Lots of movement this week as we now have the two clear-cut National title contenders. I got a little more realistic this week even with Houston still being unbeaten, but don't count the Cougars out if they get a lot of help.
Hammer & Rails Ballot - Week 12
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU Tigers | -- |
| 2 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -- |
| 3 | Oregon Ducks |
 3 |
| 4 | Alabama Crimson Tide |
3 |
| 5 | Houston Cougars | -- |
| 6 | Oklahoma Sooners |
3 |
| 7 | Stanford Cardinal |
 -3 |
| 8 | Arkansas Razorbacks | -- |
| 9 | Clemson Tigers |
2 |
| 10 | Boise St. Broncos |
-7 |
| 11 | Virginia Tech Hokies |
1 |
| 12 | Michigan St. Spartans |
1 |
| 13 | Wisconsin Badgers |
1 |
| 14 | Georgia Bulldogs |
1 |
| 15 | Nebraska Cornhuskers |
6 |
| 16 | TCU Horned Frogs |
9 |
| 17 | South Carolina Gamecocks |
-1 |
| 18 | Penn St. Nittany Lions |
-8 |
| 19 | Southern Miss. Golden Eagles | -- |
| 20 | Michigan Wolverines | -- |
| 21 | Kansas St. Wildcats |
1 |
| 22 | Baylor Bears | -- |
| 23 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | -- |
| 24 | Arkansas St. Red Wolves | -- |
| 25 | Cincinnati Bearcats |
-8 |
| Dropouts: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Texas Longhorns, Ohio St. Buckeyes | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
More analysis after the jump:
- Oregon's win at Stanford moves them to the "No. 1 contender's" spot at No. 3, just waiting for LSU or Oklahoma State to fall. Since LSU still must play Arkansas and Oklahoma State must play Oklahoma there is a strong chance.
- Boise stumbles after losing their first regular season home game since the Ulysses S. Grant administration. Don't count them out of a BCS bowl though. If they are the highest ranked non-AQ team in the top 12 they can still go. If they do go, the Mountain West could possibly earn an AQ spot in the offseason.
- Houston is the big winner with Boise's loss, as they now have a BCS bowl to play for.
- If Arkansas beats LSU we'll have chaos and gnashing of teeth in the SEC West. The Mexican standoff between LSU-Arkansas-Alabama, each going 1-1 against the group, would be the Big 12 South 2008 all over again.
- The top of the Big Ten is about as difficult to figure out as possible. Your Leaders Division hinges on Penn State vs. Wisconsin. Michigan State needs only beat Indiana and Northwestern to win the Legends. Nebraska and Michigan are all about equal with them. It feels like the Big Ten circa-2000 when there were several good teams, but no real national contender.
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