NCAA college football fans may be scratching their heads wondering if anyone wants to be No. 1 this year. The darlings of the BCS computer rankings last week, Oklahoma turned in a less than stellar performance Saturday night, October 23, 2010, when the Sooners found themselves with some Tigers by the tail and on the short end of a 36-27 score against Big 12 rival Missouri.
Looking suspiciously like the Dallas Cowboys in red, OU played like anything but the best team in college football against the Tigers. A porous defense, mistake-prone offense and weak special teams conspired to install Oklahoma as the latest member of the “We Used to be No. 1" club along with Alabama and Ohio State, high-profile teams also knocked from the lofty perch in recent weeks.
Oregon, already the consensus No. 1 team in the nation last week in the human polls, seemed poised to claim what the Ducks likely already considered their rightful position all along, No. 1 in the BCS rankings 2010 for Week 9. But it was not to be. When the standings were announced Sunday evening on the ESPN BCS Countdown special Auburn, No. 4 in last week's BCS poll vaulted to the top of the standings.
Shades of Boise State, Oregon must be feeling a little like Rodney Dangerfield and wondering what they have to do to get to No. 1 in the BCS poll. Unlike Oklahoma, the Ducks looked like a No. 1 team taking UCLA to the woodshed to the tune of 60-13 and running the Oregon record to a perfect 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Pacific-10. Still the Ducks stayed in the No. 2 spot for the second straight week and consensus No. 1 in all the other polls.
Auburn borrowing a page from the Oklahoma playbook, grabbed the top spot in BCS despite a consensus No. 3 ranking in the AP, Coaches poll and Harris Interactive.
Week 9 BCS Standings 2010 Top Ten
- Auburn
- Oregon
- Boise State
- TCU
- Michigan State
- Missouri
- Alabama
- Utah
- Oklahoma
- Wisconsin
BCS Beat Goes on for Boise State Football Fans
Boise State, the No. 1 team in the ESPN mock BCS poll from October 10 and the No. 3 team behind Oklahoma and Oregon in the first official ESPN BCS standings announced last week, October 17, failed to gain any traction this week remaining third.
The die seems cast that once again Boise State will be shut out of the BCS Championship game in Glendale, Arizona, January 10, 2011. Continuing strength of schedule criticisms seem to hang around the necks of the Broncos like a milestone.
With the “powerhouse” teams of the SEC, Big-10 and Big-12 conferences dropping like flies, pollsters and the BCS computers seem determined to elevate replacement automatic qualifying conference teams over the Broncos each week. Boise State seems destined for another trip to a consolation bowl against a No. 4 team rather than getting a chance at the national title.
Fate of Another Non-Qualifier in the BCS Countdown
The other team that arguably has as much of a beef with the whole BCS process is TCU. The Horned Frogs did manage to move up from No. 5 to No. 4 but the team seemingly continues to get no respect.
Despite a perfect record and another impressive win this weekend, human pollsters and the BCS computer rankings seem determined to deny the Frogs any chance at the big dance. Barring major changes, it seems TCU and Boise State may be looking at a rematch of last year's meeting when bowl season rolls around.
After two consecutive chaotic weeks of big upsets the BCS continues to surprise as well as befuddle. Another team ranked no better than No. 3 in any other poll has been installed at the top of the BCS standings. There may be fewer high-profile upsets left to come but given the first two official BCS standings for 2010, it doesn't appear that the surprises will be ending anytime soon.
Larry Darter - Larry Darter is a freelance writer and published author with three books to his credit. He is a graduate of the Univ. of Central ...
