College football rankings, Week 9: Kansas State jumps Oregon in BCS standings

Alabama’s roll at the top of the BlogPoll continues unimpeded for the eighth straight week. But Florida is chomping into the Crimson Tide’s lead.

After dispatching South Carolina in the Swamp to notch a third win over a team in the current BCS Top 20, the Gators jump Oregon and move up from No. 3 to No. 2 in the BlogPoll, garnering 16 first-place votes in the process. That tally still pales in comparison to Alabama’s 55, more than twice as many as all other teams have combined, but the Gators could add another big win this weekend against Georgia and are compiling the nation’s best résumé at this point.

Now that we have Oregon fans riled up after correctly forecasting the Ducks would fall another spot to No. 4 in the latest BCS standings, it’s time to get somebody else going. Take a deep breath, and here goes: a one-loss SEC champion is no sure thing to play in the BCS title game.

That’s right. As unfathomable as this sounds, the SEC does not yet have a mortal lock to play in Miami on Jan. 7, even after winning the last six BCS championships. If the conference does not produce an undefeated champion, it’s possible that the SEC will be watching someone else play for the 2012 national title.

The debate entering Sunday night’s unveiling of Week 9’s BCS rankings: should Oregon or Kansas State be ranked No. 3 behind Alabama and Florida? Notre Dame and Oregon State also had cause to enter that discussion, but I didn’t hear much of that debate. Just the other one.

We know Bama’s No. 1, and we know Florida strengthened its hold on No. 2 in the BCS standings with its convincing beatdown of South Carolina. But with the Ducks flattening everything on their (not-so-tough) schedule and Kansas State now owning two excellent road Big 12 wins, it appeared we’d come down to the battle between man and machine. The machine won.

The top of the Week 9 Harris Poll remained relatively unchanged from last week, as the top six teams held at their respective positions. South Carolina, who last week was No. 7, dropped to No. 16 in the Week 9 poll that goes toward the BCS rankings. Florida rolled the Gamecocks 44-11 on Saturday.

Alabama is still heavily favored atop the poll with 109 first-place votes, and Oregon comes in at second. Florida earned one first-place vote this week but sits at third, while Kansas State and Notre Dame round out the top-five.

Oklahoma jumped two spots from 10th to eighth while South Carolina fell eight spots to 17th and West Virginia dropped to 25th in the Week 9 AP Poll.

Florida defeated South Carolina, 44-11, on Saturday which resulted in them getting a single first place vote but they remain in third behind Oregon and Alabama in the poll. The top six teams from Week 8 all maintained their positions as Alabama remained in the top spot and LSU is the highest-ranked one-loss team at sixth.

The top five teams in the USA Today Coaches Poll remained the same in Sunday’s latest edition, although Florida and Kansas State swapped positions. The Gators were ranked No. 4 last week and moved up to No. 3 with a 44-11 win over South Carolina. Kansas State was No. 3 last week, and dropped down to No. 4. Alabama (No. 1), Oregon (No. 2) and Notre Dame (No. 5) all remained in the same spots.

South Carolina’s loss to Florida dropped the Gamecocks from No. 8 last week to No. 16. Undefeated Oregon State, previously ranked No. 11, moved into the top 10 this week at No. 9.

Florida and Kansas State vaulted ahead of Alabama based on the strength of their schedules so far. Florida already has wins over Texas A&M, LSU, and South Carolina, while Kansas State has notched victories over Oklahoma and West Virginia, and a respectable win over Iowa State. Alabama’s only notable win this season is a victory over Michigan.

The Tide will face Mississippi State, LSU and Texas A&M in the coming weeks, so if they go undefeated through those games, they would probably rise back to No. 1. It’s not a reason to panic yet for Tide fans, but simply a confirmation that KSU and Florida have played tougher schedules so far.

We’re getting a playoff in college football. But if Iowa State hadn’t already done its part to ruin the BCS, 2012 might be the year that would’ve finally done it. At this point, Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Kansas State, Oregon State and Notre Dame all have perfect cases to play for the national title, but only two teams can. Things will straighten themselves out somewhat (or only get muddier) over the next few weeks, of course, but teams will be screwed by the current system.

However, the system is the system, so let’s take a look at where we’re headed:

Update: Full Week 9 BCS rankings are now out right here.

Should Oregon start to worry? Another week. Another commanding victory. Another solid No. 2 ranking in the two BCS-relevant polls. Yet, the Ducks might find themselves falling another spot in the BCS standings, slipping behind Kansas State to No. 4.