The Times’ college football rankings

Stanford and Boise State losing last week made marking down Louisiana State and Oklahoma State at 1-2 as easy as penciling in Ruth-Gehrig at 3-4 in the batting order. Boise State’s loss all but assured undefeated Houston of a Bowl Championship Series bowl invitation. What could go wrong now? (Don’t answer that.) We’re happy to reintroduce two fledgling programs, Notre Dame (22) and Florida State (23) to this week’s rankings. Neither has won a national title this century but both are hoping to build traditions that could develop into something special. One team had the legs to leap 10 spots this week: you guessed it, the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian.

1; Louisiana State10-0; Suspension of Ole Miss stars just ensured leveling of Oxford’s playing field. (1)

2; Oklahoma State 10-0; Betty White, who knew Heisman, says 28-year-old Weeden isn’t too old to win award. (3)

3; Alabama 9-1; Georgia Southern must be wary of letdown after clinching Southern Conference last week. (5)

4; Oregon 9-1; Lesson learned from LaMichael James’ gruesome elbow dislocation: he runs with his feet. (6)

5; Arkansas 9-1; TV Guide this week calls Razorbacks the Jan Brady of the Southeastern Conference West. (7)

6; Stanford 9-1; Big Game weather forecast: Low of 36, up from low of 30 Stanford registered last week. (2)

7; Oklahoma 8-1;Trying to sneak into BCS drive-in title theater in trunk of Switzer’s old Oldsmobile. (8)

8; Houston 10-0; GameDay crew plans to set up near Auntie Anne’s Pretzels in the Galleria. (9)

9; Clemson 9-1; Tigers seek first 10-win season since 1990 against five-win North Carolina State. (10)

10; Boise State 8-1; Bowden can’t believe a team could lose so many close games on botched field-goal tries. (4)

11; Virginia Tech 9-1; Hokies should start own ESPN reality show called “Thursday Night Lights.” (11)

12; South Carolina 8-2; He’s Steve Superior again after beating Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. (13)

13; Texas Christian 8-2; Mountain West says you can pick up league trophy at Colorado Springs P.O. Box. (23)

14; Kansas State 8-2; Wait a minute, your quarterback rushed for five touchdowns last week? (14)

15; Georgia 8-2; Mark Richt now on coaching cold seat along with Nick Saban and Mike Gundy. (19)

16; Michigan State 8-2; Magic Johnson would have never let Coach K break record against his Spartans. (15)

17; Wisconsin 8-2; Two BCS computers think school still plays football but other four aren’t sure. (16)

18; USC 8-2; Winner of de facto Pac-12 title game vs. Oregon wins Dean Wormer Trophy. (19)

19; Nebraska 8-2; Winner of Saturday’s Michigan game earns full share of 1997 national title the schools split. (9)

20: Michigan 8-2; Ann Arbor puts Blue Laws on hold and institutes Red Laws for incoming Cornhuskers. (22)

21: Penn State (8-2); “Whoa!” and “Yikes!” Lions and UCLA Bruins control their Rose Bowl destinies. (12)

22; Notre Dame 7-3; Hey, No. 23, didn’t we beat you in a big game on NBC back in 1993? (NR)

23; Florida State 7-3; That’s right, and you should see the shiny national title trophy we won that year. (NR)

24; Southern Mississippi 9-1;Graciously offered rankings bus seat to little old lady from Big East. (NR)

25; Georgia Tech 7-3; Last option is to drop football and start company: Rent a Ramblin’ Wreck. (20)

Moved in: Notre Dame, Florida State, Southern Mississippi.

Dropped out: Texas (18), Auburn (24), Cincinnati (25).

chris.dufresne@latimes.com