BCS Rankings: Baylor and Southern Miss Will Shoot Up Rankings After Monster Wins

No. 17 Baylor and No. 24 Southern Miss didn't squander a golden opportunity to skyrocket up the rankings late in the season.

Robert Griffin III and Baylor took on a tough Texas defense and made it look foolish, hanging 48 on the Longhorns in a blowout victory.

Baylor sustained tough losses against Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M in a span of four games that had some believing RGIII and Baylor were all smoke and mirrors.

After taking down Oklahoma and torching Texas to complete a four-game winning streak to close out the season, Griffin is right back in the Heisman race and nobody wants to see Baylor in a bowl game.

Baylor was the top-ranked three-loss team in the nation coming into this game. While it didn't make sense to have the Bears ranked ahead of the two-loss teams that are in the top 15, this performance caps off a series of statement victories that justify a big jump in the rankings.

Southern Miss wasn't on anyone's radar before today. The two-loss Conference USA team rolled into the Conference USA Championship game with a couple of bad losses and an undefeated Houston team staring the Eagles in the face.

They didn't flinch and beat the Cougars on both sides of the ball from start to finish.

Case Keenum walked into this game a Heisman Trophy candidate and by the end of it, he had officially fallen off the radar.

Austin Davis threw four touchdowns in a 21-point statement win. The shoe was on the other foot, as Houston couldn't keep up with Southern Miss' passing game and Keenum had zero time to pick apart the Golden Eagles' secondary.

Some questioned whether or not they were worthy of being in the top 25. Nobody is questioning them now. Critics who say this loss says more about Houston than it does about Southern Miss are kidding themselves.

These were two monster wins by two teams who refused to stop competing all season long. Going out with a bang is going to allow them to make a late push up the rankings and close out the season the right way.