Sports
Week 7 of BCS Standings Released: Auburn Behind Ohio State
[CBS Sports]
Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde (34) reacts after his touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013. Ohio State defeated Michigan 42-41. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
To the surprise of no one, the BCS isn’t going to ride off into its sunset without one final explosive controversy.
And that controversy is: undefeated Ohio State, or one-loss Alabama-conquerors Auburn? The seventh week of the 2013 BCS standings answered that question by siding with the Buckeyes, ranking Urban Meyer’s Big Ten Leaders Division champions second and Gus Malzahn’s 11-1 SEC West titlists third. Ohio State held an advantage on the Tigers in both human polls, with a 22-point edge in the Coaches Poll and a 66-point lead in the Harris Interactive poll, giving them a .027 lead in the BCS standings heading into Championship Saturday.
Auburn doesn’t even hold what was expected to be a narrow edge in the computer polls, with the Buckeyes coming in second and the Tigers third. That could change even if Ohio State and Auburn defeat Michigan State and Missouri in their respective conference championships Saturday — with Missouri ranked in the top-5 according to the BCS computers and the Spartans outside the top 10 — but that is a major boost for Ohio State’s chances.
CBSSports.com BCS expert Jerry Palm wrote Sunday that “the seven-year streak of SEC national championships is now in serious jeopardy,” but allowed that the human polling margins were just small enough that the computer rankings might come into play as a tiebreaker.
As expected, Florida State became the commanding new BCS No. 1 following Alabama’s loss, with the Crimson Tide slipping to fourth. Missouri rounded out the top 5.
