Pac-10 rises in conference rankings
The first Bowl Championship Series standings of the season confirmed what we've been arguing for weeks: The SEC is once again the country's best conference.
Florida, which is aiming for its third BCS national championship in four seasons, is No. 1 in the initial BCS standings. Alabama, which was No. 1 before losing to the Gators in last season's SEC championship game, is the top-ranked team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
1. SEC
No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Alabama remain on a collision course for the Dec. 5 SEC championship game in Atlanta's Georgia Dome, but the defending BCS national champion Gators are showing some flaws.
The SEC isn't as deep as it has been in the recent past, but it's hard not to rank it No. 1 with its having the top two teams in the BCS standings. LSU, Ole Miss and South Carolina look like the SEC's next best teams, but each has obvious shortcomings, too.
Ole Miss and Arkansas will play what could be an elimination game in the SEC West on Saturday in Oxford, Miss., and LSU and Auburn will meet in another important conference game this weekend.
2. Pac-10
No. 7 USC is trying to work its way back into the BCS national championship hunt, and the Trojans might get stiff tests the next two weeks from Oregon State and No. 11 Oregon.
The Ducks play a potential road trap at Washington on Saturday before hosting USC in an Oct. 31 game that could decide the Pac-10 championship.
No. 22 Arizona is the only other Pac-10 team in the BCS standings, but California and Oregon State could end up there before season's end. Arizona State and Stanford will try to remain in the upper half of the league when they play Saturday night in Palo Alto, Calif.
3. Big 12
Texas remains the Big 12's best BCS national title contender after beating Oklahoma 16-13 in the Red River Rivalry game this past Saturday in Dallas. The No. 3 Longhorns play at Missouri this Saturday night and then play at No. 15 Oklahoma State on Oct. 31.
The Cowboys keep winning even though they've played without star receiver Dez Bryant and tailback Kendall Hunter. The Pokes shouldn't have much trouble at Baylor on Saturday; it should be a comfortable warmup for the matchup with the Longhorns.
The Big 12 North is once again falling short of the standards set by the Big 12 South. Nebraska looked like a BCS contender before getting trounced 31-10 at home by Texas Tech last week. No. 25 Kansas also is reeling after an inexcusable 34-30 loss at struggling Colorado last week.
4. Big Ten
Can No. 6 Iowa remain in the BCS hunt after playing at Michigan State on Saturday night? The Hawkeyes have never won eight consecutive games to start a a season, and they figure to get a tough test from the hard-charging Spartans.
No. 13 Penn State can't afford another loss if it wants to remain in contention for a BCS bowl berth, but the Nittany Lions will have their hands full playing at Michigan on Saturday.
No. 19 Ohio State's BCS hopes seem all but gone after losing at Purdue 26-18 last week. The Buckeyes play Minnesota at home and will have to improve greatly on offense to defeat the Gophers.
5. ACC
The ACC probably lost any hope of having a BCS national championship contender -- and two of its teams in BCS bowl games -- when then-No. 4 Virginia Tech lost 28-23 at Georgia Tech last week. The Hokies' loss puts No. 10 Miami in the driver's seat in the ACC's Coastal Division, but the No. 14 Hokies and No. 12 Georgia Tech are right on the Hurricanes' heels.
The Yellow Jackets play a difficult road game at resurgent Virginia on Saturday. The Cavaliers have won three games in a row after starting 0-3, and Georgia Tech hasn't won at Scott Stadium since 1990, losing eight games in a row there.
Surprising Boston College, which is 5-2 in coach Frank Spaziani's first season, can help the ACC's reputation by winning Saturday at Notre Dame. Wake Forest also plays a challenging nonconference game Saturday at Navy.
6. Big East
Can No. 5 Cincinnati win again without starting quarterback Tony Pike? The Bearcats might have to play Louisville without Pike, who underwent surgery earlier this week to repair damage to his left forearm. Cincinnati probably will have to finish 12-0 to remain in the BCS national championship hunt, so there's no margin for error.
Two Big East games probably will determine which teams will be the Bearcats' biggest challengers. South Florida plays Saturday at No. 20 Pittsburgh, and No. 23 West Virginia hosts Connecticut.
7. Mountain West
The MWC will stage the country's biggest game this weekend when No. 8 TCU plays No. 16 BYU at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. The Horned Frogs ended BYU's BCS hopes with a 32-7 rout in Fort Worth, Texas, last season. The Cougars, who have defeated 13 consecutive MWC foes at home, will be looking to return the favor Saturday.
No. 18 Utah, the defending MWC champion, has quietly remained in the conference race. The Utes host Air Force on Saturday, and still play the Horned Frogs and Cougars in November.
8. Conference USA
Tulsa's 28-24 loss Wednesday night at UTEP further muddled the C-USA West standings. Every team except SMU has at least one conference loss, including No. 17 Houston, which hosts the Mustangs on Saturday night.
C-USA East leader East Carolina has an open date, and Marshall hosts UAB on Saturday. Southern Miss can improve to 3-1 in conference play by beating Tulane on Saturday.
9. WAC
No. 4 Boise State shouldn't have much trouble Saturday night at Hawaii, but a trip to the islands is always dangerous. The Broncos will be looking for style points as they try to bolster their BCS résumé.
Surprising Idaho, which is 6-1 overall and 3-0 in WAC play, faces a dangerous road trip to Nevada, which has won three games in a row after starting 0-3.
WAC teams such as Fresno State, Idaho, Louisiana Tech and Nevada need to keep improving to bolster Boise State's schedule strength.
10. MAC
MAC West leader Central Michigan plays Saturday at Bowling Green in a game that could be one of the most high scoring in the country this season.
MAC East co-leader Temple also plays a difficult road game Saturday at Toledo. But the matchup between 0-7 Ball State and 0-6 Eastern Michigan probably is a MAC matchup to forget.
11. Sun Belt
Sun Belt co-leader Louisiana-Monroe could do a lot for the league's reputation by winning Saturday at Kentucky. The Warhawks have had success against SEC foes in the recent past, upsetting Alabama 21-14 in 2007 and losing at Kentucky 42-40 in 2006.
The Sun Belt's other co-leaders, Louisiana-Lafayette and Troy, shouldn't have much trouble in home games against 1-4 Florida Atlantic and 1-5 North Texas, respectively.
Mark Schlabach covers college football and men's college basketball for ESPN.com. You can contact him at schlabachma@yahoo.com.
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