Not one.
Not two.
Three major upsets (a few lesser ones as well) rocked Week 12 and threw the BCS standings into a jumble of one- and two-loss teams all clawing to stay in the hunt. Safe from the wreckage (for the moment) is LSU, as the Tigers remained unbeaten and a clear-cut #1. Beyond that, however, is one huge debate.
Oklahoma State was the heir apparent to the second National Championship berth, but the Cowboys very likely lost their chance by falling to Iowa State in overtime courtesy of costly turnovers. Their Bedlam rival Oklahoma had another late-season choke, toppled by Baylor and Robert Griffin III.
But the most significant outcome of the week was USC’s road win over Oregon. The Trojans stormed Autzen Stadium, built a big lead thanks to a sluggish start by the Ducks, and managed to hold on when Oregon missed a potential game-tying field goal.
These results not only threw the Top 15 or so into chaos, but also revealed some philosophical differences among the Tailgater crew. The individual rankings appear at the end of the column and are worth a look given their different approaches.
Some of us appear value head to head results above all else, while for some, conference standings are obviously in play. The variation is interesting, and with (at least) one more wild week to go, more shake-ups could be forthcoming.
Our week 12 numbers:
The individual rankings that contributed were:
Rank Strobl Rank Mitchell Rank Bigalke 1 LSU 1 LSU 1 LSU 2 Alabama 2 Alabama 2 Houston 3 Arkansas 3 Arkansas 3 Alabama 4 Oklahoma State 4 Stanford 4 Virginia Tech 5 Stanford 5 Oklahoma State 5 Oklahoma State 6 Virginia Tech 6 Houston 6 Stanford 7 Boise State 7 Virginia Tech 7 TCU 8 Houston 8 Boise State 8 Michigan State 9 Wisconsin 9 Michigan State 9 Boise State 10 Oregon 10 USC 10 Wisconsin Next 3 Next 3 Next 3 USC Oregon Arkansas Oklahoma Georgia USC Kansas State Wisconsin Oregon Last out Last out Last out Clemson Oklahoma Oklahoma
We’ll be back each week with updated rankings as part of the Tailgater series.
____________________________________
*About the Composite Rankings: Composite Rankings are determined by tabulating the rankings provided by each of the three Tailgater contributors. Teams receive between 1 and 13 points for their respective positions in a given “Top 10″ or “Next 3″ list. Higher point totals equal better rankings. Ties are broken based on how the respective teams were ranked by each contributor.
