BCS Rankings: Oklahoma Sooners and the Biggest Winners of Week 9

Another thrilling week of college football is in the books, which means it's time to examine how the upsets and blowout victories will affect the new set of BCS rankings. While several teams improved their stocks in Week 9, here are the three biggest winners of the week.

No. 6 Stanford Cardinal

The computers were still skeptical about Stanford heading into a clash with USC but, by emerging victorious in triple overtime, they should receive a boost in that aspect of the standings. Andrew Luck showed off his amazing ability once again, throwing for 330 yards and three touchdowns.

It's marks the second straight key Pac-12 win for Stanford after they knocked off Washington last week. And every win is vitally important because Oregon is on the Cardinal's tail in both the conference standings and BCS rankings, with a game between the two teams on the horizon.

Clemson's loss ensures the Cardinal will move up at least one spot, and since Boise State didn't play this week, they could leapfrog them as well into the No. 4 spot.

No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners

One week after being stunned by Texas Tech, Oklahoma got back on track in a big way against Kansas State. After falling behind by three early in the second quarter, the Sooners rattled off 44 straight points to rout a fellow top-10 team.

The win kept Oklahoma within one game of in-state rival Oklahoma State in the Big 12 race, and the annual Bedlam Series game is set for the regular season finale. But first, the Sooners must deal with Texas A&M next weekend.

If the Sooners can win out, and get some help along the way, the BCS national championship game is still a possibility. That's music to the ears of any Oklahoma fans who were ready to abandon ship after last week's loss.

No. 17 Houston Cougars

It was another good week for the dark horse Houston Cougars. They picked up a 39-point win over an inferior Rice squad on Thursday followed by watching Texas A&M, Wisconsin and Michigan State suffer defeats on Saturday.

They have five games, including the Conference USA championship game, left to make an impression on the voters. So, led by Heisman candidate Case Keenum, who continues to impress with his near flawless play, Houston will need to keep blowing teams out.

The Cougars are in a tough spot because getting outside help is actually more important than what they do. And any loss would immediately drop them from the rankings in all likelihood. However, they are not eliminated from an at-large BCS bid yet.