BCS Rankings: 10 Teams with the Toughest Road to a BCS Bowl Game

Because there is no FBS playoff, good teams get screwed out of the best bowl games every year.

Don't expect this season to be any different. 

With 10 teams still unbeaten heading into Week 8, there are sure to be one-loss teams and maybe even a program with a perfect record (sorry, Houston) left out of this year's BCS mix. 

Here are 10 teams that could find themselves on the outside looking in come January. 

Alabama

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If the Tide slip up just once this season, they could be out of BCS luck. 

Arkansas and South Carolina still have one loss apiece.  

If the Gamecocks beat the Hogs, run the table and then hand an unbeaten LSU (who would have already beaten Alabama) their first loss in the SEC title game, where does that leave the Tide? 

LSU

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Insert Alabama in the SEC title game under the previous scenario, and LSU probably gets left out of the BCS.

Add in the fact that the Tigers play Arkansas to wrap up their season, and a whole new storyline is added to the SEC scenario.

Such is the price you pay to play in college football's top conference.  

Arkansas

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Unfortunately for the Hogs (5-1), they can finish the season with two losses in a tough SEC Conference and be left out of the BCS—and they can do it in two different ways.

If Arkansas beats everyone left on their schedule except for LSU at season's end, they are done no matter what.  

But, if they run the table and then fall in the SEC title game, they could still very well be playing outside of the BCS in January. 

South Carolina

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Just like Arkansas, the Gamecocks will likely be left out of the BCS if they don't win it all in the SEC.

South Carolina has the inside track to the SEC title game from the Eastern division, even if they suffer a loss to non-conference foe Clemson to finish their season.

Either way, they will need to win in Atlanta.

A three-loss SEC runner-up will be lucky to play on New Year's Day, and a two-loss SEC runner-up would have trouble making it into the BCS. 

Oklahoma

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With no Big 12 title games and a handful of other undefeated and one-loss conference mates, the Sooners are going to have to stay perfect to be guaranteed a spot in the BCS. 

A loss against Oklahoma State and/or Texas A&M or Kansas State could doom Bob Stoops' squad. 

Oklahoma State

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Like their in-state rival, the Cowboys are both blessed and cursed by what has so far been a very good Big 12 Conference. 

The winner of Bedlam is essentially assured a spot in the BCS.

The loser? Not so much. 

Kansas State

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If the Wildcats can finish their season the same way they started (6-0), they have nothing to worry about. 

With four-straight against No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Texas A&M and No. 24 Texas on the horizon, it isn't likely. 

While going 2-2 against those four would be an impressive feat, it's not going to get K-State into the BCS. 

West Virginia

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By losing to the Orange last night, West Virginia might have very well-played themselves out of BCS contention.

It was the Mountaineers' second loss—destroying any shot at an at-large birth, and there are seven other Big East teams with one or no conference losses to date. 

When you play in what is perceived to be the weakest of the AQ conferences, you need to win it all to get in. 

Houston

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A sea of unbeaten and one-loss AQ teams is never a welcome sight for potential BCS busters. 

Houston is undefeated, but so are nine other teams well ahead of them in the rankings. 

The Cougars' best shot might be a loss by fellow mid-major Boise State. 

Any Big Ten Team Other Than Wisconsin

Should the Badgers go undefeated, the rest of the Big Ten is screwed. 

It is a down year for the conference, and if Wisconsin does finish unbeaten all the way through the Big Ten title game, there won't even be a one-loss team available for a possible at-large bid.