BCS Rankings: Stanford and Teams Whose Ranking Is Sure to Stall

Where the BCS is concerned, not all wins are created equal. These three teams won’t get any help in the rankings from beating conference foes this week:

Stanford

Despite standing at No. 3 or 4, depending on which human poll one prefers, the Cardinal ranks No. 6 where the BCS is concerned. With three of the six teams ahead of them on bye this week, it’s going to be hard for Stanford to gain much ground.

Andrew Luck and Co. face a tough but beatable USC team, but barring an upset loss by Clemson (at 5-2 Georgia Tech) or Oklahoma State (home to 4-2 Baylor), the Cardinal will be staying put in the rankings. A win over an unranked foe (even a good one) just won’t do enough for Stanford’s strength of schedule to vault them over their fellow unbeatens.

Oregon

All of the same logjam issues that apply to Stanford become even worse for Oregon, one spot below the Cardinal in the BCS standings. Oregon also lacks the benefit of a respectable opponent for their next contest.

The change from the Pac-10 to the Pac-12 hasn’t helped Washington State’s often-inept conference performance. The Cougars are 3-4 overall (1-3 in conference) and must play the Ducks in Eugene, making the win virtually automatic...and highly unlikely to impress any poll voters.

Arkansas

After facing off with a string of ranked opponents, the Razorbacks are in their second week of a lull against subpar SEC competition. Even on the road, Tyler Wilson and company will be more than a match for 4-3 Vanderbilt.

With the SEC being such a stacked conference, a game like this just won’t make a dent in the computer (or human) rankings for Arkansas. Next Saturday’s showdown with South Carolina will give Arkansas one more chance to make a statement for the BCS, but nothing they do tomorrow will be much help in the big picture.