College Football Rankings: LSU, Alabama Top BCS Standings

It must get lonely to be Boise State: for many years the WAC's lone BCS representative, with the exception of that bizarre 2007 run by Hawai'i, the Broncos moved to the Mountain West Conference before the 2011 season with the hopes of cutting their teeth on tougher competition like TCU. And now TCU is not very good, and the Horned Frogs are leaving the Mountain West for the Big 12, and Boise State finds itself, as ever, near but not at the top of the BCS standings.

The Broncos come in fourth in the Week 9 BCS standings, up from fifth in Week 8, but they have a number of teams on their tail. Clemson, for instance, is only .0062 points back of Boise State, and Stanford's barely more than a point behind Clemson. And while Clemson has a win over a top-15 team (Virginia Tech is No. 12) and Stanford has a match-up with a top-10 team, No. 7 Oregon, Boise State will be left to make its hay against the Mountain West.

And the second-best Mountain West team might still be TCU.

For more on Boise State, visit One Bronco Nation Under God.

The Pac-12 sports only three teams in this week's BCS rankings, but they have two teams in the Top 10. No. 6 Stanford continues to slowly climb in the rankings as Andrew Luck and company continue to smash their opponents, and Oregon is the highest ranked 1 loss team coming in right behind Stanford at No. 7. Oregon's only loss of course was to top ranked LSU, so Oregon cans till climb rather high if they continue to beat up their competition with a showdown against Stanford in three weeks.

No. 21 Arizona State also hangs on in the back end of the rankings. The Sun Devils were a favorite dark horse pick to start the season, but an early loss against Illinois in a game ASU probably should have won, and a loss to Oregon two weeks ago derailed much of that. Arizona State can still play spoiler in the Pac-12 however, still leading the Pac-12 South division. 

See the complete BCS top 25 and the rest of the college football rankings.

The Clemson Tigers are now ranked fifth in the latest BCS rankings and have the highest ranking in the school's history. The Tigers are also the highest ranked ACC team by far. There is only one other ACC team ranked in the BCS Top 25, and that is No. 12 Virginia Tech. The ACC is once again in a down year with Florida State being a massive disappointment and unranked.

Clemson is a team than can sneak higher into the BCS rankings as they have a highly favorable schedule left. They're toughest challenge will be No. 13 South Carolina at the end of the season and then whomever they play in the ACC Championship game. It may not be enough for Clemson to get into the National Title game, but the Tigers continue to smash everyone in their path. Unfortunately for Clemson, they only play one more ranked team at the end of the season.

See the complete BCS top 25 and the rest of the college football rankings.

The Week 9 BCS Rankings were released Sunday night, and the SEC tied the Big 12 for the most amount of teams in the Top 10 with three each. The LSU tigers maintained their top ranking followed at the number two spot by the Alabama Crimson Tide. Arkansas rounds out the top 10, continuing to sneak up in the rankings.

Also falling into the BCS rankings for the SEC were No. 13 South Carolina, No. 22 Auburn, and No. 23 Georgia. A team like South Carolina continues to slowly creep up in the BCS rankings and can continue to climb, especially if they can get past No. 10 Arkansas in a few weeks. Currently, the Gamecocks lead the SEC East so it will also potentially set them up against the No. 1 or No. 2 ranked BCS team in the SEC title game. It's unlikely South Carolina can win out and make a charge for the National Title, but they can certainly play spoiler.

See the complete BCS top 25 here.

Boise State didn't fall in either the Week 9 AP Poll and the Week 9 USA Today coaches poll. But it's Stanford's rise that should show the Broncos that this is probably not going to be their year to play in a BCS National Championship Game.

Boise State (No. 5 AP/No. 5 coaches) is the highest-ranked non-BCS automatic qualifier conference team, and it's not close: Houston (No. 18 AP/No. 18 coaches) is the only other team from outside the big six conferences in this week's college football rankings.

But Stanford leapt past Boise State in the AP Poll after beating Washington like a drum at home, possibly a less impressive win than Boise State's evisceration of Georgia in Atlanta to begin the season. And though the AP Poll still has a voter who is slotting the Broncos in at No. 1 and doesn't count in the BCS rankings, it's a sign that that season-opening victory has been largely forgotten.

For more on the Week 9 college football rankings, check out our comprehensive StoryStream.

The Week 9 AP Poll and the Week 9 USA Today coaches poll are no country for the Big East. The conference, flagging in the college football rankings all year, places just two teams in both the AP and coaches polls: Cincinnati (No. 23 coaches/No. 24 AP) and West Virginia (No. 24 coaches/No. 25 AP).

And it's not as if either of those teams are particularly impressive. Cincinnati has three wins over BCS conference foes, and a bad loss to Tennessee; West Virginia's defense-light approach to football doomed the Mountaineers against Syracuse in Week 8, as the Orange carpet-bombed them for 49 points.

That wasn't enough to get Syracuse into either top 25, though the 5-2 Orange are receiving votes in both polls. But with the Big East's parity in 2011, it might not matter: Syracuse, or any number of other teams, could conceivably win the conference without being ranked in the top 25.

For more on the Week 9 college football rankings, check out our comprehensive StoryStream.

Stanford has its best showing of the season in the Week 9 AP Poll and the Week 9 USA Today coaches poll. And with Oregon not far behind and USC rising, this may be the best the Pac-12 has looked in the college football rankings in 2011.

Stanford (No. 3 coaches/No. 4 AP) enjoys its highest ranking of the 2011 season in the coaches poll after shellacking Washington on Saturday, while Oregon (No. 7 AP/No. 7 coaches) keeps creeping up as unbeatens ahead of it lose. Both teams look like BCS contenders, though only the Cardinal still have a legitimate shot at the BCS National Championship Game.

But the really interesting development of the Week 9 polls is USC soaring into the AP Poll at No. 19. That's higher than the media voters have Arizona (No. 20 coaches/No. 23 AP), and, especially considering that the Trojans cannot be ranked in the coaches poll as a condition of NCAA penalties stemming from illegal benefits provided to Reggie Bush, is a sign that there may be a third ascendant Pac-12 team before long.

For more on the Week 9 college football rankings, check out our comprehensive StoryStream.

Clemson's the highest-ranked ACC team in the Week 9 AP Poll and the Week 9 USA Today coaches poll. Clemson's the last undefeated ACC team. In 2011, the ACC is boiling down to Clemson and 11 dwarves.

The Tigers (No. 6 AP/No. 6 coaches) enjoy their highest ranking of the year in the Week 9 college football rankings, and seem to have installed themselves at the back of a pack of unbeaten teams that top the poll. But beyond Clemson, there's not much to smile about as far as the conference is concerned.

Yes, Virginia Tech (No. 15 AP/No. 15 coaches) remains ranked, but the Hokies are the only other ACC squad in either major poll. Georgia Tech, which fell to Virginia and Miami in consecutive weeks, exits both polls, and only the Yellow Jackets and Hurricanes are even in the also receiving votes portions of the polls.

For more on the Week 9 college football rankings, check out our comprehensive StoryStream.

Michigan State takes the reins of the Big Ten from Wisconsin in the Week 9 AP Poll and the Week 9 USA Today coaches poll. It makes sense, because the Spartans dashed the Badgers' BCS National Championship Game hopes with a miraculous victory on Saturday night.

Michigan State (No. 9 AP/No. 10 coaches) joins the top 10 in both polls after upsetting Wisconsin (No. 11 coaches/No. 12 AP) and leaving the Big Ten with no undefeated outfits. The Spartans and Badgers could meet again in the Big Ten Championship Game.

But Wisconsin might have to get past Penn State (No. 19 coaches/No. 21 AP) first. The Nittany Lions are the only Big Ten team with four conference wins, and they lead the Leaders Division. Michigan State looks more secure in the Legends Division, with Michigan (No. 17 AP/No. 17 coaches) in its rear view, but Nebraska (No. 13 AP/No. 13 coaches) is up next.

For more on the Week 9 college football rankings, check out our comprehensive StoryStream.

This is new: it's not Oklahoma atop the Big 12 in the Week 9 AP Poll and the Week 9 USA Today coaches poll, but Oklahoma State. And the Sooners aren't even ahead of Kansas State in one poll.

Oklahoma State moved up to No. 3 in the AP Poll and No. 4 in the coaches poll with Oklahoma's loss, and it's a tie for the highest AP Poll ranking the Cowboys have ever enjoyed. Kansas State (No. 10 AP/No. 12 coaches) is ahead of Oklahoma (No. 9 coaches/No. 11 AP) in one poll in advance of the two teams' match-up in Manhattan this week.

Texas A&M (No. 16 coaches/No. 16 AP) and Texas Tech (No. 19 AP/No. 22 coaches), which banished Oklahoma from the ranks of the unbeaten, show up in the Week 9 polls, too.

For more on the Week 9 college football rankings, check out our comprehensive StoryStream.

Of course the SEC rules the Week 9 AP Poll and the Week 9 USA Today coaches poll: LSU and Alabama are both SEC teams.

The Tigers and Crimson Tide set up their No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash in two weeks by winning in Week 8 and ensuring that they will both be undefeated for it. And Oklahoma's loss removed the Sooners from the top spot in the coaches poll, meaning that LSU and Alabama are likely to be No. 1 and No. 2 in the three major human polls and the BCS rankings for Week 9 ... and probably Week 10, too, after their bye weeks.

Arkansas (No. 8 coaches/No. 8 AP) joins LSU and Alabama to give the SEC West three teams in the top eight of both the AP and coaches polls. South Carolina (No. 14 coaches/No. 14 AP) is joined by Georgia (No. 21 coaches/No. 22  AP) in giving the SEC East two ranked teams.

For more on the Week 9 college football rankings, check out our comprehensive StoryStream.

LSU's poised to make a clean sweep of the Week 9 college football rankings. After topping the Week 9 USA Today coaches poll, the Tigers retain the No. 1 spot in the Week 9 AP Poll.

And barring something beyond the scope of human belief that would drop either team over their bye weeks, LSU and Alabama will meet as the AP Poll's No. 1 and No. 2 teams in two weeks in Tuscaloosa. It will be the first time that two SEC teams will play as No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP Poll.

There are, believe it or not, other schools playing college football this season: Oklahoma State, Stanford, and Boise State round out the top five of the AP Poll, while Oklahoma falls from No. 3 to No. 11 after losing to Texas Tech. And that No. 3 ranking for Oklahoma State is the highest in school history.

Here's the AP Poll top 25 for Week 9:

Oklahoma's loss to Texas Tech on Saturday opened the door for a new No. 1 team in the Week 9 USA Today coaches poll. And LSU stormed through, taking the top spot in the first part of the college football rankings for this week for the first time in 2011.

LSU and Alabama moved up to No. 1 and No. 2 in advance of their titanic Tuscaloosa tussle in November, and should stay there until the game, considering that both teams have bye weeks in Week 9. They are followed in the top five by Stanford, up to its highest perch in 2011, Oklahoma State, and Boise State.

Oklahoma, meanwhile, falls to No. 9 with the loss, behind fellow one-loss squads Oregon and Arkansas. Clemson is No. 6, and Michigan State soars to No. 10 after defeating Wisconsin, now No. 11.

Here's the full USA Today coaches poll top 25 for Week 9: