Following a rare week in the college football season that had none of the nation’s top seven teams losing, the LSU football team remained No. 3 in the latest BCS standings released Sunday evening. The idle Tigers have an overall score of 0.8879, falling from this past week’s score of 0.9111, widening the gap between LSU and No. 2 Boston College who has a score of 0.9559. According to ESPN.com BCS analyst Brad Edwards, LSU will now almost certainly need an Ohio State or Boston College loss to jump to No. 2 in the standings, because of recent South Carolina and Florida losses hindering LSU’s strength of schedule numbers in computer polls used by the BCS. Ohio State is No. 1 in the BCS for the third consecutive week following a 37-17 victory at No. 24 Penn State. Despite holding the top-spot for the first three weeks the poll has been released, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said being No. 1 later in the season is the only thing he is worried about. “[The polls] don’t matter,” Tressel said following his team’s win. “We have to prove whatever we are at the end of 2007. So we’re nine games out 12 we’re through. We’ve got a lot to prove beginning with game 10.” Pacific 10 powerhouses Arizona State and Oregon have also gained ground near the top of the standings. The Sun Devils remained at No. 4 for the second consecutive week after defeating California 31-20, but closed to within four-tenths of a point of No. 3 LSU after trailing the Tigers by 1.5 points this past week. Arizona State’s push has come from strong computer rankings, as the Sun Devils are still not in the top-five of any of the human polls. Edwards said the Sun Devils may eventually pass the Tigers if they remain undefeated because Arizona State has marquee matchups between No. 5 Oregon and No. 19 USC still on their schedule that can give the Sun Devils the necessary jump they need in the human polls. The Ducks are rated No. 5 following a 24-17 win Saturday against USC, setting the stage for the Ducks to face the Sun Devils on Saturday in Oregon with major BCS championship aspirations. Georgia and Michigan made the biggest leaps this week, each jumping eight spots respectively. The Bulldogs moved from No. 18 to No. 10 following their 42-30 win against defending BCS Champion Florida. The Wolverines continued their comeback from an 0-2 start Saturday defeating Minnesota for their seventh-straight win, propelling Michigan to No. 12 in the latest BCS standings following a No. 20 ranking a week ago. The SEC again leads all conferences in the nation with eight teams in the top 30 of the standings.
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