It's hard to win when you can't get those goal-line touchdowns.
A goal-line stand by Texas A&M in the first quarter, and two more in the fourth quarter, left the Sooners without valuable points on the scoreboard in their 33-19 loss to the previously-unranked Aggies.
As such, the Sooners' No. 1 ranking and Big 12 supremacy are now distant memories. For a team with as much talent as they have, that's a damn shame.
No. 15 Arkansas
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What We Learned: The fourth-best team in the SEC West is leaps and bounds over the best the SEC East has to offer.
The Razorbacks are a better team than people give them credit for. In fact, when it comes to two-loss teams, you could argue that they're better than Iowa, and maybe even just as good as Alabama.
Ryan Mallett definitely deserves all the acclaim he gets, but what Knile Davis did to the Gamecocks should not be overlooked. He torched their SEC-best rush defense for 110 yards and three touchdowns.
No. 14 Utah
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What We Learned: The Utes never were that good, were they?
Despite the fact TCU was favored, I don't think anybody could have broadcasted a 40-point blowout in their favor, especially since they had never won in three trips to Salt Lake City.
Well, the Utes are now at the back of the bus that carries all the one-loss grunts, and they have even been placed behind two-loss teams Alabama and Iowa.
Such is the penalty for being overrated.
No. 13 Iowa
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What We Learned: On occasion, keeping your Rose Bowl hopes alive requires a little luck.
I'm one of those people who thinks that Ricky Stanzi doesn't get nearly enough credit. His late 52-yard strike to Marvin McNutt was huge, and only Terrelle Pryor has as many touchdown passes as he does in the Big Ten.
But let's face it, the Hawkeyes were lucky to win this one. If Damarlo Belcher doesn't drop that ball in the end zone for Indiana, then I'm sitting here talking about how lucky Iowa is to still be in the top 25 with three losses.
No. 12 Alabama
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What We Learned: The road to Glendale didn't go through Alabama after all.
Ever since the BCS rankings were first announced, and even before then, just about every college football pundit in the known universe was of the opinion that the only thing standing between Alabama and a trip to Glendale was the Iron Bowl.
Shame on us for underrating LSU. Despite all the weapons on offense, 'Bama just didn't have an answer for the Tigers, and the Tide's hopes of repeating were ultimately killed by a 46-yard completion by LSU's backup quarterback.
Ouch.
No. 11 Michigan State
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What We Learned: Edwin Baker isn't about to let Michigan State go down without a fight.
The Spartans had all of 31 rushing yards in their loss at Iowa. Edwin Baker had 179 against Minnesota, and scored all four of his team's touchdowns.
That should serve as a reminder of how good the Spartans can be when they aren't forced to abandon the run like they were against Iowa.
Of course, playing Minnesota helps too. The Golden Gophers have now lost nine in a row.
No. 10 Oklahoma State
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What We Learned: Justin Blackmon and Brandon Weeden are good for each other.
Blackmon returned for the Cowboys' game in a big way after sitting out the previous week following a DUI incident. He had 179 yards receiving and one touchdown, and he scored another touchdown on a 69-yard run.
Former minor-league baseball player Brandon Weeden definitely appreciated having Blackmon back. He passed for a school-record 435 yards, and he was a main reason the Cowboys were able to set a new program record with 725 yards of total offense.
No. 9 Ohio State
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What We Learned: Not much. They were also idle.
The Buckeyes definitely benefited from all the calamity in the top 10 this weekend as it allowed them to move up two spots, from No. 11 to No. 9.
You could make the case that Ohio State is one of the better one-loss teams, as it has basically dominated every game except for its loss on the road at now-No. 7 Wisconsin.
No. 8 Nebraska
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What We Learned: Sometimes the difference between winning and losing can be a simple matter of your opponent's stupidity.
Playing without Taylor Martinez and his bad ankle, the Cornhuskers got everything they could handle from Iowa State, and they were really pretty lucky to escape with a win.
Listen up, Cyclones. If you think you're being tricky in trusting your special teams unit to convert a game-winning two-point conversion, you're not. It's not bold either. It's just plain dumb.
No. 7 Wisconsin
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What We Learned: The Badgers sure have some depth at running back.
With John Clay going down with an injury, and No. 2 running back James White also out with an injury, Montee Ball did a fine job picking up the slack against Purdue. He ran for a career-high 127 yards and two touchdowns, and Wisconsin dodged an early upset bid by the Boilermakers.
At this point, you really have to like Wisconsin for the Rose Bowl.
No. 6 Stanford
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What We Learned: The Cardinal deserve to be the highest ranked one-loss team.
Andrew Luck and the Cardinal offense made fools of Arizona's seventh-best scoring defense, trouncing them 42-17 for the pleasure of the home crowd.
Luck finished with 293 yards and two touchdowns, and he made the quarterback stylings of Nick Foles look like a bad joke.
The Cardinal's only loss was to Oregon, which currently sits at No. 1. Since they actually led for a good portion of that game, they should probably be considered as the best of the one-loss club.
No. 5 LSU
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What We Learned: The Tigers can play offense after all, and they're also better than we thought.
The team that the computers consider to be the actual king of the one-loss club made a huge statement by pulling off a win over Alabama on Saturday. And it was largely thanks to its offense.
The Tigers, which averaged around 330 yards per game, exploded for 338 in the second half against 'Bama, sealing the deal with long passes from both Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee. They may not be flashy with the ball, but Les Miles is a very clever play-caller.
Maybe that has something to do with the grass.
No. 4 Boise State
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What We Learned: Boise State is not going to oblige us all by losing any time soon.
Despite the fact they are pretty much a lock for finishing the season undefeated, you get the sense that Boise is going to stay right where they are, at No. 4, no matter what happens.
But the Broncos showed Saturday, as they have shown many times before, that they are a truly dominant team. Kellen Moore passed for a career-high 507 yards, the team racked up a school-record 732 yards, and they held Hawaii and its FBS-best passing attack to a mere 196 yards.
No. 3 TCU
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What We Learned: They are absolutely for real.
The Frogs probably could have opened enough eyes with a simple road win against No. 5 Utah. But by blowing them out, they already have people pleading for them to be in the BCS championship game.
The Utes became the latest victim of TCU's killer defense, as they were yet another of TCU's opponents to be held under 200 yards of offense. The Frogs still haven't allowed a 200-yard passer either.
And how about some respect for Andy Dalton? No quarterback in the country has as many career wins as he does. He threw for a career-high 355 yards in the biggest game of his life.
No. 2 Auburn
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What We Learned: They may not be the No. 1 team in the land, but they sure can beat FCS opponents.
Exactly why games against Chattanooga count this late in the season is beyond me, but at least the Tigers didn't lose.
Cam Newton had another huge game, passing for 300 yards for the first time in his career and totaling five touchdowns. And all of that was in the first half.
Not bad at all.
No. 1 Oregon
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What We Learned: Even when they're at their worst, the Ducks are still the best.
I remember watching most of the Oregon game and shaking my head with how sloppy they were playing. The fact that they were even tied 3-3 with the Huskies at one point seemed like an outrage.
They finished the game with 522 yards of offense and 53 points.
If that's bad, then damn...
They're coming to Berkeley to take on my alma mater on Saturday, and I don't think I have ever known such despair for a football game before.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
