Chris Dufresne’s college football rankings

We’re headed down the rankings stretch … and you thought Zenyatta’s last race was exciting? Get a load of the nags bringing up the rear of this week’s top 25 — USC and Florida. The race for this season’s national title involves four undefeated schools, although two are loaded down with extra BCS saddle weight because they are named Boise State and Texas Christian. It would be a mistake to count out one-loss “Mad Hatter,” ridden by Les “Laffit” Miles. Louisiana State is the only team to win a BCS title with two defeats and has claimed two national championships since 2002 despite spending a total of two weeks at No. 1 in the BCS standings.

1; Boise State 8-0; Feeling blue since falling two spots in AP poll after a 35-point home win. (1)

2; Oregon 9-0; Washington win gave inebriated Ducks fan a warm, Yakima-all-over feeling. (2)

3; Texas Christian 10-0; Horned Frogs knocked Utah halfway to the Pac-12 South Division. (3)

4; Auburn 10-0; NCAA says Newton probably OK provided Reggie Bush’s parents aren’t involved. (4)

5; Stanford 8-1; Drawing only 43,000 for Arizona not the way to impress other BCS bowls. (7)

6; Louisiana State 8-1; No team knows how to sneak through BCS back door better than these cats. (15)

7; Alabama 7-2; Tide and Texas, which played for 2009 national title, have combined seven defeats. (6)

8; Wisconsin 8-1; One Big Ten tiebreaker has Badgers losing league title to … Nebraska? (9)

9; Ohio State 8-1; School plans to honor Paterno’s 400th win by not allowing No. 401. (10)

10; Michigan State 9-1; Rose Bowl needs to know if you have anything against Texas Christians. (16)

11; Arkansas 7-2; Hogs would be undefeated if not for existence of one sweet home state. (18)

12; Nebraska 8-1: Can’t wait to leave Big 12 if only to get Iowa State off the schedule. (11)

13; Oklahoma State 8-1; Jerry Jones called Gundy to assure his Cowboys job was safe. (21)

14; Arizona 7-2; Two straight wins over USC would be sweeter than two Tucson churros. (8)

15; Iowa 7-2; Yes, we saw Indiana receiver drop game-winner in end zone. (14)

16; Virginia Tech 7-2; Unlike Boise/James Madison, Hokies in line for automatic BCS bid. (19)

17; Nevada 8-1; Pistol owner from Westwood complains gun keeps getting stuck in holster. (22)

18; Utah 8-1; At Notre Dame this week provides break from difficult Mountain West schedule. (5)

19; Mississippi State 7-2; News flash: headed to Alabama with same record as Crimson Tide. (20)

20; Missouri 7-2; Twain descendent says reports of team’s death may not have been exaggerated. (12)

21; Oklahoma 7-2; All that’s left now is to mess up Oklahoma State’s season. (13)

22; South Carolina 6-3; Supposed to turn clock back one hour last weekend, not 20 years. (17)

23; Central Florida 7-2; Might end up playing Gators in Ocala at the Florida Turnpike Bowl. (NR)

24; Florida (North Central) 6-3; Cheer up, things could be worse. You could be Texas. (NR)

25; USC 6-3; Trojans only 37 snaps (35 against Oregon) from being undefeated this season. (NR)

Moved in: USC, Florida, Central Florida.

Dropped out: Baylor (23), Florida State (24), Hawaii (25).

chris.dufresne@latimes.com

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