BCS National Championship: Making the Case for Each Team

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With only one team left undefeated, the waters are very muddy in terms of the BCS National Championship game.

A lot of one-loss teams deserve to be in the game, but only one will sneak in.

Instead of arbitrarily picking one team out of a hat, here we make a case for all the teams in the running.

Without further ado, here is the argument for every team to be in the BCS National Championship.

LSU

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Team: LSU Tigers

Conference: SEC

Win-Loss: 13-0

Key Wins: #3 Oregon 40-27, #2 Alabama 9-6, #3 Arkansas 41-17, #14 Georgia 42-10

Losses: None

The Argument: LSU cemented their status as the best team in the nation with a win over Georgia in the SEC championship game. Undefeated this year, the Tigers have withstood the gauntlet of the SEC and have held strong. They will be in the BCS National Championship game no matter what.

Alabama

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Team: Alabama Crimson Tide

Conference: SEC

Win-Loss: 11-1

Key Wins: No. 23 Penn St. 27-11, No. 14 Arkansas 38-14, No. 12 Florida 38-10, No. 24 Auburn 42-14

Losses: No. 1 LSU 9-6

The Argument: Alabama has just one loss this season and it's to the only undefeated team left. The Crimson Tide have four wins against ranked opponents and could have beaten LSU, too, if not for some fluke mistakes.

Alabama is an SEC team, yet they've won every game this year by at least 17. They're the favorites to go and play LSU.

Oklahoma State

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Team: Oklahoma State Cowboys

Conference: Big 12

Win-Loss: 11-1

Key Wins: No. 8 Texas A&M 30-29, No. 22 Texas 38-26, No. 14 Kansas State 52-45, No. 10 Oklahoma 44-10

Losses: Iowa State 37-31

The Argument: If Oklahoma State beat Iowa State, they'd be a lock to be in the National Championship. Now, they're in a bit of a quagmire.

Blowing out Oklahoma in a conference championship will make the Cowboys attractive to the voters. LSU has already proven they can beat Alabama but they haven't yet proven they can beat Oklahoma State.

Stanford

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Team: Stanford Cardinal

Conference: Pac-12

Win-Loss: 11-1

Key Wins: UCLA 45-19, No. 25 Washington 65-21, USC 56-48, No. 22 Notre Dame 28-14

Losses: No. 7 Oregon 53-30

The Argument: Unfortunately, the Cardinal had a soft schedule this year with only two (really three, as USC would be a ranked team without the sanctions) ranked wins over three ranked teams played.

They've only lost to Oregon though and if some miracle happens, voters may want to see the best quarterback in the nation take on LSU's swarming defense. This is only here because this game would be so good.

Virginia Tech

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Team: Virginia Tech Hokies

Conference: ACC

Win-Loss: 11-2

Key Wins: Miami 38-35, Wake Forest 38-17, No. 21 Georgia Tech 37-26, Virginia 38-0

Losses: No. 13 Clemson 23-3, No. 20 Clemson 38-10

The Argument: There's no more argument after the Hokies lost to Clemson again, this time in the ACC Championship game.

Virginia Tech sits with two losses and only had one ranked win to begin with. No chance this team ends up in the National Championship.

Houston

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Team: Houston Cougars

Conference: C-USA

Win-Loss: 12-1

Key Wins: UCLA 38-34, LA Tech 35-34, SMU 37-7, Tulsa 48-16

Losses: No. 24 So. Mississippi 49-28

The Argument: Another team rendered completely hopeless after a loss in their conference championship.

Houston had no ranked wins on their way to a 12-1 season so their chances of sneaking into the BCS championship were non-existent. Nothing to see here.

Conclusion: Oklahoma State vs. Alabama

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You'd certainly think that Alabama's had a much tougher schedule to overcome than has Oklahoma State, but you'd be wrong. Both teams, at the season's end, had four ranked wins and an 11-1 record.

Certainly, Bama looks a little better because their only loss was to LSU.

On the other hand, it also shows that LSU has proven they can beat Alabama—if I'm sitting on the BCS table, I'm arguing that they shouldn't have to prove it again.

I say Oklahoma State belongs in the National Championship game. After their loss to Iowa State, OSU proved they belong in the BCS championship by slaughtering Oklahoma 44-10 in the Big 12 title game.

With all of the turmoil going on in the Big 12 right now, it'd be nice to see the conference's champion in the national championship game.

Verdict: LSU vs. Oklahoma State