Projected BCS Rankings 2011: Predicting Whether the Top 25 Will Move Up or Down

With the first set of BCS rankings coming out last Sunday night, the teams taking the field this Saturday are looking to keep their spot or improve on it in second set of BCS rankings tomorrow night.

As the college football season is nearly half over, the race to be one of the two teams in the BCS National Championship game is going to be fast and furious until conference championship weekend in December.

Bleacher Report is your home for college football for the 2011 season. From scores, news, analysis, live blogs and updates on your favorite teams and the big national games every week, keep it on Bleacher Report for the very latest in college football news.

No.1 LSU

After the Tigers ran through the defending National Champions Auburn Tigers at home 45-10, LSU will remain the number one team in this week’s BCS rankings on Sunday night.

Movement: Idle

No. 2 Alabama

With a likely road win over a rebuilding Tennessee program in Knoxville, the Crimson Tide will remain in their number two spot in anticipation for their showdown with LSU on Nov. 5.

Movement: Down

No. 3 Oklahoma

Oklahoma lost to Texas Tech last night in a shootout. While Landry Jones led a furious fourth quarter comeback attempt, Oklahoma ultimately fell short.

Movement: Idle

No. 4 Oklahoma State

After dismantling the possibly SEC bound Missouri on the road, the Cowboys have their sights set on their giant season finale game with the Oklahoma Sooners in the Bedlam game in Norman.

Movement: Idle

No. 5 Boise State

The Broncos didn’t do themselves any favors Saturday with poll voters as Boise State defeated Air Force 37-26 at home on the blue turf that will not earn the program any style points when the polls come out tomorrow.

Movement: Down

No. 6 Wisconsin

With the big road game to Michigan State Saturday night, Russell Wilson and the Badgers left East Lansing with an amazing last second loss to the Spartans as Wisconsin will likely fall from the top 10 in the BCS.

Movement: Down

No. 7 Clemson

The feel good story of the 2011 season continues after the Tigers flexed their offensive muscle with Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins and the rest of the Clemson team rolled past North Carolina Saturday afternoon.

Movement: Idle

No. 8 Stanford

Andrew Luck and Stanford will likely be challenged by Keith Price and the Washington Huskies but the Cardinal will grab another win as the team looks to make a trip to the first ever Pac-12 Championship game this season.

Movement: Idle

No. 9 Arkansas

After a shaky win against Ole Miss that was sealed by a late interception, the Razorbacks will need to play a complete game against a tough Vanderbilt team next week followed by their rivalry game with South Carolina on Nov. 5.

Movement: Down

No. 10 Oregon

Oregon showed no matter who is hurt on the roster, the Ducks can still play at a high level even against lower level teams like Colorado as the home team defeated the visiting Buffaloes by a tune of 45-2. Yes, two points.

Movement: Up

No. 11 Kansas State

As one of the other surprises during the 2011 season, Bill Snyder and the Wildcats are tied for the lead in the Big 12 with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State after Kansas State defeated their instate rival Kansas Saturday afternoon.

Movement: Idle

No. 12 Virginia Tech

After their tough loss against Clemson on the first of October, the Hokies defeated Boston College 30-14 today for their third straight wins as their ACC Coastal division deciding game with Georgia Tech lies ahead on Nov. 10.

Movement: Idle

No. 13 Nebraska

Running was the theme today as Nebraska routed Minnesota in Big Ten play as the Cornhuskers accounted for 346 yards and three scores on the ground as the team notches their second straight conference win in 2011.

Movement: Idle

No. 14 South Carolina

Even with the loss of Marcus Lattimore to injury is a problem for South Carolina, the Gamecocks will have a manageable path to the team’s second straight SEC East title if they can get past Tennessee and Florida in coming weeks.

Movement: Down

No. 15 West Virginia

The one thing you can say about the Mountaineers’ upset loss to Syracuse on Friday night is that the team was not ready to play a kind of team like the Orange who played smart, calm and decisive in their second straight season with an upset of West Virginia.

Movement: Down

No. 16 Michigan State

Kirk Cousins and Michigan State carried over the success at beating rivals Ohio State and Michigan the last two weeks to beat Wisconsin Saturday night as the old classic Hail Mary pass won the game for the Spartans as Keith Nichol brought down the game winning touchdown for MSU.

Movement: Up

No. 17 Texas A&M

With the Aggies two tough losses to Oklahoma State and Arkansas behind them from early October, Texas A&M has found their offense in recent weeks as the team has rattled off three straight wins against Big 12 rivals Texas Tech, Baylor and Iowa State.

Movement: Up

No. 18 Michigan

After the Wolverines fell to the Spartans last week in East Lansing, Denard Robinson, Brady Hoke and Michigan will look to solve their problems that lead to their first loss and get back on track next week as the Boilermakers of Purdue will make a trip to the Big House next Saturday.

Movement: Up

No. 19 Houston

As the Case Keenum and the Cougars continue their magical season, Houston made a fool of Conference USA rival Marshall as the team outscored at least one or more touchdowns in each quarter of their 63-28 whipping of the Thundering Herd.

Movement: Up

No. 20 Auburn

Auburn's expected lost to the Tigers Saturday afternoon came as no surprise to many media critics, but I doubt anyone in the stadium, maybe even Les Miles, thought LSU would dominate the Tigers as bad as they did to a tune of 45-10 as the defending champs try to find some consistency this season.

Movement: Down

No. 21 Penn State

As JoePa and Penn State makes the road trip to Northwestern, the Nittany Lions can continue their upsurge after their bad loss against Alabama in early September as the win over the Wildcats will be their sixth straight this season.

Movement: Up

No. 22 Georgia Tech

Just like the Fighting Illini in the Big Ten, the Yellow Jackets started this season 6-0 before dropping two heartbreakers versus ACC rivals Virginia and Miami on the road in a pair of upsets.

Movement: Down and Out

No. 23 Illinois

After the Illini started the season off to a blazing 6-0 start, Illinois has once again fell back to reality after dropping their game today against a poor Purdue team on the road dropping their second straight loss this season.

Movement: Down and Out

No. 24 Texas

With the Longhorns idle, Texas can take advantage of other teams suffering losses this week and move up in the BCS rankings this week.

Movement: Up

No. 25 Washington

As the Huskies fall victim to Andrew Luck and the Cardinal Saturday night, Keith Price and Washington will fall from the BCS standings this week but I guarantee we’ll see the Huskies back in the standing before the 2011 is over in December.

Movement: Down and Out