BCS Rankings: College Football Week Ending November 11

BCS Rankings: Championship dreams for Louisville, Texas, Auburn, California become a distant memory.

Ohio State remained the number one team in BCS Rankings following their 54-10 victory over Northwestern. The Buckeyes have held the number one BCS spot since the rankings were revealed. Ohio State will meet the University of Michigan next week, with the winner virtually guaranteeing a spot in the BCS Championship game.

Michigan, coming off an impressive 34-3 win over Indiana, continued to hold onto the number two spot in the BCS rankings. Michigan will travel to Columbus next week to take on Ohio State in one of the most anticipated college football games in recent years. Both Big Ten teams will be entering the game undefeated and in control of their own BCS Championship destiny.

USC benefited more than any other team after Saturday’s games concluded. Jumping four spots in the BCS Rankings, USC reclaimed the number three spot after beating up Oregon. USC had been the number three team two weeks ago but a loss to Oregon State had dropped them to number seven and seemingly out off the BCS Championship race. With their win over Oregon they were able to leapfrog the University of Florida to position themselves nicely for a title bid. USC will play University of California next week.

Florida survived a major scare this weekend and kept their BCS Championship dreams alive after beating University of South Carolina 17-16. Florida’s near escape didn’t earn them any points from the BCS Rankings and as a result they remained the number four team in the numbers. Florida will still have to play in-state rival FSU and win the SEC Championship if they are to earn their ticket to the January 8, BCS Championship game.

Notre Dame was also the beneficiary of a wild weekend. They easily put to bed Air Force on Saturday 39-17 and jumped four spots to claim the number five spot in the BCS Rankings. Their lone loss on the year came at the hands of Michigan, a team they may be rooting for come next weekend. The Irish will take on Army before finishing the year against USC in Los Angeles. Winning out could position Notre Dame nicely for a BCS Championship bid.

Rutgers huge win on Thursday over Louisville pushed them into a position where they could enjoy a BCS bowl for the first time in school history. At 9-0 Rutgers will certainly have their backers who believe they deserve a BCS bowl. The Scarlet Knights will have to defeat West Virginia if they are to play in a BCS bowl. 

Arkansas continued to march through the SEC and they punched their ticket to the SEC Championship game after dismantling Tennessee on Saturday. Arkansas could elevate themselves in the BCS Rankings if they can knock off SEC West rival LSU and then beat the University of Florida in the SEC Championship.

West Virginia nabbed the number eight spot in the BCS Rankings and are looking to regroup and make their push for a major bowl bid after their win on Saturday. Their loss to Louisville two weeks ago more than likely knocked them out of the BCS Championship hunt but a victory over Big East leader and undefeated Rutgers could bolster their credentials.

1 Ohio State
2 Michigan
3 USC
4 Florida
5 Notre Dame
6 Rutgers
7 Arkansas
8 West Virginia
9 Wisconsin
10 Louisville
11 LSU
12 Boise State
13 Texas
14 Auburn 
15 California
16 Wake Forest
17 Oklahoma
18 Georgia Tech
19 Maryland
20 Boston College
21 Virginia Tech
22 Tennessee
23 Nebraska
24 Oregon 
25 Brigham Young