BCS standings 2012: Stanford ranked No. 17 after win over California

Stanford is ranked No. 17 in the latest BCS poll after a 21-3 win over California on Saturday.

Stanford is the second highest ranked two-loss team in the BCS rankings, as South Carolina is ranked ahead of the Cardinal at No. 13, despite consecutive losses to LSU and Florida.

Jacob Jaffe of Rule of Tree applauds Stanford's ability to execute its game plan last Saturday, specifically establishing the running game with Stepfan Taylor and stopping the California running attack.

Taylor rushed 28 times for 189 yards and one touchdown while the Stanford defense held California to 3 yards on 28 carries.

Stanford has an opportunity to continue to rise in the BCS standings as they play No. 7 Oregon State and and No. 4 Oregon in consecutive weeks on November 10th and 17th. Both Oregon State and Oregon are undefeated this season.

At 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference, Stanford trails both Oregon State and Oregon by one game in the Pac-12 North division standings.