BCS Rankings: Michigan State vs. Nebraska and Biggest Top 25 Battles

The second installment of the BCS Rankings were released this weekend. After taking a look at the rankings, it's clear that there are many important Saturday battles that will surely shake up the rankings in a big way.

Two top teams are still playing for more national respect and one is playing to impress recruits. Here's a look at incredibly important matchups for the upcoming week. 

Michigan State (No. 11) at Nebraska (No. 14)

The Spartans have clearly been playing extremely well as of late. Wins against No. 11 Michigan and No. 6 Wisconsin have propelled them to the fringe of the Top 10. 

All that's missing now is a road win against a ranked team. If they are able to pull off a victory in Lincoln, the Spartans will surely crack the Top 10 and will be able to coast (except for maybe their November 12th matchup at Iowa) to the Big Ten Championship. 

The Cornhuskers absolutely need to win this game. They are currently a game behind Michigan State in the Legends division and still have meetings at Penn State and Michigan. They absolutely need this one to keep pace.

If Nebraska falters here at home, they can kiss their BCS hopes goodbye. 

Stanford (No. 6) at USC (NR)

If the Stanford Cardinal were to trip up against a lesser opponent, this would be the one. 

The Cardinal are coming off a huge win and the natural reaction is ease up a little bit. While I don't expect a disciplined team like Stanford to let that happen, you never know. 

USC is no pushover, either, as they are likely right on the edge of the BCS Top 25. At 6-1, the Trojans have been playing extremely well as of late. They might have trouble slowing down Stanford, but that Trojans offense can keep up with any team in the nation.

If it weren't for USC's postseason sanctions, this would possibly be a preview of the Pac-12 Championship.

Still though, this is an important game for USC for at least recruiting purposes. 

Oklahoma (No. 9) at Kansas State (No. 8)

Simply put, neither team can afford to lose this game. 

Oklahoma is coming off an extremely disappointing home loss against Texas Tech and their National Championship hopes are likely done.

They still have Big 12 Championship and BCS Bowl aspirations, but a second loss would probably kill those dreams.

Kansas State, on the other hand, is begging for some respect. Besides probably Houston, they are the least talked about undefeated BCS team right now.

The Wildcats still have a National Championship in their sight, but no one really believes that. Part of that is because they've yet to accrue any great wins. 

They have beaten Baylor at home and knocked off Texas Tech in Lubbock, but not much else. Well, now they get their chance.

If the Wildcats are able to pull off the win in this one, they certainly have to be a Top 5 team.