Alabama Football: Tide Still Third in the BCS, Is Stanford Steaming?

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer)

The Alabama Crimson Tide fell only one spot in the poll that matters, the BCS poll.

Does that send Stanford steaming?

Apparently, the computer rankings dropped the Tide only slightly and that, combined with the fourth-place ranking in the other polls, kept Alabama ranked ahead of undefeated Stanford and Boise State.

Does this mean that the Tide fans' second-favorite team for the rest of the year is anyone playing Oklahoma State?

For broken-hearted Alabama fans, there is now hope that all is not lost for the Tide to still claim this year's national championship.

One thing is for sure, that this BCS ranking is sure to illicit more stories and talk than if the BCS poll would have mimicked the Harris and Coaches' Poll.

Since Stanford only plays one additional quality highly ranked opponent, Oregon, they may have a hard time in overtaking the Crimson Tide in the computer rankings even if they stay undefeated.

Take a look at the polls here but mostly, look at the difference in the computer rankings.

		BCS		Harris Poll			USA Today			Computer Rankings
RK	TEAM	AVG	PVS	RK	PTS	%	RK	PTS	%	AVG	A&H	RB	CM	KM	JS	PW	%
1	LSU	.9931	1	1	2848	.9906	1	1475	1.0000	1	2	1	2	2	1	1	.980
2	Ok. State	.9447	3	2	2658	.9245	3	1359	.9214	1	1	2	1	1	2	2	.980
3	Alabama	.8836	2	4	2505	.8713	4	1286	.8719	3	4	6	4	3	3	3	.900
4	Stanford	.8749	4	3	2623	.9123	2	1378	.9342	7	5	3	6	10	8	8	.770
5	Boise St.	.8473	5	5	2422	.8424	5	1242	.8420	4	3	5	5	6	5	4	.850
6	Oklahoma	.7978	6	7	2194	.7631	7	1141	.7736	4	6	4	3	4	6	5	.850
7	Oregon	.7708	8	6	2258	.7854	6	1180	.8000	8	10	7	8	11	7	7	.720
8	Arkansas	.7452	7	8	2071	.7203	8	1075	.7288	6	7	8	10	5	4	6	.780
9	Clemson	.6435	11	9	1850	.6435	10	946	.6414	9	15	9	9	9	13	9	.640
10	Va. Tech	.5913	12	10	1785	.6209	9	955	.6475	14	13	12	12	15	21	14	.500