BCS Rankings Week 12 Projections: Who Will Be 10 Biggest Movers?
BCS Rankings Week 12 Projections.
College football on Saturday started with a stunning upset, as the Iowa Hawkeyes fell to an unranked opponent in a Big Ten conference match.
Iowa is definitely not going to remain ranked No. 13 in the BCS standings. After the Hawkeyes' big loss against the Northwestern Wildcats, they're in for a freefall.
How far will they drop? We'll see on Sunday.
But just to give you a heads-up, here are 10 teams that we can expect to move up and down.
10. South Carolina Gamecocks
1 of 10
Today's win against the Florida Gators have put the Gamecocks in a very good position to make it to the SEC Championship Game.
As the top team in the SEC East, South Carolina, with a 5-3 conference record, is making a strong case once again to move up in the BCS rankings.
This is the same Gamecocks that defeated former No. 1 Alabama. With their decisive win at the Swamp, the No. 23 Gamecocks should break into the high teens tomorrow.
9. Arizona Wildcats
2 of 10
The Arizona Wildcats lost a must-win game last Saturday against the Stanford Cardinal, 42-14. That loss definitely hurt their chances of winning the Pac-10 title.
But a loss against USC on Saturday just may end it. USC had a 10-point lead near the end of the third quarter and pulled off a 24-21 win.
Arizona will undoubtedly continue to slide from No. 18 in the BCS rankings to a fringe top 25 squad.
8. Mississippi State Bulldogs
3 of 10
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 19, were streaking with six straight wins coming into their Saturday game against the defending national champions, the No. 12 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
After falling to top SEC contenders LSU and Auburn, their winning streak ended against Alabama. Of course, they have nowhere to go but down.
Mississippi State should expect a drop to one of the bottom five spots in the Top 25 rankings.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Florida Gators
4 of 10
The Florida Gators jumped back into the Top 25 with a big 54-14 win against the Vanderbilt Commodores last Saturday.
But the truth is the Gators have been nothing but pretenders this season. In fact, the Swamp has not been the same either. They've already fallen to LSU and Mississippi State at home.
In a big game on Saturday that had SEC Championship Game implications, they lost.
Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina Gamecocks pulled off a 36-14 win.
After this week, the Gators should no longer be in the the BCS' Top 25.
6. Kansas State Wildcats
5 of 10
The Wildcats, ranked No. 24, were knocked off by Missouri Tigers, ranked No. 17, in a tough Big 12 showdown, 38-28.
Now that the Wildcats are 6-4—with all four of their losses coming against Big 12 rivals—there will likely be no more room for them in the BCS' Top 25.
This should not come as a surprise, but the Wildcats are expected to move all they way out of the rankings.
5. San Diego State Aztecs
6 of 10
This team has to be one of the best 7-3 teams in the nation that nobody knows about.
This week they nearly upset the non-BCS powerhouse No. 3 ranked TCU Horned Frogs on the road in a 40-35 loss. It's not usual for teams to be on the up-and-up in the minds of coaches and voters after a loss but the Aztecs need to be an exception.
In Week 3, the upstart Aztecs also nearly upset the top-ranked Missouri Tigers on the road but ultimately fell, 24-21.
SDSU, in its two near-wins this year, has proven that it's a very good football team—good enough to be ranked in the Top 25.
4. Stanford Cardinal
7 of 10
After taking down a ranked Pac-10 rival, Arizona Wildcats, last Saturday 45-17, Stanford jumped up all the way to No. 6 in the BCS rankings.
But this week they didn't shown the same focus that allowed them to win big against the 'Cats, squeaking by Arizona State, 17-13.
Meanwhile a Big Ten team, the Wisconsin Badgers, won in an extremely impressive manner. Wisconsin notched 83 points against the Indiana Hoosiers. After that win, they're definitely making a strong case to move up.
Stanford needs to move down in order to make room for other very good one-loss teams such as the Wisconsin Badgers and Nebraska Cornhuskers.
3. Wisconsin Badgers
8 of 10
The Badgers made plenty of noise on Saturday against the Indiana Hoosiers, winning 83-20.
It's also worth noting that this is the same Hoosiers squad that gave the Iowa Hawkeyes fits last weekend, barely losing, 18-13.
Wisconsin made a very strong case to move up in the BCS rankings this weekend. Currently at No. 7, the Badgers played very well without their top running back, John Clay.
Surely they'll need to jump over No. 6 ranked Stanford, who had a hard time beating the ASU Sun Devils.
2. Iowa Hawkeyes
9 of 10
The Iowa Hawkeyes started Saturday's game ranked No. 13 in the BCS rankings. They played against the Northwestern Wildcats, their Big Ten rivals who were unranked in the polls but are led with a very good quarterback in Dan Persa.
With the regular season coming to a close, every win counts for Big Ten title contenders. The list of teams include: the Ohio State Buckeyes, Wisconsin Badgers and the Michigan State Spartans.
Iowa has not looked good in their last two games, barely avoiding an upset against the Indiana Hoosiers last week and succumbing to the Wildcats this Saturday. That big loss will surely drop them even further in the rankings, probably in the 20s—if they're even in the Top 25 tomorrow.
1. Utah Utes
10 of 10
Say goodbye to the Utah Utes.
No, really, they're leaving the Mountain West for the Pac-10 next season. That's something to look forward to and be excited about for next year. But in their last two games, the Utes have been offensively challenged and have left fans with little to be happy about.
Last week in a big-time showdown with a fellow Mountain West powerhouse, the TCU Horned Frogs, the Utes were demolished, 47-7.
This Saturday against unranked Notre Dame, Utah only managed to score three points on their way to a 28-3 loss.
It's obvious they are free-falling. After being among the nation's Top 10 football teams just over a week ago, they may find themselves out of the Top 25 in the BCS rankings.
Ten total points in their last two games simply won't earn them that much love in the polls.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
