BCS Rankings: Pretenders Who Will Plummet After Losses

After a rough week for ranked teams, there will be plenty of movement in tonight’s revised BCS standings. These three teams will be headed in the wrong direction, and fast:

Penn State Nittany Lions

The BCS wants nothing more than to be rid of the scandal-plagued Nittany Lions, and Nebraska gave them an ideal excuse yesterday afternoon. By holding off Matt McGloin’s comeback efforts and winning 17-14 in State College, the Huskers took down the only remaining team that had been unbeaten in Big Ten play.

The loss could easily drop the Nittany Lions out of the top 20, and that’s not likely to be the end of their fall. Penn State has brutal road games remaining against Ohio State and Wisconsin that could easily drop them from the rankings entirely by season’s end.

Texas Longhorns

The roller coaster ride continues for a mercurial Texas squad, which followed up last week’s beat-down of Texas Tech by getting shut down against unheralded Missouri, 17-5. It’s the No. 16 Longhorns’ first loss to an unranked foe, and they’ll be lucky if it doesn’t drop them out of the Top 25 altogether.

Texas has ample opportunity to bounce back with games against Kansas State and Baylor (in Waco) left on the schedule. If they win out—which may depend on the uncertain return of injured RB Fozzy Whittaker—they’ll still be in solid bowl position, but for Week 12, they’re on thin ice.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Yellow Jackets had a golden opportunity to push their way back into the ACC race with a home game against division leader Virginia Tech. Instead, the Georgia Tech defense folded in a 37-26 loss.

With three conference defeats, there’s little doubt the No. 21 Yellow Jackets will be dumped from the rankings tonight. They may crawl back into the Top 25 if they close with a win over rising Georgia in two weeks, but they won’t go far enough to improve their bowl position much.