Three BCS computers say Oregon State is the No. 1 team in the country

Why does Oregon State coach Mike Riley need protection? Because he's coaching the No. 1 team in the country, at least according to three BCS computers. (US Presswire)

Oregon State's had a pretty solid season so far.

Through three games, the Beavers have knocked off two top 25 teams -- Wisconsin and UCLA -- and an Arizona team that averages 34.8 points per game.

So how good is Oregon State? The Beavers are the No. 1 team in the country, according to three of the six computers used to compile the BCS ranking.

Though computers aren't supposed to have human feelings, they seem to be in love with the Beavers.

Of the six computer rankings used in the BCS standings -- Anderson & Hester, Colley Matrix, Sagarin, Kenneth Massey, Richard Billingsley, Peter Wolfe -- Oregon State ranks No. 1 in the Colley Matrix, Anderson & Hester and Kenneth Massey rankings.

Alabama is No. 1 in the Richard Billingsley rankings, LSU is No. 1 in Jeff Sagarin's ratings and no one is No. 1 in Peter Wolfe's computer because he doesn't start producing his rankings until the week the BCS is released. The first BCS standings are slated to be released on Oct. 14.

CBSSports.com's BCS expert Jerry Palm releases a projected BCS ranking each week.

So the obvious question is: Are the Beavers No. 1 in Palm's projected BCS standings? The answer: Not quite. Though Oregon State is No. 1 on three computers, the team only ranks No. 12 in the projected BCS standings, thanks to heartless pollsters who have the Beavers ranked No. 17 (coaches) and No. 14 (AP). Although the coaches ranking is the only one that really hurts because the AP Poll isn't used to determine the BCS standings.

For all the Pac-12 news you can handle, follow @CBSSportsPac12, @JohnBreech, and @TheCoolSub on Twitter.