Oregon and Auburn remain top two in polls; Boise State jumps TCU into third
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The top three college football teams entering the weekend all survived scares from lesser opponents, but only Texas Christian paid for it in Sunday’s latest USA Today coaches and Associated Press polls.
Oregon remained No.1 in both indexes despite a tense 15-13 victory at California and Auburn remained No. 2 after a come-from-behind, 49-31 home win over Georgia.
TCU, however, paid a price for defeating unranked San Diego State by only five points, 40-35, falling to No. 4 in the polls behind Boise State, which scored an overwhelming 52-14 win over Idaho on Friday.
TCU’s stock drop was also influenced by Utah’s 28-3 defeat at Notre Dame. TCU had jumped Boise State last week after a big win at Utah, then ranked No. 5 in the Bowl Championship Series standings. The loss to Notre Dame, however, dropped Utah to No. 24 in the coaches’ poll and No. 25 in the AP.
This week’s AP top 10 is Oregon, Auburn, Boise State, TCU and Louisiana State, followed by Wisconsin, Stanford, Ohio State, Nebraska and Alabama.
The coaches’ poll has the same top four, but Wisconsin at No. 5, followed by LSU, Ohio State, Stanford, Nebraska and Oklahoma State.
The poll battle between Boise State and TCU could be important if Oregon and Auburn win out and play for the BCS title on Jan. 10. In that scenario, the Rose Bowl is obligated this year to take the highest-ranked school from a ‘non-AQ’ (automatic qualifier) conference, which will almost certainly be either Boise State or TCU.
Also, if Oregon or Auburn were to lose a game, the No. 3 team might be in line to become the first non-AQ to qualify for the BCS title.