BCS Rankings Week 13: 25 Things We Learned From Sixth BCS Rankings Poll
The BCS rankings for Week 13 have had plenty of time to settle by now, but there is still plenty to discuss.
Aside from Nebraska's loss on the road to Texas A&M, LSU's skin-of-their-teeth victory over Ole Miss, and the essential silliness of playing football in baseball stadiums, there really wasn't much to get excited about on Saturday.
But as always, a fresh set of BCS rankings means a fresh set of ideas about every team with the good graces to be on the list.
So grab a pencil and paper and prepare to take some notes.
Here's what we learned about each of the 25 teams in the sixth BCS poll.
No. 25 Mississippi State
1 of 25
What We Learned: The Bulldogs have had a very good season, but it's just pretty obvious at this point that they're just not on the same level as the other teams in college football's best division.
Mississippi State might be the only four-loss team in the country that does not have a single bad loss on their resume. All four of the teams they've lost to (Auburn, LSU, Alabama and Arkansas) are in the top 12 in the BCS.
In fact, the team's only real flaw is that they have the rotten fortune of having to contend in what is clearly the best division in the best conference in football.
That being said, who knows where they would be if they had given Cecil Newton what he wanted.
No. 24 Iowa
2 of 25
What We Learned: You can only dodge so many bullets with Terrelle Pryor.
When the Buckeyes' DeVier Posey let what looked like a pretty easy touchdown grab go right through his hands late in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Buckeyes were doomed. Pryor had made a perfect throw on the play, and it was hard to imagine them getting a better shot.
But he's pretty good, and the Hawkeyes are probably kicking themselves over the fact that they basically got beat on a broken play that saw Pryor convert on fourth-and-10 by scrambling for 14 yards.
So much for the Hawkeyes.
No. 23 North Carolina State
3 of 25
What We Learned: The ACC's Coastal Division is theirs to lose.
With their 29-25 win on the road against North Carolina, the Wolfpack are now 8-3. And thanks to their tie-breaking win over Florida State in late October, NC State will go to the ACC Championship Game if they can beat Maryland next week.
If they do, they should all send Christian Ponder thank-you notes for the fumble that allowed them to beat the Seminoles.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 22 Florida State
4 of 25
What We Learned: Even if you get outgained by a healthy margin, you always stand a good chance when your opponent commits four turnovers.
After missing last week's game against Clemson, Christian Ponder returned to throw for 170 yards and a score, but it was Florida State's defense that stole the show.
They forced four turnovers, including a pick-six late in the fourth quarter that sealed the deal.
The Seminoles are still alive in the ACC, but they need NC State to lose to the team they just beat.
No. 21 Arizona
5 of 25
What We Learned: Nothing we didn't already know before. They were idle.
The Wildcats got some respite from their two-game losing streak this weekend. And wouldn't you know it, they got bumped a spot in the rankings in the process.
Well done, I guess.
No. 20 Utah
6 of 25
What We Learned: They're not dead yet, and that's a favor to TCU.
The Utes were down 34-24 after three quarters against San Diego State on Saturday, but scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to come away with a 38-34 win.
Despite the fact they beat a team that just took the Frogs to the wire, TCU needs Utah to be ranked as high as possible.
That's their trophy win right now, and it wouldn't have looked good at all if Utah had lost and dropped out of the rankings altogether.
No. 19 Nevada
7 of 25
What We Learned: It's official. The Wolf Pack really aren't impressing anyone, much to Boise State's chagrin.
Nevada enjoyed yet another blowout win on Saturday, dispatching New Mexico State by a final score of 52-6. But they dropped a spot to No. 19 thanks to Texas A&M's huge upset of Nebraska.
This is all bad as far as those in Boise are concerned. They would have preferred that Nevada was ranked No. 17 for their visit to Reno this Friday.
No. 18 South Carolina
8 of 25
What We Learned: Marcus Lattimore is a star in the making.
The freshman followed up his breakout performance against Florida, in which he rushed for 212 yards on 40 carries, with another studly effort against Troy.
Lattimore rushed for 102 yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries against the Trojans.
All of which came in the first half.
Cheers, old sport.
No. 17 Texas A&M
9 of 25
What We Learned: Sometimes, you just have to let a team beat itself.
I didn't get a chance to watch this game, but I hear tell that the refs were none too kind to the visiting Cornhuskers.
That being said, there's only so much blame you can place upon the refs when you rack up 16 penalties for a whopping 145 yards. That's more yards than the Cornhuskers ran the ball for.
But oh well. The Aggies have now beaten two BCS No. 8's in their last three games. Not bad. Not bad at all.
No. 16 Virginia Tech
10 of 25
What We Learned: The Hokies may not have a world-beating defense, but they can take the ball away with the best of them.
The Hokies forced six turnovers last week against North Carolina, and they forced six more against Miami.
In those two games, they have an impressive seven interceptions. They had a total of 12 in their first nine games.
Ultimately, if we were to erase their loss to James Madison, you're looking at a top-10 team.
No. 15 Nebraska
11 of 25What We Learned: Their relatively unspectacular play over the previous two weeks finally caught up with them.
The Cornhuskers probably did get shafted by the refs in this game, particularly in the Aggies' game-winning drive, but they still had no business putting just six points on the board. Even if Taylor Martinez was indeed hurting.
By the way, there doesn't seem to be much to these rumors that Martinez quit the football team. Although I wouldn't blame him after the rant he had to endure from his head coach.
No. 14 Missouri
12 of 25
What We Learned: The Tigers weren't all that impressive either. But hey, at least they won.
What is it with the Big 12 North all of a sudden? Neither Nebraska nor Missouri have looked at all dominant over the past three weeks, and the Tigers had to resort to a fake punt to seal a victory over the hapless Cyclones.
Oh well. You take what you can get, right? And if Missouri beats Kansas, and Nebraska loses to Colorado, the Tigers go to the Big 12 Championship Game. I don't think anybody saw that coming after the Cornhuskers ended their perfect season.
No. 13 Oklahoma
13 of 25
What We Learned: So much for Oklahoma's road problems.
Anybody else get the sense that the Sooners were simply using the Bears as a whipping boy for all their frustrations on the road this season?
Indeed, the Sooners had just one win on the road before this weekend, a 31-29 nail-biter against Cincinnati. Therefore, it must have felt pretty good to be up 53-10 by the end of the third quarter.
Also, DeMarco Murray is a beast. He had 182 total yards and two touchdowns.
And a big shoutout to Ryan Broyles as well, who became the first Oklahoma receiver with 100 catches in a season.
No. 12 Arkansas
14 of 25
What We Learned: Knile Davis is a very good. But ultimately, it's a better idea to let Ryan Mallett finish things off.
Davis handled a career-high 30 carries for a career-high 187 yards, but his second fumble of the game late in the fourth quarter almost cost his team a win.
All good in the end, though, as Ryan Mallett was once again there to be the man for the Razorbacks.
He's pretty good.
No. 11 Alabama
15 of 25
What We Learned: A win over an FCS opponent isn't going to get you anywhere.
The Tide rightfully took care of business against Georgia State on Thursday night, winning 63-7. It's a pretty lame tune-up for the Iron Bowl, but I suppose every team has to have at least one gimme game on their schedule every year.
No. 10 Michigan State
16 of 25
What We Learned: The Spartans aren't about to let their Rose Bowl hopes slip away that easily.
Michigan State entered the fourth quarter of their game against Purdue facing a 28-13 deficit. If they lost, their Rose Bowl hopes were totally (bleep)ed.
But they pulled it out somehow, as Kirk Cousins' three-yard touchdown run with less than five minutes to play gave the Spartans a 35-31 lead that they would not relinquish.
The Big Ten looks like it's going to come down to the BCS standings. Nobody in the three-game logjam at the top has a final game that will propel them any further, so the Spartans need to hope that Wisconsin and/or Ohio State slips up.
No. 9 Oklahoma State
17 of 25
What We Learned: Well, they can beat the worst the Big 12 has to offer anyway.
Seriously, though, big ups to the 'Pokes for securing the program's first-ever 10-win season. And with Nebraska trending downwards, you have to think that the Cowboys are the favorites to win the Big 12 at this point.
But they have to get through Oklahoma. Bedlam is going to be awesome.
By the way, is their a better big three than Brandon Weeden, Justin Blackmon and Kendall Hunter?
Sound off in the comments.
No. 8 Ohio State
18 of 25
What We Learned: Terrelle Pryor is clutch.
As I said earlier, DeVier Posey's drop could have been a backbreaker in every sense of the word. Instead, Terrelle Pryor strapped on a huge pair of cojones and led his team on a game-winning drive anyway.
It doesn't get much better than the race in the Big Ten right now, and it's a damn shame that only two of the top three teams are going to be playing in a BCS bowl.
No. 7 Wisconsin
19 of 25
What We Learned: In what is basically a rehash of what we learned last week, the depth the Badgers have at running back is insane.
Of course, Wisconsin's beastly offensive line also deserves much of the credit for the recent success enjoyed by Montee Ball and James White.
But I for one didn't think a pair of running backs could do much better than the combined 311 yards and five touchdowns that they posted against Indiana.
But then they go for 354 yards and six touchdowns against Michigan.
Good luck to whoever has to play the Badgers in the Rose Bowl.
No. 6 Stanford
20 of 25
What We Learned: Not that I feel like talking about it, but Stanford's win should serve to further cement them as the country's best one-loss team.
Look at it this way: Stanford took a Cal defense that had held Oregon to 317 yards and one touchdown and torched it for 467 yards and six touchdowns.
'Nuff said, amirite?
But if you were to ask me, they're still a bunch of overprivileged swine.
No. 5 LSU
21 of 25
What We Learned: As much as it feels like all those close games make them a lesser team, I'll be damned if they aren't good at winning them.
Whether you're a fan of the program or not, LSU has to be the most frustrating team to watch on a weekly basis. They may be 10-1, but it feels like they're never really in control of their games until the final moments.
Well, I suppose you have to tip your cap to 'em.
That being said, they're still not the best one-loss team in the country. Stanford and Wisconsin would beat the living daylights out of them, and Ohio State and Oklahoma State could probably beat them as well.
But hey, that's just one man's opinion.
No. 4 Boise State
22 of 25
What We Learned: It's just a matter of time before they overtake TCU.
It took a while for the Broncos to get going against Fresno State, as they managed just a field goal in the first quarter.
Therefore, the fact that they won 51-0 and allowed just 125 total yards against a team that damn near beat Nevada last week is pretty darned impressive.
By the way, in three November games, the Broncos have outscored their opponents 145-21.
Honestly, if you don't want to see Boise play for a BCS championship, there is something wrong with your brain.
Fact.
No. 3 TCU
23 of 25
What We Learned: Not much, except for the fact that their win over Utah looks a little bit better.
The Frogs were idle this week, but you can refer back to the Utah slide for a full explanation of what I'm talking about.
No. 2 Auburn
24 of 25
What We Learned: The college football landscape is a lot more boring when there's no talk of Cam Newton and Auburn.
At least that's how I feel, anyway. You can say what you want about all the pay-to-play drama, but it sure is good theater.
So are the Tigers, and having to endure a weekend without them was a real bummer.
No. 1 Oregon
25 of 25
What We Learned: So what the hell happened against Cal, Chip Kelly?
Make no mistake, their 15-13 win against the Bears doesn't look all that great after Stanford's win in the Big Game.
It probably won't end up hurting them, but still...
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
