COLUMBUS, Ohio – Fifth-ranked Stanford and sixth-ranked Baylor scored impressive victories Thursday night to remain in the Bowl Championship Series title picture while further muddying the waters for the Buckeyes, who are idle this weekend.
Heading into their final three games of the season, fourth-ranked Ohio State still has almost all of its highest goals still within reach. The thing is, they also need some help and they might not have gotten it from the Cardinal or the Bears.
Heading into the evening, Ohio State was ranked behind Alabama, Florida State and Oregon and ahead of Stanford and Baylor in the most recent BCS standings.
Stanford opened a 26-0 lead and knocked off previously undefeated Oregon 26-20, thoroughly dominating the Ducks despite a fourth-quarter rally. It’s the second straight year that Stanford has ruined Oregon’s national championship hopes. Both teams are 8-1.
Baylor erupted in the second half for a 41-12 victory over 10th-ranked Oklahoma. The 8-0 Bears beat a ranked team for the first time this season.
A loss by Oregon should have meant a move up to No. 3 by Ohio State (9-0, 5-0) when the latest BCS standings are released on Sunday night but the fact that Stanford was already a top five team could mean the Cardinal will leapfrog the Bucks into the third spot.
Baylor’s win would have gotten merely an offhand “Oh, really?”-type reaction from buckeye fans but since the decisive win came at the expense of a top 10 team there is an outside chance the Bears could also vault into the fourth spot, bumping OSU back to No. 5.
The Buckeyes are enjoying their second and final off week. When they return Nov. 16 at Illinois, they’ll be in the driver’s seat of the Leaders Division and will be favored to not only make it to but win the Big Ten championship game. They also host Indiana on Nov. 23 and play at rival Michigan on Nov. 30.
Unfortunately, they could find themselves farther than ever from the national championship game and looking for someone — anyone – to beat the teams ranked ahead of them with time running short.