Bleacher Report's College Football Top25: Week 12

The Bayou Bengals control their own destiny in the BCS standings and are three wins away from earning a bowl trip to…the Louisiana Superdome.

It wouldn’t be the first time.  In fact, there’s a good chance it could be a rematch of the 2003 BCS National Championship Game, which featured LSU and Oklahoma.

Sure, the logistics would be chaotic.  And the city of New Orleans would have a right to cry foul if an event like this was relocated to Tempe.  But the Sooners, Ducks, or Jayhawks should be just as galled at the prospect of playing LSU in the Superdome. 

If there’s one advantage to the five-week layoff leading up to this game, it’s that the BCS has time to adjust the site according to who the participants are.  

#3  Kansas  (10-0)
Previous:  4
Strength of Schedule: 86
Last Week: Beat Oklahoma State 43-28
This Week: Iowa State (+26)
 
Finally, to some football—and Kansas is playing the game better than any team in the country. 

The Jayhawks haven’t committed a turnover since October 20th against Colorado.  In the three games since, their turnover margin is +10.

No wonder they’re undefeated.

It’s not as if they’re playing a conservative style, either.  Kansas ran nearly 80 offensive plays in Stillwater last weekend, and Todd Reesing chucked it 40 times.

The Jayhawks are the only team in the nation that currently ranks in the top 20 in both rushing and passing—and that balance is a huge reason why KU is 10-0 for the first time since 1899.

Iowa State, Missouri, and Oklahoma stand between Mark Mangino and the banquet table that is the BCS Championship.  Ask Raimond Pendleton (#9, pictured left) how that feels...

#4  Oklahoma   (9-1)
Previous:  5
Strength of Schedule: 65
Last Week:  Beat Baylor 52-21
This Week:  at Texas Tech (+8.5)

The Sooners can clinch the Big 12 South with a win at Texas Tech, but they’ll have to shake off their road woes in order to do so.

Oklahoma’s average margin of victory in seven in-state games this season is +38.  In three games outside the Sooner borders, OU is +5, with a record of 2-1.

That doesn’t exactly make the Crimson and Cream a prime candidate to be LSU’s guest in January. 

Given the $10,000 statement that Mike Leach made to conference officials last week, it will be interesting to see how the flags fly on Saturday in Lubbock.

#5  West Virginia  (8-1)
Previous:  6
Strength of Schedule: 81
Last Week:  Beat Louisville 38-31
This Week:  at Cincinnati (+6.5)

Cincinnati got right back in the Big East title hunt with an emphatic win over Connecticut.  Now it’s West Virginia’s turn to enter vaunted Nippert Stadium—with a conference crown on the line.

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