College Football Rankings Preview: Stanford, Boise State Both Fall

Unlike last week, there will be no shakeup at the very top of the college football rankings. LSU, Oklahoma State and Alabama all took care of business and should remain in the same place as we hit the home stretch. However, the top-5 will have a very different look as the AP and Coaches Poll are released on Sunday morning.

Both the No. 4 and No. 5 teams fell this week, one in more surprising fashion than the other. Going into the weekend, it was assumed Oregon would give Stanford a tough test, and the Ducks did that and more. By the time it was all said and done in Palo Alto, Oregon had completely asserted itself in a 23-point win.

The surprising game belonged to Boise State, who had cruised through the MWC schedule all season long. But not Saturday, when Boise State ran into a TCU squad up to the task. The Broncos were finally pushed, and broke in the process, ending their BCS hopes again.

Here's a look at the scores that matter.

No. 1 LSU 42, Western Kentucky 9. The Hilltoppers hung around momentarily and even managed a touchdown! That was about where the positives ended.

No. 2 Oklahoma State 66, Texas Tech 6. It looked like Oklahoma State was ready to score 100 until Mike Gundy called off the dogs. If you can figure out how Texas Tech beat Oklahoma, we're all ears.

No. 3 Alabama 24, Mississippi State 7. No real hangover here, but Alabama didn't paste Mississippi State, either.

No. 7 Oregon 53, No. 4 Stanford 30. After that season-opening loss to LSU, Oregon has looked like a team on a mission. This matchup was almost a carbon copy of last year's, and the Ducks look to be on the way to the Rose Bowl as a result.

TCU 36, No. 5 Boise State 35. Field goal kicking. Again. Seeing a kicker line up for an attempt has to be sickening at this point.

No. 8 Arkansas 49, Tennessee 7. Arkansas keeps rolling along in a somewhat under-the-radar way, with LSU and Alabama taking the SEC spotlight.

No. 9 Clemson 31, Wake Forest 28. Maybe this is Clemson's year. Sure, the loss two weeks ago wasn't good, but this was a game many spent screaming "Clemson'd" and the Tigers still came away with the win.

No. 10 Virginia Tech 37, No. 21 Georgia Tech 26. Forgot this game even happened until now. Thursday night games!

No. 11 Houston 73, Tulane 17. Hoping and wishing Houston gets a BCS at-large. Not so much because of the whole BCS buster thing, but because Case Keenum and the Cougars' offense needs to be in a meaningful bowl. The world needs this.

No. 19 Nebraska 19, No. 12 Penn State 12. An emotionally charged day coming at the end of a difficult week ends with a loss.

No. 13 South Carolina 17, Florida 12. Honeymoon never got started for Charlie Weis, but it's dead and buried anyway.

No. 14 Kansas State 53, Texas A&M 50. Might have been the most entertaining game of the day, though that's up for debate, as well. Four overtimes and all sorts of ham later, Kansas State survives.

No. 15 Georgia 45, No. 20 Auburn 7. Yeah, this one was never close.

Missouri 17, No. 16 Texas 5. Five points, eh? All right! Sadly, Missouri lost Henry Josey for the year to a horrific injury.

No. 17 Michigan State 37, Iowa 21. One-game lead over rival Michigan and Nebraska in the standings, with all three at 8-2.

No. 18 Wisconsin 42, Minnesota 13. And on the other side of the Big Ten -- leaders! -- we have another logjam at the top. Wisconsin is a game back of Penn State, and the two close out the year against each other. Should be fun!

No. 22 Southern Mississippi 30, UCF 29. Quietly rooting for Southern Miss just for the heck of it. Hop aboard the Golden Eagles' train, y'all.

West Virginia 24, No. 23 Cincinnati 21. Aw man. So much for the last team undefeated in Big East play. Now what are we going to do?

No. 24 Michigan 31, Illinois 14. Denard Robinson was injured -- extent unknown -- and Fitzgerald Toussaint established himself as a clear all-name team candidate.

No. 25 Baylor 31, Kansas 30. I'm still not sure how Baylor came back to win this, but never doubt Robert Griffin III, I guess.

Here's a look at last week's BCS standings. The newest rankings will be unveiled Sunday night.

Here is last week's AP Poll. The latest poll will be released around noon on Sunday.

And finally, last week's Coaches Poll. The latest will be released around the same time as the AP Poll.