Stanford Moves Up to No. 4 in BCS Standings

by Scott Allen on Nov 27, 2025 5:53 PM PST

With its 28-14 win over Notre Dame, Stanford jumped to No. 4 in the latest BCS standings. The Cardinal jumped Arkansas, which lost at LSU, and Virginia Tech, which won at Virginia.

If the Hokies defeat Clemson in next week's ACC Championship Game, there's a chance they could jump back ahead of Stanford, but it might not be enough. The Cardinal can finish in the top 4 and be guaranteed an at-large berth to a BCS bowl if Virginia Tech loses to Clemson, or Oklahoma State, which is currently ranked No. 3, loses to Oklahoma. Even if Stanford finishes outside of the top 4, SB Nation BCS guru Samuel Chi says there is "no scenario where Stanford could be squeezed out of a BCS bid."

Andrew Luck's Heisman hopes are less certain. Heisman Pundit projects that Luck would edge out Robert Griffin III and Trent Richardson if the voting were held today. Despite his monster game against Auburn, Richardson's yardage total is historically low by Heisman standards, while RGIII missed a chance to add to his already incredible numbers when he was knocked out of Baylor's 66-42 win over Texas Tech at halftime. (The Bears managed 35 second-half points without him. They play a lot of defense in the Big 12, huh?) Assuming he's cleared to play against Texas, RGIII is the only one of the three leading candidates who can make a final statement next week.

We'll have much more on Stanford's BCS scenarios and Luck's Heisman hopes throughout the week.

Tweet Comment 4 comments | Add comment | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Read More: Andrew Luck (QB - Stanford), Trent Richardson (RB - Alabama), Stanford Cardinal

Comments

This week exposed the bad rankings from the good

VTech fell in all computer rankings but Billingley, which is an atrocious ranking. The 4 ACC Vs SEC match-ups exposed the weaknesses in the ACC conference, and drew down all the 11 wins VTech got. Now the Pac is firmly ranked as the third best conference (it was #1 last year), and the ACC is behind the Big East in most rankings.

Stanford benefited from that and their season rivals going 7-4 (Arizona winning was huge), and now has an unassailable lead in the computers over VTech.

The only way Stanford loses the #4 ranking is if OKlahoma St wins, and VTech wins with lots of style points, changing the minds of the humans voters.

Yay!

by Euler on Nov 27, 2025 6:09 PM PST reply actions

I hope you're right!

I hope you’re right! I would be completely steamed (and I would not be alone in Cardinal Nation) if the Hokies edged out Stanford for a BCS bowl. I suspect that the team has locked up a prestigious new year’s bowl, if only because some bowl executives want to sell tickets by showcasing Andrew Luck, but… we’ll see next week!

by Matthew M. on Nov 27, 2025 9:56 PM PST up reply actions