Year’s First BCS Rankings Released

The year’s first Bowl Championship Series rankings were unveiled this evening on ESPN. In what comes as a bit of a surprise the Oklahoma Sooners were ranked as the top college team in the nation. Oklahoma started off the year ranked 7th in the AP poll, a position that more or less remained stagnant throughout an up and down first five games of the season.

However, a hectic two weeks which saw two Number #1 seeds fall in consecutive weeks (Alabama and Ohio State) left open the void filled by the Sooners after their 28-20 win over red river rival Texas and 52-0 pasting of fellow Big 12 team Iowa State.

After ESPN’s Brad Edwards projected standings that were released last week showed Boise State as the #1 team (With Oklahoma #4) many felt  that this most recent incarnation of the BCS rankings could be a historic one, as it would be the first time a team from a non-AQ conference would be at the top of the Rankings. But alas, the Broncos will have settle for #3 (.317 points behind Oklahoma) and they, as well as their sympathizers, will have to wait at least another week before they will have another opportunity at the aforementioned landmark breakthrough.

Rounding out the Top 5 is Oregon, who find themselves second despite being ranked first in both the Coaches Poll and the AP Poll, TCU and Auburn, who find themselves ranked at the same spot as they are in the human polls, respectively. The five other remaining undefeated teams are LSU (Ranked #6) Michigan State (7-0 for the first time since 1966 and ranked #7), Utah (#9), Missouri (#11) and Oklahoma State (#14). Ohio State finds themselves at #10 after their loss and Nebraska finds themselves at #16.

The controversial rankings, which have been subject to the ire of college football fans, members of the media, politicians and even a recent book entitled “Death to the BCS”, are calculated using a complex procedure that combines the Coaches and Harris Poll rankings with computer data that takes into account strength of schedule, margin of victory and conference record, amongst other things.

On the docket for next week are two games between a few of the remaining undefeated teams as LSU and Auburn square off in Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, and Oklahoma and Missouri matchup at Missouri’s Faurot Field in games that are sure to have a large effect on next week’s edition of the BCS rankings.

The full rankings in order are: Oklahoma, Oregon, Boise State, Auburn, TCU, LSU, Michigan State, Alabama, Utah, Ohio State, Missouri, Stanford, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Iowa, Nebraska, Florida State, Arizona, Texas, West Virginia, South Carolina, Kansas State, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech.