BCS Rankings: Stanford and Teams Who Will Benefit Most from Shocking Saturday

It was a shocking Week 8 in college football as powerhouses Oklahoma and Wisconsin were both upended in thrilling fashion. It's days like that which give the BCS rankings a good argument as to why it's an effective system—every game matters.

Here are the three teams who will benefit the most from Saturday's upsets.

No. 7 Clemson Tigers

Clemson kept its shocking season alive by scoring in the 50s for the second straight week in a win over North Carolina. Sophomore quarterback Tajh Boyd tossed five touchdown passes and ran in another one to lead the Tigers once again.

The Tigers defense hasn't been anything to write home about, but it's made enough stops in key moments to allow the offense to work its magic. That was especially true during the team's run of three straight wins over ranked opponents.

At the very least, Clemson should move up to No. 5, but they could very easily become No. 4 because the Tigers' resume is better than Boise State's. And, with three tough games left on the schedule, they are still firmly in the national title hunt.

No. 8 Stanford Cardinal

Andrew Luck took a back seat on Saturday as running backs Stepfan Taylor, Tyler Gaffney and Anthony Wilkerson put the Cardinal on their shoulders to the tune of 348 yards and four touchdowns in a blowout win over No. 25 Washington.

The victory was key for Stanford, who hadn't faced a ranked opponent until Saturday. While they rank second in points scored and fourth in points allowed, the computers were skeptical. Beating Washington should answer some of those lingering questions.

The Cardinal have a trip to USC, which beat Notre Dame by two scores yesterday, next weekend and still have a clash with Oregon left to play. So, if they can run the table, the computers will learn to love Stanford.

No. 10 Oregon Ducks

Speaking of Oregon, they are the top ranked one-loss team in both the AP and USA Today polls for Week 9. The Ducks were impressive in a 45-2 rout of Colorado, and it was the sixth straight game in which they scored at least 40 points.

Quarterback Darron Thomas didn't play on Saturday after expecting to start, which left Bryan Bennett to lead the offense. He proceeded to throw two touchdowns. Kenjon Barner and Tra Carson chipped in three rushing TDs.

Oregon's November includes trips to Stanford and Washington as well as home games against USC and archrival Oregon State. If they can win out, and get a little help a long the way, they could still play in the BCS National Title Game. That was an unthinkable statement for a one-loss team 48 hours ago.