9 College Football Teams Who Will Ruin Contenders' Seasons

One of the more intriguing questions coming into Week 8 of the 2012 college football season is which of the remaining contenders for the BCS title game will be the next to fall from grace.

Yes, who is the next USC, Oklahoma, LSU, Georgia, Florida State or West Virginia?

Conversely, who is the next Stanford, K-State, Florida, South Carolina, NC State or Texas Tech?

Indeed, which team will next play the role of David to one of the few Goliaths remaining at the top of the charts?

The following slideshow pinpoints nine college football teams who are silently waiting in the wings for their destiny as one of the spoilers of the 2012 season.

These are the squads that have the best shot of causing a messy, tragic Saturday that has all of our great nation rubbernecking and gawking on Sunday morning at another unscripted, shocking loss that changes the national championship picture.

Wow, yes please, I’ll take one of those—it sounds magically delicious…

LSU

Though LSU’s status as a bona fide contender was downgraded mightily by Florida in Week 6, the Tigers not only have a chance to play the spoiler in 2012; if they succeed, their own stock will rise dramatically from the ashes in the bargain.

LSU could completely derail the train carrying the team that looks to be the most legitimate national championship squad in the land, and that team is Alabama.

This has nothing to do with the “Game of the Century” last November or the BCS title game from this past January.

It’s fairly simple: The Crimson Tide tout the No. 26 nationally ranked rushing attack vs. the No. 89-ranked passing offense, so whoever can most successfully shut down Alabama’s ground game more than likely has the best chance to knock them off.

That team is LSU, which currently has the No. 6-ranked rushing D in the land, a number that is head and shoulders better than the rest of the squads that fill out the remainder of the Tide’s 2012 slate.

What weakens this argument dramatically is considering what will happen when the Tigers’ No. 50-ranked scoring offense (a haphazard unit) tries to find a way to score enough points to win on Alabama’s No. 1-ranked scoring defense.

At least the game is in Baton Rouge.

Ball State

Even if Ohio University is successful at running the table and finishes the season 13-0 and champions of the MAC (it hasn’t done that since 1968), it’s difficult to imagine the Bobcats busting into anything other than a solid non-BCS bowl game.

Regardless of this sad fact, Ohio still has to get through the season unscathed to be denied access to sports' most exclusive money celebration, and Ball State may be the team that has the best chance of spoiling this entire happy scenario.

The Bobcats' inherent weakness in 2012 has been a pass defense that ranks No. 94 nationally, and if you’re going to be the squad that upends the Green and White express, you’ll need to be able to shred Ohio’s secondary.

Of the Bobcats' final five opponents, Ball State is the team with the most viable passing attack, a force that currently holds the No. 28 national ranking and on average has racked up 288.1 yards per game.

Ball State’s No. 107-ranked scoring defense may well make the passing hypothesis a moot point, but it is still a squad that scored 27 points on Clemson earlier this season and managed wins over BCS teams USF and Indiana.

Oregon State

Though the Beavers might wind up dropping a game on the long road to total perfection this season, this doesn’t mean that they can’t and won’t play the part of spoiler.

They may be cast for this provocative role within the boundaries of their own state.

When you look at Oregon’s final six games of 2012, the games that catch your eye from a “beware” standpoint are obviously USC and Stanford, but overlooking the finale at Oregon State may be a huge mistake.

Really, the Ducks match up well with both the Trojans and Cardinal, while the Beavers present a bigger challenge, regardless of how many wins they do or don’t have.

Then you have the added benefit of this being a rivalry game of epic proportions, especially if this playing of the “Civil War” decides which of the two teams from the Beaver State plays in the Pac-12 title game.

As far as the line of reasoning for how the Beavers ruin the Ducks' run to a title, one of Oregon’s very few statistical deficiencies thus far is a pass defense that ranks No. 69 nationally, allowing 230.6 yards per game thus far.

This naughty little fact lends itself quite well to Oregon State’s No. 8 nationally ranked pass offense, an attack that is averaging 338 yards per game.

If the Ducks can’t shut down the Beavers' air raid, then things could get very interesting.

Swinging around to the other side of the ball, we are treated to another numerical clash in that Oregon’s No. 4-ranked rushing offense (vs. a No. 80-ranked passing attack) will square off with State’s No. 4-ranked rushing defense (vs. a No. 115 rating in pass defense).

Suddenly this little in-state rivalry affair becomes one of the most interesting and—if both teams survive unscathed—meaningful games of the entire 2012 campaign.

Pitt

At 2-4 the Pitt Panthers look about as dangerous as the cat from the Meow Mix advertisements, but if you peel back the layers, Pitt has an excellent opportunity to play the spoiler in its final season in the Big East.

With three undefeated teams left standing, the battle for the Big East crown is significant because the winner will punch its ticket for the BCS, making the dwindling league the easiest path to the big-money dance.

With Rutgers, Cincinnati and Louisville all rightly focused on knocking each other off for all the marbles, at 0-3 in conference play with losses to the Bearcats and Cardinals, Pitt is flying way under the radar for its Nov. 24 meeting with Rutgers.

Yes, by this point the Scarlet Knights will have likely knocked off Temple, Kent State, Army and then hopefully Cincinnati on Nov. 17, making them 10-0 coming into their final two games.

This sets up an "easy" game vs. a struggling Pitt team before taking care of business vs. Louisville for the conference title and the golden ticket to the Orange Bowl.

This is where things get interesting. Rutgers will march into Pittsburgh with a still impotent offense (currently ranked No. 85 in scoring) and a defense that can do everything but stop the pass (the Knights are No. 92 vs. the pass).

Waiting for Rutgers is a Panthers squad that has held teams to 25.2 points per game (it can stop the Knights) and owns a passing attack ranked No. 21 in the nation, averaging a whopping 300 yards per game.

Suddenly, Pitt looks way more dangerous than either Cincinnati or Louisville…at least on paper, and at least for Rutgers.

Texas Tech

Though Texas Tech already played the part of David to West Virginia’s Goliath last weekend, the Red Raiders may have a realistic shot to knock off another Top Five team before October ends.

Yes, K-State may well fall to West Virginia this Saturday in Morgantown, but if it survives the aerial attack of Geno Smith and company (who frankly can’t afford a second loss), hosting the Red Raiders could prove perilous.

This has way more to do with the statistical matchup between the two than the fact that this could be an emotional “hangover” game for the Wildcats if they do come away with a Week 8 win.

What a team will need to do to unseat K-State from the top of the charts is first, stop its very successful rushing attack, and second, shred the Wildcats secondary.

Though the Mountaineers can definitely score points on Kansas State’s No. 76-ranked pass defense, it’s difficult to think they’ll have overwhelming success shutting down their No. 15-ranked scoring offense.

The team better suited to fill both roles is Texas Tech, a team that currently touts both the No. 4 nationally ranked pass attack (not shocking at all) and the No. 12-ranked rushing defense (hugely surprising).

This all matches up very well with a K-State team that is imbalanced offensively to the tune of a No. 11 ranking in rushing yards and a No. 111 ranking in passing yards and has more trouble defending the pass (No. 76) than the run (No. 16).

It’s simple: Tech shuts down the run and forces Collin Klein and company to throw (and the Red Raiders also have the No. 5-ranked pass defense), and then they take advantage of K-State’s relatively weak pass defense.

If Texas Tech can’t get the job done in Week 9 and the Wildcats are still undefeated going into Week 11, look for TCU (No. 9 vs. the run and No. 41 in passing offense) to be K-State’s next huge hurdle.

Arizona State

Though the jury is still out on whether 5-0 Oregon State is truly a contender, the Beavers are one of only 12 undefeated teams in the FBS, making them definitely part of any title conversation.

The Beavers are imbalanced on both sides of the ball this season; offensively speaking, they are ranked No. 8 in passing yards vs. No. 102 in rushing yards, and defensively they are No. 4 vs. the run and a dismal No. 115 against the pass.

The bottom line here is that Oregon State is most vulnerable to an opponent that can both stop the pass and throw for a zillion yards through the air.

In terms of the Beavers' final seven games, that team is Arizona State, and for OSU it’s time to fear the fork.

The Sun Devils rank No. 3 nationally in pass defense (they’ve only given up 130.4 yards per game through the air) and are currently No. 34 in pass offense (they’ve averaged 280 yards per game).

Given the fact that Oregon State is one of the most penalized teams in the nation and that it has a dismal 36.71 percent third-down conversion rate, the Beavers could fall long before their Nov. 3 meeting with ASU, but if they survive that long, look for this to be a huge hurdle.

BYU

When you look at the six games that stand between Notre Dame and its first perfect regular season since 1988, games at Oklahoma and at USC are the obvious hurdles.

Yes, after a last-play officiating decision win over Stanford in Week 7, it’s time for an “off” week this Saturday vs. BYU leading to the historic, epic and oozing-with-meaning trip to Norman, Oklahoma to face the Sooners in Week 9.

But overlooking BYU could prove to be costly more than just because it’s the “hangover” game and the classic “in-between” contest for a team that looks destined for destiny.

The logic of how the 4-3 Cougars play spoiler to the undefeated Golden Domers is simple: Notre Dame struggles mightily to score points (the Irish are ranked No. 70 in scoring offense), and the better defensive unit it faces, the scarier things get.

Would you be surprised to know that the very best defense the Irish have squared off with all season long is not Michigan State or Stanford, but BYU?

Yes, the Cougars rank No. 7 nationally in scoring defense (giving up a mere 13.6 points per game), are No. 3 vs. the run and No. 24 against the pass.

Yikes.

As far as scoring prevention goes, the only units that have been more successful than BYU’s D are those at Alabama, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Florida State, Florida and South Carolina.

The next logical question is whether BYU can score more points than Notre Dame since both offenses will have their work cut out for them vs. two of the best defenses in the land.

Well, BYU ranks No. 81 in scoring offense, No. 68 in passing yards and No. 52 in rushing vs. Notre Dame’s No. 70 ranking in scoring O, No. 88 rating in passing yards and No. 46 rank in rushing.

This all sets up to be a low-scoring, epic defensive battle where somebody will have to find a way to put some points on the board.

If Notre Dame overlooks BYU, it could be as costly as a misstep as we’ll see all season, and if Bronco Mendenhall can draw up some scoring plays and the Cougars can conjure up a forced turnover, it might not matter if the Irish can beat Bob Stoops in Norman.

Penn State

In an odd twist of fate, postseason-banned Penn State may have the best chance of upending the hopes of fellow Big Ten banned team Ohio State.

The first obvious question here is, what in the world are the Buckeyes contending for since they can’t play a game past their finale with Michigan on Nov. 24?

Well, Ohio State is still in contention for one very big prize indeed: its eighth Heisman Trophy. That’s an accolade that can only be captured if Braxton Miller and the Bucks go undefeated.

The remaining foe with the best shot of taking away the only hardware that Ohio State can hope for in 2012 is Penn State, which honestly is a bit of a long shot.

If you ask yourself how the Buckeyes came so close to losing to Indiana in Week 8 (they held on for a 52-49 win), it’s because of a little mismatch that had Ohio State’s No. 107-ranked pass defense vs. the Hoosiers' No. 15-ranked passing offense.

This is why Penn State is the best candidate to play spoiler to Ohio State: The Nittany Lions have the best passing attack of the Buckeyes’ last five opponents.

Add in the fact that Penn State has a relatively solid rushing defense (No. 36 ranking nationally), and you can see the Nittany Lions upending the Bucks by forcing Miller to throw and then torching their dismal pass defense.

Though Penn State beating Ohio State would have zero net effect on the national championship picture, it would squash the only real dream of glory the Buckeyes have in terms of this season.

Florida State

Given their relatively “easier” ACC slate, the Seminoles’ loss to NC State in Week 6 effectively ended FSU’s quest to win the BCS with a huge thud. Of course, everything changes if things play out for a bunch of two-loss teams and only one undefeated and/or one-losser survives.

Regardless of what happens to the ‘Noles from a contention standpoint, they may well be the best-suited team to knock off in-state rival Florida in its quest to return to title town.

With a rock-solid performance on defense thus far in 2012, an imbalance offensively looks to be the Gators’ Achilles' heel coming into their final six games of the regular campaign.

Florida’s one-sided attack is illustrated by an offense that ranks No. 14 nationally in rushing yards vs. a passing attack that rates a dismal No. 118.

Simply put, teams that can force Florida to throw the ball and then find a way to score points on what is a stingy Gators D will be the most likely to derail the orange and blue train that leads to Miami in January.

Though you could argue that South Carolina (with the No. 20-ranked rushing D in the land) might be the team that will get it done, the Gamecocks' offensive attack may crack under the pressure of the defense-dominated Swamp.

If the ‘Cocks are successful this Saturday, then the point is moot, but if not, the squad with a more viable opportunity to dethrone the Gators is Florida State.

The Seminoles currently own the No. 5-ranked rush defense in the land (they are No. 4 in scoring defense and No. 6 vs. the pass), and they are further supported by an offense that is super-balanced and ranks No. 6 in scoring.

Throw in the fact that the game will be played in Tallahassee, and you begin to think that perhaps a one-loss Florida State team would be the favorite vs. an undefeated Florida squad.