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College Football Rankings, Week 14: BCS Component Harris Poll Mirrors USA Today/Coaches Poll Top Ten

Earlier today we saw the USA Today/Coaches Poll move the Stanford Cardinal up to No. 5 in the nation, just behind the Big Ten champion Wisconsin Badgers. The second component of the BCS standings, the Harris Interactive College Football Poll, was just released and reflects this rise in its own rankings (PDF). The rankings bumped Wisconsin up a spot to fourth, but Stanford gained even more ground in moving fifth and will only benefit when the BCS standings are released later this afternoon.

These two developments have me all the more convinced that Stanford will be in that pivotal fourth spot in the BCS rankings. As we've mentioned before, if Stanford finishes third or fourth in the BCS and the Oregon Ducks go to the national title game, the Cardinal are guaranteed a spot in a BCS bowl. At this current pace, the Cardinal seem to be a lock to be ranked fourth this week. And with seasons complete for Wisconsin, Stanford and Ohio State, that should lock in Stanford to no worse than fourth.

Full poll is as follows:

  1. Oregon
  2. Auburn
  3. TCU
  4. Wisconsin
  5. Stanford
  6. Ohio State
  7. Michigan State
  8. Arkansas
  9. Oklahoma
  10. Boise State
  11. LSU
  12. Virginia Tech
  13. Nebraska
  14. Missouri
  15. Nevada
  16. Oklahoma State
  17. South Carolina
  18. Alabama
  19. Texas A&M
  20. Florida State
  21. Utah
  22. Mississippi State
  23. West Virginia
  24. Northern Illinois
  25. Arizona