BCS Rankings Week 8: 6 Teams in the AP, Coaches Polls Whose Days Are Numbered

Week 8 of the college football season is upon us, and now the conference standings, as well as the BCS picture, are going to start taking shape.

The elite teams are going to stand out from the rest of the pack, and conference championship races are going to start to heat up, as the coveted automatic bids to the BCS games that come with winning the conference title are up for grabs.

The teams who get exposed will have very little reprieve as they try to rebound from tough losses and hope that it doesn't affect their hopes, as teams can lose everything on single setback.

There has never been any kind of order in the BCS, as there have been many instances where deserving, undefeated teams are shut out of a chance to play for the crystal football.

Here are six teams that are facing the chance of falling out of the polls altogether:

1. (11) Michigan: Loss to (23) Michigan State

Michigan had a big chance to prove that they were for real, both in the Big Ten and in the national picture. 

They had a perfect matchup against the 23rd-ranked Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing yesterday that would've made such a statement, as the Spartans had won three straight against their bitter rivals in Ann Arbor.

Michigan came up short, as they dropped the game to the Spartans by a score of 28-14. 

The loss by the Wolverines proved that Michigan still has some growing to do under coach Brady Hoke, and the team fell seven spots to No. 18 in the Top 25.

2. (12) Georgia Tech: Loss to Virginia

Georgia Tech lost their first game yesterday to in-conference rival Virginia by a score of 24-21 and fell to No. 20 in the rankings.

Georgia Tech was riding high at 6-0 and was looking to establish themselves as the team to beat in the ACC Coastal Division. Miami looms on the schedule next week, and the Yellow Jackets' vaunted "triple-option" offense was ground to a halt against the Cavaliers.

Virginia's former head coach Al Groh, who is now Georgia Tech's defensive coordinator, had no answer for the Cavaliers' offensive attack that had the Yellow Jackets' defense on it's heels most of the game.

3. (16) Illinois: Loss to Ohio State

Ohio State handed the Illini their first loss of the season, as the Buckeyes welcomed back star tailback Dan Herron, as he provided the pulse on offense that the team has lacked all season long.

Ohio State beat the 16th-ranked Illini by a score of 17-7.

Illinois fell to 23rd in the polls in the aftermath of the loss.

4. (18) Arizona State: Loss to (9) Oregon

Arizona State fell to 24th in the polls after a loss to the No. 9 ranked Oregon Ducks.

Arizona State only had a signature win against USC to its credit and didn't look as if they would be able to hang with the Ducks' offensive firepower.

Oregon lost LaMichael James last week and their starting quarterback Darron Thomas to injury, and their replacements, Bryan Bennett and Kenjon Barner, proved to be more than enough for the Sun Devils in a 41-27 victory.

5. (20) Baylor: Loss to (21) Texas A&M

Baylor was another pretender who was exposed when they dropped a conference game to Texas A&M by a score of 55-28 in College Station.

Texas A&M jumped on the Bears from the beginning and never let up behind QB Ryan Tannehill's career-best six touchdown passes en route to the easy Big 12 victory for the Aggies.

Baylor dropped out of the most recent poll after this loss.

6. (22) Texas: Loss to (6) Oklahoma State

The Oklahoma State Cowboys have been a team on an absolute rampage this season, as their 28-year old QB Brandon Weeden capably led the Cowboys to a 38-26 win over the reeling Texas Longhorns.

After 12 years of painful defeats, the Cowboys have now won two straight games in Austin, and they look like they could run the table.

Texas has fallen out of the Top 25 in the aftermath of this loss.