College Football Rankings: LSU, Oklahoma On Top In Week 7 Polls

There’s a paucity of major match-ups in college football in Week 7. Just three games feature two ranked teams, and only one of those involves a top-10 squad. But as with every week in a sport beloved for its chance of chaos, the college football rankings stand to be shaken up should even one of the handful of BCS National Championship Game contenders be upset. And with the initial BCS rankings of the 2011 season rolling out on Sunday night, now is not the time for a collapse.

Here’s what’s at stake in Week 7.

Boise State does well enough in the Week 7 AP Poll Top 25 and the Week 7 USA Today coaches poll. But for the Broncos, that standing in the college football rankings may not be enough for them to get to the BCS National Championship Game.

Boise State (No. 5 AP/No. 6 coaches) is probably still two or three losses away from a chance to play for a national title if the Broncos run the table in the regular season -- the holy grail for a team from a non-BCS automatic qualifier conference.

With the first BCS rankings of the 2011 college football season a mere week away, it’s time for the Harris Interactive Poll to gear up. The third major human poll, and one of the two human polls that is part of the BCS formula, the Week 7 Harris Poll (PDF) slates LSU in at No. 1.

The Tigers earned 71 of 115 first-place votes from the Harris Poll’s panel of former coaches, players, administrators and current and former media members, and hold a bigger lead over No. 2 Alabama than the Crimson Tide have over No. 3 Oklahoma. Wisconsin and Boise State round out the top five, and are followed by Oklahoma State, Stanford (which received a first-place vote), Clemson, Oregon, and Michigan in the top 10.

The same two teams that have dominated the Pac-12 in the past two years are the conference’s standard-bearers in the Week 7 AP Poll Top 25 and the Week 7 USA Today coaches poll.

Stanford (No. 5 coaches/No. 7 AP) and Oregon (No. 9 AP/No. 9 coaches) are the only Pac-12 teams in the top 15 of the college football rankings in Week 7, but their presence in the top 10 makes the Pac-12 one of just three conferences with multiple top-10 teams. Only the SEC (LSU, Alabama, Arkansas) and Big 12 (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State) can claim the same distinction.

No surprise for the SEC in the Week 7 college football rankings: LSU and Alabama lead the SEC in the Week 7 AP Poll Top 25 and the Week 7 USA Today coaches poll.

LSU stays at the head of the AP Poll and No. 2 in the coaches poll, while Alabama is No. 2 in the Week 7 AP Poll and No. 3 in the coaches poll. The rankings don’t matter much at this point; what matters is that, one week before the initial BCS standings for the 2011 season come out, the two best teams in the SEC West are on a collision course for a November showdown that might decide one berth in the BCS National Championship Game.

Oklahoma led the Week 7 USA Today coaches poll, but the Sooners are far from a consensus No. 1 in the college football rankings. LSU and Alabama both come before Oklahoma in the Week 7 AP Poll.

The Tigers routed Florida on Saturday, giving them four wins over ranked teams in the 2011 college football season, and minimally bolstered their lead on the Crimson Tide and Sooners in the Week 7 poll, now holding a 45-point advantage over Alabama after having a 38-point edge in Week 6.

After that, it gets a bit trickier. Wisconsin looks strong, and may belong in that top tier, while Boise State is a bit confusing, thanks to the scheduling factor. And then there’s Stanford and Oklahoma State, who keep cruising along and handling opponents. Good luck trying to figure it out at this point in the season.

Here’s a look at the games that mattered.