It was a new week but the same story for the Bowl Championship Series, with a team the poll voters have not endorsed jumping to No. 1 in the standings.
Last week, Oklahoma leapfrogged Oregon and Boise State to claim the top spot before losing Saturday at Missouri.
This week’s No. 1 is Auburn, which used a 24-17 victory over No. 6 LSU to assume this precarious position.
In the last three weeks, three No. 1 teams have fallen. Alabama and Ohio State were No. 1 in the polls when they lost, and Oklahoma was No. 1 in the BCS standings.
Auburn, as Oklahoma did the week before, used the top ranking in the BCS computer component to override a lower position in the polls.
“I can only control how we proceed in this building,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said Sunday before the standings were released. “We just had a team meeting and we talked about being very grounded and understanding that every week is another new week and another opportunity.”
Auburn leads the standings with a BCS average of .9371, followed by Oregon at .9069 and Boise State at .8846. TCU is fourth at .8833, with Michigan State moving up two spots to fifth at .8387.
It is Auburn’s first No. 1 ranking in the BCS since the standings formula was introduced in 1998.
Rounding out the top 10 are Missouri at No. 6, followed by Alabama, Utah, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
Oregon, a 60-13 winner over UCLA on Thursday, remained No. 1 in the two polls used in the BCS formula: the USA Today coaches and Harris Interactive. The Ducks are also No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, which is no longer a part of the BCS but has been crowning champions since 1936.
The Ducks are still in position to win out and retain a spot in the BCS championship game Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz. The top two teams in the final standings on Dec. 5 will advance to the title game.
“It doesn’t matter about No. 1; we don’t care what the outside world thinks of us being No. 1 or No. 2,” Ducks running back LaMichael James said. “We just have to win.”
Boise State remained No. 2 in all three major polls but suffered a bit for having the weekend off. The Broncos host Louisiana Tech on Tuesday.
Oregon is lagging in the computer component with a No. 8 average ranking, while Boise State is sixth.
Missouri used its first victory over Oklahoma since 1998 and the No. 2 computer average to jump from 11th to sixth.
The standings are likely to shuffle again in the coming weeks with key games involving the top teams.
Oregon plays this week at USC (5-2), which is not eligible for the BCS title because of NCAA sanctions but re-emerged at No. 24 in Sunday’s AP poll. The Trojans’ two defeats, to Washington and Stanford, came on last-second field goals.
Missouri doesn’t have much time to celebrate, either, as the Tigers put their undefeated season on the line Saturday at BCS No. 14 Nebraska, which ended Oklahoma State’s unbeaten season last Saturday in Stillwater.
Michigan State, off to its best start since 1966, plays at BCS No. 18 Iowa on Saturday.
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In two weeks, Alabama visits No. 12 LSU, while Utah and TCU meet in a huge Mountain West Conference showdown in Salt Lake City.
Auburn plays Mississippi next weekend in Oxford and has dangerous closing games against resurgent Georgia and defending national champion Alabama.