Apparently, I overestimated the impact the Alabama Crimson Tide would get from their win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs. For the first time in ten years, the top 10 in the BCS standings has remained unchanged from one week to the next. As I said this morning:
BCS Rankings: Expert Analysis Of The Week 12 Standings
This week was one of the most static in the BCS standings I have ever seen. One has to go to #13 Iowa to find the highest ranked team to lose. Of the six top 25 teams that lost, three lost to another top 25 team. One lost to ineligible, but non trivial USC. The highest ranked team to play a ranked opponent was #1 Alabama.
The Oregon Ducks and Auburn Tigers held the top two spots. The Boise State Broncos closed in on the TCU Horned Frogs, as expected. A win over the Nevada Wolf Pack should be enough to push Boise State over the top. The LSU Tigers are closing in on TCU and Boise State and could be competitive for a BCS National Championship Game spot with a win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Another open question is the Big Ten’s Rose Bowl race. The Wisconsin Badgers are the leader, but the Ohio State Buckeyes could take the lead in the BCS standings with a win over Iowa. A loss by the Michigan State Spartans would make this irrelevasnt, as Wisconsin would then win the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Incidentally, the game this next week with the biggest long-term BCS impact might not even involve teams in contention for a BCS bowl game. Tuesday night, I will take a look at the impact a win by the San Diego State Aztecs over the Utah Utes could have on the Mountain West conference’s bid for an automatic qualification for 2012 and 2013.
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