BCS Rankings: Clemson and More Teams That Were Exposed in Week 9

No. 5 Clemson was the Cinderella story of college football headed into Saturday's matchup against Georgia Tech, a team given little respect in the preseason only to go on to beat the likes of Auburn, Florida State and Virginia Tech.

But that Cinderella story came to an abrupt end against the Yellow Jackets, as the Tigers lost 31-17, failing to come back from a 24-3 halftime deficit.

Clemson wasn't the only ranked team that fell, however.

Here are three ranked teams whose weaknesses were exposed in Week 9.

3. Texas Tech (No. 20)

Texas Tech shocked the nation in Week 8 when the Red Raiders upset then-No. 3 Oklahoma, 41-38.

But the Red Raiders were only 5-2 headed into Saturday's matchup with Iowa State because they scored 43.4 points per game, good for eighth in the nation.

On the other side of the ball, Texas Tech had been equally as bad, however. The Red Raiders were giving up 30.7 points per game headed into Week 9.

There was bound to be a bad offensive game for Texas Tech at some point, and it came against Iowa State. Texas Tech's run defense wasn't a big help in the 41-7 embarrassment either, giving up a whopping 368 rushing yards to the Cyclones.

An overall bad game, but you had the feeling it was going to happen sooner or later.

2. Michigan State (No. 11)

The Michigan State Spartans were supposed to be a different team since their 31-13 loss to disappointing Notre Dame, having won their last two games against Michigan and Nebraska.

But quarterback Kirk Cousins and Co. once again suffered a mental lapse, showing their inconsistency was here to stay.

Cousins, who has been lauded much of the season, was a scapegoat if there ever was one. Nebraska had a good pass defense coming into the game, but Cousins was simply bad. He went 11-of-27 for 86 yards and an interception, could have easily had three more picks and constantly threw into double coverage.

The Spartans were ranked No. 17 coming into the season because of what was on paper, but the talent on this team short circuits randomly.

1. Clemson (No. 5)

Clemson was the Cinderella team everyone was cheering for headed into Week 9 against unranked Georgia Tech, but the Yellow Jackets had a good offense and the Tigers had a very forgiving defense.

It was only a matter of time before Clemson's offense wouldn't be able to carry its defense, and when that time came in Week 9, it crushed the Tigers' BCS title hopes.

The Tigers were without star running back Andre Ellington, which hurt them from the start, but quarterback Tajh Boyd also had an uncharacteristically mediocre game and the Tigers found themselves in a 24-3 hole at the half.

Georgia Tech, which entered the game with the most rushing yards in the country, simply ran the ball all game long. Quarterback Tevin Washington had only nine passing attempts, but ran 27 times for 176 yards and a touchdown. The Yellow Jackets as a whole buzzed to the tune of 383 rushing yards for the game.

Clemson's defense was bound to catch up to it in the long run.