BATON ROUGE — It’s official, LSU has crashed the BCS party as the Tigers moved up five spots to No. 5 in the Bowl Championship Standings which were released on Sunday.
The No. 5 BCS ranking puts the Tigers in position to secure the school’s first berth in a BCS bowl game since winning the 2003 national title with a 21-14 victory over Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.
Ohio State continues to be ranked No. 1 in the BCS Standings, followed by Southern Cal at No. 2, Michigan at No. 3 and Florida at No. 4. Ohio State has already secured a spot in the BCS National Championship Game against either Southern Cal, Michigan or Florida.
Other Southeastern Conference teams in the BCS Standings include Arkansas at No. 9, Auburn at No. 11 and Tennessee at No. 16.
The move in this week’s BCS Standings for the Tigers came just three days after LSU upset then-No. 5 Arkansas, 31-26, in Little Rock. The victory was the sixth straight for LSU and it ran the Tigers’ record to 10-2 overall and 6-2 in conference play.
LSU, which posted an 11-2 mark a year ago, has now won 10 or more games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. This year’s Tigers posted a perfect 8-0 mark at home and then won two of their four road games, all of which came against teams ranked among the top nine in the nation.
LSU also jumped to No. 5 in the other national polls ? the Associated Press poll, the USA Today/Coaches poll and the Harris Interactive poll, which marks its highest ranking of the season. It’s also the highest ranking for LSU since finishing the 2005 season ranked No. 5 in the USA Today/Coaches poll following its 40-3 win over Miami in the Peach Bowl.
LSU will learn of its bowl destination next Sunday when the bowl pairings are announced.
Week 14 AP Top 25
1. Ohio State (65) 12-0 1,625
2. USC 10-1 1,540
3. Michigan 11-1 1,504
4. Florida 11-1 1,441
5. LSU 10-2 1,303
6. Louisville 10-1 1,241
7. Wisconsin 11-1 1,212
8. Oklahoma 10-2 1,095
8. Arkansas 10-2 1,095
10. Boise State 12-0 1,044
11. Auburn 10-2 966
12. Notre Dame 10-2 906
13. Rutgers 10-1 906
14. Virginia Tech 10-2 775
15. West Virginia 9-2 667
16. Wake Forest 10-2 621
17. Tennessee 9-3 542
17. Texas 9-3 542
19. Nebraska 9-3 405
20. Brigham Young 10-2 394
21. California 8-3 367
22. Texas A&M 9-3 318
23. Georgia Tech 9-3 210
24. Hawaii 10-2 174
25. Boston College 9-3 91
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Georgia 44, TCU 31, Oregon State 17, Penn State 4, South Florida 4, South Carolina 3, Maryland 3, Houston 1.
DROPPED FROM RANKINGS
Clemson 24.
Week 14 USA Today Poll
1. Ohio State (63) 12-0 1,575
2. USC 10-1 1,491
3. Michigan 11-1 1,445
4. Florida 11-1 1,405
5. LSU 10-2 1,255
6. Wisconsin 11-1 1,221
7. Louisville 10-1 1,169
8. Arkansas 10-2 1,042
9. Boise State 12-0 1,018
10. Oklahoma 10-2 994
11. Auburn 10-2 985
12. Notre Dame 10-2 928
13. Rutgers 10-1 777
14. Virginia Tech 10-2 744
15. West Virginia 9-2 668
16. Wake Forest 10-2 607
17. Texas 9-3 596
18. Nebraska 9-3 523
19. Tennessee 9-3 434
20. California 8-3 343
21. Brigham Young 10-2 339
22. Georgia Tech 9-3 259
23. Hawaii 10-2 203
24. Texas A&M 9-3 202
25. Boston College 9-3 138
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
TCU 41, Houston 19, Oregon State 16, Georgia 15, Penn State 8, Maryland 7, Clemson 6, South Carolina 2.
DROPPED FROM RANKINGS
Clemson 24.
BCS Standings
1. Ohio State
2. USC
3. Michigan
4. Florida
5. LSU
6. Louisville
7. Wisconsin
8. Boise State
9. Arkansas
10. Notre Dame
11. Auburn
12. Oklahoma
13. Rutgers
14. Virginia Tech
15. West Virginia
16. Tennessee
17. Wake Forest
18. California
19. Texas
20. Nebraska
21. Brigham Young
22. Georgia Tech
23. Texas A&M
24. Oregon State
25. Hawaii