BCS Rankings: USC falls from number three, West Virginia positions itself for title game.

The BCS Rankings have been released and the Big East has a legitimate shot at placing a team in the title game January 8th.

While the number one and two positions are still held by Ohio State and Michigan, West Virginia is the new number three as a result of USC losing to Oregon State on Saturday. Florida’s victory over Georgia in Jacksonville moved them up to the number four spot while Louisville jumped to number five. Auburn’s hard fought victory in South Carolina put them at number six and Texas’ come from behind victory against Texas Tech placed them at number seven. USC dropped in the BCS rankings to number eight after losing to Oregon State. Notre Dame held on to the number nine ranking followed by California at number ten.

The BCS rankings figure to shake up again come next Sunday with the big match-up pitting West Virginia against Louisville on Thursday. The Cardinals of Louisville will be hosting the Mountaineers with the winner controlling their national championship fate.

Many experts have picked the winner of Thursday’s game to face off against the winner of Ohio State/Michigan for the BCS national championship trophy.

Both West Virginia and Louisville still have undefeated Rutgers on their schedule who will be looking to disrupt any championship aspirations their fellow Big East competitors may have. 

Florida still has an excellent chance to play in the championship game if they win out. They still have to play state rival FSU and then square off against the winner of the SEC West for the South East Conference title.

Auburn, who defeated Florida earlier in the year, also faces an interesting opportunity. They need Arkansas to lose twice in order to play for the SEC championship. They could potentially play for the national championship without even playing for their conference championship because of their earlier loss to Arkansas.

Texas also has a legitimate shot at playing in the Fiesta Bowl if they win out. If they win out and Ohio State beats Michigan on November 18 they may just get a rematch with the only team to beat them.

Notre Dame faces a tough task, despite their win over Navy on Saturday they didn’t move up but rather tied USC in the BCS rankings. USC’s loss on Saturday hurt Notre Dame because the pair are scheduled to play each other on November 25. The Irish were looking to add a quality win to their resume but USC’s loss hurts Notre Dame’s bid. They do have what appears top be the easiest schedule remaining of the top ten teams.

California is standing on the outside looking in but could add some consideration to their cause if they can knock off USC on November 18.