Yesterday was a difficult day for much of the top ten as four of the top six teams in the country had to battle down to the wire to get victories and keep their BCS Bowl or title hopes alive. Oregon, Auburn, TCU, and Stanford all faced stiff competition from less than elite teams but managed to come away with much-needed victories. As we await the release of this week's BCS standings, there should not be a whole lot of change in the rankings. Some points will change hands but most of the top ten in the BCS will stay pretty much the same.
Initially following yesterday's games I thought TCU might see some slippage. I would imagine TCU winning a close one will not get nearly the same credit as Auburn or Oregon winning close games. That close victory could cost them votes in the USA Today/Coaches Poll and Harris Poll, which could cost them some needed points. Additionally, Utah was beaten badly by Notre Dame and that unexpected loss hurts TCU's strength of schedule, which could in turn hurt their various computer rankings. After last week TCU was first, second, or third in all the computer rankings. Expect a slight dip in most of those.
The reason it won't be a big deal at this point at least is the fact that there is significant room between TCU and No. 4 Boise State. I could see the Broncos cutting into the lead a little bit, but not much. Additionally, LSU blasted a mediocre opponent while the Stanford Cardinal barely beat an average Arizona State team. Neither of them will see much benefit from those victories.
Stanford is in a bit more precarious position after their less than stellar victory over the ASU Sun Devils. They trail LSU in the BCS rankings by a significant .0716 margin but have only a slim .0105 lead over No. 7 Wisconsin. The Badgers beat the crap out of Indiana but as with everybody else, the Hoosiers are a mediocre opponent. It will be interesting to see if that 83 points jumps out enough to affect some ballots.
At the end of the day my prediction for the Top Ten in the BCS rankings will remain what they were last week. No. 12 Alabama could creep up a little with their victory over a ranked Mississippi State, but I don't think it's enough to crack the top ten. Here is my projected Top Ten:
1. Oregon
2. Auburn
3. TCU
4. Boise State
5. LSU
6. Stanford
7. Wisconsin
8. Nebraska
9. Ohio State
10. Oklahoma State