Oct 22, 2012 04:29 PM EDT
NCAA Football Rankings: Alabama Remains Tops In BCS, Kansas State Jumps Over Oregon For No. 3 Spot

Like last week and every other week so far this college football season, the Alabama Crimson Tide were ranked number one in the nation.

In the latest round of BCS standings, Alabama received a .9625 BCS average after beating Tennessee handily 44-13 and remained ahead of Florida, who came in with a .9310 average. Kansas State and Oregon came in at third and fourth, while Notre Dame is ranked fifth.

Senior quarterback A.J. McCarron had a great game for Alabama, throwing for a career-high 306 yards and four touchdowns. Alabama completely dominated the contest, gaining over 530 yards, including 233 yards on the ground.

"We set the tone and we stayed on it," McCarron said. "We never let up, and that was the biggest thing Coach keeps preaching."

Tennessee came into the game as one of the highest scoring teams in the nation, but were completely donated by the Alabama defense.

"We just kept grinding and grinding," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said to the Associated Press. "We squandered a few opportunities at times, but I think the key to the drill was just keep playing and play the next play. Compete and be relentless in how you do it."

Florida kept their No. 2 spot after a convincing win over No. 7 South Carolina 44-11 in the only top 10 matchup of the weekend. The win improved Florida to 6-0 in the conference and kept the team on track for a matchup with Alabama in the SEC championship game.

"I like this better," coach Will Muschamp said to the Associated Press, referring to last seasons winless October. "So does everybody else."

Quarterback Jeff Driskel threw four touchdowns for the Gators and only had to throw for 97 yards on 16 attempts. The team didn't gain many yards, totaling just 94, but the team took advantage of four South Carolina turnovers.

The Gamecocks outgained the Gators in total yards, but could barely muster any points while committing a range of turnovers, including an interception and a fumble on a punt return. Coach Steve Spurrier benched quarterback Connor Shaw in the game, who had been ineffective going 9-for-20 with only 72 yards.

"Coach Spurrier told me at halftime we were going to make the change," Shaw said. "He told me I wasn't getting the job done. I was completely supportive of him. Bottom line today, we just didn't execute."

With the loss South Carolina dropped down to No. 13 and will have a tough task of trying to get back into the top five.

Kansas State jumped up one spot to No. 3 after a commanding 55-14 win over No. 13 West Virginia.

The game was supposed to be a matchup of two Heisman-worthy quarterbacks, in Kansas State's Collin Klein and West Virginia's Geno Smith, but it turned out to be a one-sided affair.

Klein outshined Smith in all facets of the game, passing for a career-high 323 yards and three touchdowns. He also was ridiculous rushing the ball, gaining 41 yards and scoring four touchdowns. Smith only passed for 143 yards and had two interceptions on the day.

"I think we all felt comfortable tonight," Klein said. "The coaches did a great job of building a game plan and putting us in positions to succeed."

At one point Kansas State scored seven straight touchdowns and the closest the game ever was came at 24-7 in the second quarter when Tavon Austin scored on a 100-yard kick return. The Wildcat defense was stellar on Saturday night, keeping the Mountaineers offense out of the end zone until the fourth quarter.

"He doesn't do anything wrong," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said of Klein. "He's hard to tackle. He gets them in good plays. He doesn't turn the ball over. You can say what you want to about the throwing motion, but it goes exactly where he wants it go. He's a good football player."

Although Oregon is still ranked at No. 2 in both polls, the computer knocked them down one spot in favor of the Wildcats to No. 4 after a dominating 43-21 win over Arizona State.

Freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota only had 46 yards passing, but added 135 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Electric running back Kenjon Barner had a big game, rushing for 143 yards and three touchdowns.

"We just came out and did what we have to do," said Barner, who eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the third straight game and fourth time this season. "We came out and executed well. We made big plays, plays that we're supposed to make."

The Ducks had no success in the passing game, but ran the ball like crazy, gaining 406 yards on the night. According to ESPN.com, Oregon has a 12 game road winning streak, the best in the nation.

The Ducks improved to 7-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Pac-12. The team now faces a tough stretch of games, going on the road for three of the next five games, including against ranked opponents USC and Oregon State.

Notre Dame stayed ranked at No. 5 after a close win over BYU 17-14 on Saturday. The team was able to come back from a 14-7 deficit and scored ten straight points to remain unbeaten. The Irish are 7-0 for the first time in ten years and have a huge game against Oklahoma next week. The Sooners are ranked at eight after a 52-7 win against Kansas.

LSU is ranked at sixth and Oregon State at seventh, while USC is ranked ninth and Georgia at tenth.

If Oregon and Oregon State remain unbeaten, the game between the two on Nov. 24 will decide who will play in the Pac-12 championship for the North division. USC currently is in first place in the South.

HERE is a link to the full BCS Standings.

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