BCS Rankings Week 9: Clemson and 3 Teams Guaranteed to Improve Their Rankings
As Wisconsin and Oklahoma can both vouch, there is absolutely nothing guaranteed in college football. You can be on top of the world in one moment and at rock bottom the next.
You can also take a dive in the BCS standings, which were updated for Week 9 Sunday evening. There are several notable changes in the new rankings, and you can rest assured there will be a few more when the rankings are updated for Week 10.
And the week after that, and the week after that, and so on.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
From now until the end of the season, all sorts of teams will be rising and falling. However, there are three teams in particular that I think are only going to be rising in Week 9. Let's take a look at them one by one.
Wisconsin (No. 15)
I think you can easily make the argument that the Badgers' BCS hopes were derailed by bad luck, but the good news for them is they are going to be on their way up again this coming weekend.
There are two reasons for this. The first is the Badgers should have no trouble taking care of Ohio State on Saturday. Yes, it's another tough road test, but the Buckeyes are not on the same level as the Spartans and I expect Wisconsin to come out guns blazing after its Week 8 loss.
The other reason the Badgers can expect to jump up in the rankings has everything to do with the team that just beat them. No. 11 Michigan State is playing at No. 14 Nebraska, and only one of them can walk away with a win. Because both are above Wisconsin in the rankings, a loss by either team will be Wisconsin's gain.
Arkansas (No. 10)
Much like Wisconsin at Ohio State, I don't anticipate Arkansas stumbling on the road at Vanderbilt. It's not going to be an easy road test, but the Hogs are good enough to pass it.
When the Hogs do win, all they'll have to do is sit back and watch what happens in the showdown between No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 8 Kansas State. The Wildcats could very well win it, which would leave the No. 9 spot wide open for Arkansas.
Then again, the same would be true of a win by the Sooners. One way or another, a win will elevate Arkansas.
Clemson (No. 5)
There's never a shortage of outrage whenever a new set of BCS rankings are revealed. This week, people are pretty outraged that Boise State is still ahead of Clemson.
If you are outraged by that, have no fear. I think that is going to change very soon.
On Saturday, Clemson is due to pay a visit to Georgia Tech, which was undefeated not too long ago. Now the Yellow Jackets are losers of two in a row, and it's clear they are not one of the elite teams in the country. The Tigers are, and they can further state their case with a big win on the road over a conference rival.
The BCS computers are going to like that. I'm banking on the possibility that the voters will also like a big win by Clemson, perhaps enough to give it a much-deserved nudge in the polls.
Because Boise State is idle, it could end up being very easy for the Tigers to leapfrog them in the BCS standings.
Week 9 BCS Rankings
| 1 | LSU | .9702 |
| 2 | Alabama | .9627 |
| 3 | Oklahoma State | .9240 |
| 4 | Boise State | .8302 |
| 5 | Clemson | .8240 |
| 6 | Stanford | .8124 |
| 7 | Oregon | .6877 |
| 8 | Kansas State | .6681 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | .6642 |
| 10 | Arkansas | .6581 |
| 11 | Michigan State | .538 |
| 12 | Virginia Tech | .534 |
| 13 | South Carolina | .501 |
| 14 | Nebraska | .439 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | .433 |
| 16 | Texas A&M | .428 |
| 17 | Houston | .368 |
| 18 | Michigan | .342 |
| 19 | Penn State | .307 |
| 20 | Texas Tech | .201 |
| 21 | Arizona State | .163 |
| 22 | Georgia | .159 |
| 23 | Auburn | .131 |
| 24 | Texas | .119 |
| 25 | West Virginia | .073 |
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
