In the last season of the Bowl Championship Series, it is only fitting that the system’s first poll brings up controversy.
Alabama is No. 1 again, but the Seminoles of Florida State are ranked No. 2 with the Oregon Ducks coming in at No. 3.
Florida State’s big win against Clemson clearly helped its cause for the No. 2 spot, but many experts, along with the Duck Nation, are in an uproar over the rankings.
Ever since its inception, the Bowl Championship Series, BCS, has been the crux of many rankings controversies in college football.
In its last season of use, the BCS continues to frustrate college football fans nationwide. Rounding out the top five of the BCS are the Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 4 and the Missouri Tigers at No. 5.
Missouri has come roaring into the national title picture over the past three weeks. By defeating the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs and the No. 22 Florida Gators in consecutive weeks, the Tigers have sent a message to the SEC: the Tigers are for real.
In just their second season in the SEC, the Tigers are now sitting alone atop the SEC East.
This week’s contest with the sputtering Gamecocks of South Carolina is crucial to the Tigers’ hopes of playing in the SEC championship game, likely against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Unlike the high flying Tigers, the Louisville Cardinals have seemingly hit rock bottom after a loss to the Central Florida Knights. The Cardinals were ranked No. 8 prior to the Friday night loss to the unranked Knights.
UCF erased a 21-point third quarter deficit to hand Teddy Bridgewater and coach Charlie Strong their first loss of the season, and likely knocking the Cardinals out of national title picture and maybe even the BCS picture.
The Stanford Cardinal got back over the weekend, knocking off the No. 9 UCLA Bruins 24-10.
The Cardinals were coming off a tough loss to the unranked Utah Utes, but didn’t let the loss distract them from taking care of business against the Bruins.
The win launched the Cardinal from No. 13 to No. 6 in this week’s rankings, and with a tough test against the No. 25 Oregon State Beavers on Saturday, Stanford will look to strengthen its case for a Pac-12 North title.
ANDREW KALATA
