The Guru's BlogPoll (Week 13)

The Guru's BlogPoll ballot, with notes below:

BCS Guru Ballot - Week 13

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU Tigers	--
2	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
3	Houston Cougars	2
4	Stanford Cardinal	--
5	Boise St. Broncos	1
6	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	1
7	Virginia Tech Hokies	1
8	USC Trojans	1
9	Oregon Ducks	1
10	Arkansas Razorbacks	-7
11	South Carolina Gamecocks	1
12	Georgia Bulldogs	1
13	Kansas St. Wildcats	-2
14	Michigan St. Spartans	--
15	Wisconsin Badgers	--
16	Michigan Wolverines	--
17	TCU Horned Frogs	1
18	Oklahoma Sooners	1
19	Nebraska Cornhuskers	3
20	Baylor Bears	3
21	West Virginia Mountaineers	3
22	Penn St. Nittany Lions	-5
23	Clemson Tigers	-3
24	Southern Miss. Golden Eagles	1
25	Arkansas St. Red Wolves	--
Dropouts: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

* After giving this some more thought, I decided to move Houston up to No. 3. Sure, the Cougars have not played the toughest schedule, but being undefeated with that schedule has to count for something. I don't think they're in LSU or Alabama's class, but on a neutral field, I'm not sure if they can't beat Stanford or Virginia Tech, especially at this juncture.

* Arkansas was exposed, not necessarily as a fraud, but nowhere in the class of the top two teams. It may be the third-best team in the SEC (and even that's debatable), but there's a chasm between LSU, Alabama and the rest of the conference.

* Even if that was a hapless UCLA just ready to be pistol-whipped (pun intended), USC is clearly the best two-loss team in the nation, after also beating Oregon in Eugene the week before. The Trojans were determined to make a mockery out of the inaugural Pac-12 title game and they have succeeded in spectacular fashion.

* The bottom of the ballot is one messy lookin' grab bag. Not sure any 4-loss team belongs on there, so I'm giving Arkansas State the benefit of the doubt.

* New teams that made the ballot this week: Arkansas State.

* Conference-by-conference tally: SEC (5), Big Ten (5), Big 12 (4), Pac-12 (3), C-USA (2), MWC (2), ACC (2), Big East (1), Sun Belt (1).

Who Can Stop an All-SEC Rematch?

Only one man stands between an LSU-Alabama rematch in the BCS title game.

Here a hint: He's 44.

Mike Gundy will need to be his persuasive best, first on the field, and then to the national media and his brotherhood of coaches, on why his Oklahoma State Cowboys should break up the all-SEC party in New Orleans.

Oklahoma State not only needs to beat Oklahoma impressively in Bedlam next Saturday to secure the Big 12 title, it has to make a case on why its overtime loss to Iowa State last week should be overlooked to bump Alabama out of the BCS title game. The Pokes will have to convince enough of the 174 voters in the coaches and Harris polls to make a flip-flop to jump to No. 2.

Yep, Alabama, not LSU.

Does that mean the Tigers' SEC title game against Georgia is practically a bye?

Is Michigan assured of a BCS berth after beating Ohio State for the first time in eight years? Or do the Wolverines have to sweat out a couple of games?

What about Stanford?

Is TCU one Houston loss away from its third straight BCS bowl?

Those, and other questions concerning the BCS lineup will need to be answered. And that's what the Guru's here for. Check out my comprehensive Q&A Sunday morning at SB Nation to put your mind at ease.

That, and many other questions concerning the BCS lineup will need to be answered. And that's what the Guru's here for. Check out my comprehensive Q&A Sunday morning at SB Nation to put your mind at ease.

Until then, here are the projections:

1. LSU, 2. Alabama, 3. Oklahoma State, 4. Virginia Tech, 5. Stanford, 6. Boise State, 7. Houston, 8. Arkansas, 9. Oklahoma, 10. Oregon, 11. Kansas State, 12. South Carolina, 13. Georgia, 14. Michigan State, 15. Wisconsin.

And as an extra service this week, I also project Michigan at No. 16 and TCU at No. 18.

The Guru's BlogPoll (Week 12)

The Guru's BlogPoll ballot, with notes below:

BCS Guru Ballot - Week 12

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU Tigers	--
2	Alabama Crimson Tide	1
3	Arkansas Razorbacks	2
4	Stanford Cardinal	2
5	Houston Cougars	2
6	Boise St. Broncos	2
7	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	-5
8	Virginia Tech Hokies	2
9	USC Trojans	11
10	Oregon Ducks	-6
11	Kansas St. Wildcats	1
12	South Carolina Gamecocks	1
13	Georgia Bulldogs	1
14	Michigan St. Spartans	1
15	Wisconsin Badgers	1
16	Michigan Wolverines	3
17	Penn St. Nittany Lions	1
18	TCU Horned Frogs	3
19	Oklahoma Sooners	-8
20	Clemson Tigers	-11
21	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	2
22	Nebraska Cornhuskers	-5
23	Baylor Bears	--
24	West Virginia Mountaineers	--
25	Southern Miss. Golden Eagles	-3
Dropouts: Florida St. Seminoles, Cincinnati Bearcats

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

* I could not understand, for the life of me, how Virginia Tech could be ranked fourth in the Coaches' Poll. Fourth? A team that nearly lost to Duke and got shut out in the second half in a 14-10 squeaker? Incidentally, Stanford routed the same Duke team and is ranked a spot behind VT. I don't make that mistake here. I actually watch the games and pay attention, which is obviously not what most of these voters do.

* Oklahoma State's loss (to Iowa State) is far worse than Boise State's (to TCU). And OSU's best win (a nailbiter over Kansas State) is inferior to Boise's best win (a rout at Georgia). So why shouldn't Boise be ranked ahead of OSU?

* USC is the best two-loss team, after having beaten the the second-best two-loss team. The Trojans belong in the top 10.

* New teams that made the ballot this week: Baylor, West Virginia.

* Conference-by-conference tally: SEC (5), Big Ten (5), Big 12 (4), Pac-12 (3), ACC (2), C-USA (2), MWC (2), Big East (1), Independent (1).

SEC Is Good, But This Good?

Even if you live under a rock on some other planet, you'd know that the SEC has won the last five BCS championships. But apparently that's still not good enough.

Now the SEC wants to hoard the national championship game entirely to itself, and have the game played on its turf to boot.

After the bloodletting of top-ranked teams this weekend, which got a head start on Friday when Oklahoma State lost at double-digit underdog Iowa State, you'll find three SEC West teams occupying the first three spots of the next BCS Standings.

Even if you don't like to see an LSU-Alabama rematch in the BCS title game in New Orleans, that seems all but inevitable as long as LSU beats Arkansas at home next week. Besides, what are your other choices?

Oklahoma State, believe it or not, might get a mulligan if the 174 coaches and Harris voters really don't want to see another soccer game. There are also Stanford and Virginia Tech, each with one loss. After that, it's either a 2-loss team or Houston or Boise State, so no chance.

The Guru will break down all the scenarios, with two weeks remaining in the college football regular season. Check it out in the morning at SB Nation.

For now, here's the projected BCS Standings:

1. LSU, 2. Alabama, 3. Arkansas, 4. Oklahoma State, 5. Stanford, 6. Virginia Tech, 7. Oklahoma, 8. Oregon, 9. Boise State, 10. Houston, 11. South Carolina, 12. Kansas State, 13. Michigan State, 14. Georgia, 15. Michigan.

The Guru's BlogPoll (Week 11)

The Guru's BlogPoll ballot, with notes below:

BCS Guru Ballot - Week 11

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU Tigers	--
2	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	2
3	Alabama Crimson Tide	2
4	Oregon Ducks	2
5	Arkansas Razorbacks	2
6	Stanford Cardinal	-4
7	Houston Cougars	1
8	Boise St. Broncos	-5
9	Clemson Tigers	1
10	Virginia Tech Hokies	1
11	Oklahoma Sooners	-2
12	Kansas St. Wildcats	1
13	South Carolina Gamecocks	1
14	Georgia Bulldogs	1
15	Michigan St. Spartans	1
16	Wisconsin Badgers	1
17	Nebraska Cornhuskers	1
18	Penn St. Nittany Lions	-6
19	Michigan Wolverines	--
20	USC Trojans	--
21	TCU Horned Frogs	4
22	Southern Miss Golden Eagles	--
23	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	--
24	Florida St. Seminoles	--
25	Cincinnati Bearcats	-4
Dropouts: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Texas Longhorns

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

* Both Stanford and Boise State too their obligatory drops after losing on Saturday, but I cut Stanford a bit more slack because of the competition. Keep in mind that Arkansas lost by 24 points to Alabama and yet is still in the top five. Stanford lost by 23 to Oregon.

* Houston gets a slight bump but the Cougars will now be tested, going into the toughest part of their schedule with games against SMU (which beat TCU) and Tulsa (whose only losses were to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Boise State) left. A sweep of those games will land Houston in the C-USA title game against potentially 11-1 Southern Miss. The Cougs have a lot of work to do to stay unbeaten.

* Oklahoma was idle but dropped two spots. Of all the teams in the top 10, the Sooners by far have the worst loss. They were beaten by a Texas Tech team (in a game that actually wasn't that close) that went on to lose by an average of 42 points in its next three games. That really can't be so easily overlooked.

* Cincinnati remains the only Big East team on the ballot. But with the season-ending injury to QB Zach Collaros, it's only a matter of time before the Bearcats take a dive.

* New teams that made the ballot this week: Notre Dame, Florida State.

* Conference-by-conference tally: SEC (5), Big Ten (5), Big 12 (3), Pac-12 (3), ACC (3), C-USA (2), MWC (2), Big East (1), Independent (1).