You know the drill.
1. LSU Tigers
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
3. Stanford Cardinal
4. Oklahoma St. Cowboys
5. Boise St. Broncos
No surprises here. Clemson is out after losing to GT. If everything goes according to plan and the winner of LSU-'Bama wins out, it will be interesting to see what happens with Stanford and Oklahoma St. if both also win out. They have remaining games against Oregon and Oklahoma, respectively. Right now, it appears that OSU will get the nod for the title shot, but I like Stanford a bit more. I was impressed with the Cardinal's gutsy win against a jacked Southern Cal. If both Stanford and OSU lose, it will be interesting to see if Boise gets a title shot over one-loss Oregon and Oklahoma teams.
6. Oregon Ducks
7. Oklahoma Sooners
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers
9. South Carolina Gamecocks
10. Arkansas Razorbacks
There's a little shakeup here due to some of the recent losses. Oregon and Oklahoma are the class of the one-loss teams and will be the ones that are considered for title shots should they manage to beat their more highly ranked conference rivals. Nebraska and USC are similar in that they are one-loss teams with great defenses but flawed offenses that will make it difficult for them to win out. Nebraska may find a way to win out in a struggling Big 10, but it would be difficult to envision USC beating LSU or Alabama right now, although I do think they can their other games. Arkansas is struggling right now and is lucky that it hasn't been upset in recent weeks. I expect the upset to come soon for the Hogs.
11. Michigan Wolverines
12. Clemson Tigers
13. Kansas State Wildcats
14. Houston Cougars
15. Southern Cal Trojans
There's some additional shakeup here, and it's hard to know what to make of some of these teams. Michigan and Clemson are both good teams with great offenses, but their defenses have been exposed over the course of the season. K-State lost ugly to Oklahoma yesterday, but I still see them as being a solid team. Houston is a mid-major darling with a great offense. I could see them beating a lot of good BCS teams, although they'd have to do so in shootout fashion. Southern Cal is the best two-loss team, IMO. I'm actually moving them up based on their performance against Stanford. They can win out in the Pac-12 with that kind of performance. The key will be maintaining consistency.
16. Michigan St. Spartans
17. Wisconsin Badgers
18. Georgia Bulldogs
19. Arizona St. Sun Devils
20. Virginia Tech Hokies
Michigan St. is a good but inconsistent team. Same for Wisconsin, which has been exposed in recent weeks. Georgia is a tough team to rank because they haven't played anyone since their opening losses to Boise and USC. Arizona St. is a good Pac-12 team. Virginia Tech--well, I'm tempted to leave them out all together, despite their record. They might be one of the worst one-loss teams I've ever. However, they still have only one loss, so here they are.
21. Penn St. Nittany Lions
22. Georgia Tech Yellowjackets
23. Auburn Tigers
24. West Virginia Mountaineers
25. Southern Mississippi Golden Eages
Penn St.--another very underwhelming one-loss team. GT--inconsistent but formidable on good days. Same for Auburn. I was previously high on WVU, but that loss to Syracuse sure isn't looking pretty right now. Southern Miss. is a good mid-major who could rise as the wins pile up.