RECAP WEEK 12: BCS Standings & Implications from Saturday 11/17

#1, now #6 Kansas State (10-1).  LOST to Baylor (5-5): 52-24 in Waco.  Fell from 1st place to 6th in the BCS.  Baylor came into this game (and is still) un-ranked and with a losing record and not only beat the #1 team in the nation, but absolutely dominated them for 60 minutes.  More details on why this was such a shock can be found here.

#2, now #5 Oregon (10-1).  LOST to Stanford (9-2): 17-14 in OT at home. Fell from 2nd place to 5th in the BCS.  Stanford came into this game with just one loss and ranked 13th in the nation.   All of the focus coming into the game was Oregon’s dominating offense, but Stanford’s defense ended up being the storyline. Stanford moved from 13th to 8th in the BCS.  More details on the upset can be found here.

#3, now #1 Notre Dame (11-0).  BEAT Wake Forest (5-6): 38-0 at home.  The big stories were Senior day, Manti Te’o’s last home game (the student body wearing yellow leis to show their support for the Hawaii native), the shut out, 584 yards of total offense and Quarterback Everett Golson completing 67% of his passes (20-30) for 346 yards.  BUT, the biggest story is what happened after the game.  First, Kansas Sate lost to Baylor and Irish fans celebrated knowing they would move up to 2nd and a possible chance to play for the national title.  And then, Oregon lost to Stanford and Irish fans celebrated knowing they would move from 3rd place to 1st.  Yes, the Irish are #1 in the nation for the first time since November 14-20, 1993. Next week they play USC (who will be without starting quarterback Matt Barkley).  But 1993 did not end well for the Irish and fans have not forgotten November 20, 1993.

#4, now #2 Alabama (10-1).  Beat FCS team (Div I-AA) Western Carolina (1-10): 49-0 at home.  As one of 7 SEC teams playing FCS teams, the game itself wasn’t a story.  But the losses by both Kansas State and Oregon mean that Alabama jumps from 4th to 2nd in the BCS.  A week ago the #1 Crimson Tide was defeated by then #15 Texas A&M (thanks to Johnny Football) and their national title hopes were doomed.  But now they are already favored by 10 points in the National Title game. Next week they play Auburn.

#5, now #3 Georgia (10-1).  Beat FCS team Georgia South (8-3): 45-14 at home.  Georgia’s only loss this year was against South Carolina (ranked #12, with a 9-2 record). Next week they play Georgia Tech.  And most importantly, as it stands now, they will play Alabama in the SEC Championship game.  So they still have a chance.

The current BCS standings have SEC teams ranked 2nd, 3rd and 4th (Florida) so an SEC team is just about guaranteed to make it into the title game.  The ACC teams with 10-1 records, Florida State and Clemson, haven’t received much respect from the voters and FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher had something to say about it last week.