College Football Rankings, Week 9: AP Poll Has Stanford, Oklahoma State Leaping Boise State

Week eight of the 2011 college football season has come to a close and the new rankings are starting to roll in. The week nine AP Poll is out and the Stanford Cardinal have climbed from No. 7 to No. 4. The BCS rankings no longer include the AP Poll, but the Associated Press can provide an idea on how the Harris Interactive Poll might come down. And it gives us some idea of the media's general thought on the college football season.

Stanford benefited from Oklahoma and Wisconsin losing, but the Cardinal also benefited from a somewhat lackluster Boise State victory over Air Force. The Falcons handled their business, but a relatively close victory is hurting them in the eyes of many.

Stanford is in a fairly solid position to climb in the rankings, but they will need some losses. They are guaranteed one loss when LSU and Alabama face off in two weeks. Of course, if that is a close game, it is possible we see LSU and Alabama remain up high. Oklahoma State faces Kansas State in two weeks as well. If OSU wins that game, they would likely climb ahead of the loser of LSU and Alabama. For Stanford, they get USC and Oregon State the next two weeks. They simply need to handle their business with cold-blooded efficiency.

Here's the AP Poll top 25 for Week 9: