Does Kansas State Deserve to Jump Oregon in Next BCS Standings?

The Kansas State Wildcats stated their case for a higher BCS ranking with a 55-14 drubbing of the West Virginia Mountaineers in primetime this Saturday. 

Coming in as a slight underdog on the road against a Mountaineer squad that had lost to Texas Tech the previous week, the Wildcats showed that the Mountaineers didn't even deserve to be on the same field. Behind another monstrous effort from Collin Klein, the physical Wildcats consistently beat the Mountaineers on both sides of the ball and showed why they are a legitimate contender.

Last week, the Wildcats ranked fourth in the first BCS rankings of the season while Alabama, Florida and Oregon were first, second and third respectively.

With Florida winning big this week against a top-10 ranked South Carolina, the Gators are likely safe at No. 2, but could we see Oregon and Kansas State swap places?

Both teams have put forth tremendous seasons thus far, but rankings are always subjective. Here's the breakdown of the two teams battling for the No. 3 spot in the BCS.

The Eye Test

Fair or not, style points matter—especially when it comes down to the human element of the BCS system.

When comparing two undefeated teams, winning alone isn't enough. You have to win in impressive fashion.

While both teams have impressive wins on their résumé, no one does style better than Oregon. The Ducks are the kings of all things flashy. From the fast-paced no-huddle offense that fans and analysts love to talk about to the revolving door of uniforms, the Ducks are the embodiment of "new school" football.

The Ducks' high-octane offense is the second highest-scoring offense in the country with 51 points per game. The unit has scored at least 42 points in every contest and has called off the dogs in nearly every second half. In short, Oregon is nearly unstoppable on offense once again.

By contrast, Kansas State is about as "old school" as they come in today's college football landscape.

Collin Klein should be the Heisman front-runner after this week, and he's just as likely to run linebackers over as he is to float a touchdown pass over their heads.

The Wildcats utilize a heavy dose of the run and love to have long sustained drives that break the defense's will and control the pace of the game.

The Ducks have won every game by double digits and have yet to sweat one out in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats have needed the fourth quarter to secure victory against Oklahoma (24-19) and Iowa State (27-21).

While the fact that Kansas State has been tested in pressure situations could be seen as a positive, it doesn't help in terms of style points compared to the way Oregon has won its games.

Advantage: Oregon

Strength of Schedule

When looking at two undefeated teams, the first thing most will point out is schedule.

Alabama seems to get a pass on this (they have had the easiest schedule of any top-five team), but most other teams are judged by who they've played.

A quick scan of Oregon's schedule reveals why they've run through everyone they've played. The Ducks are a great team for sure, but the schedule leaves a lot to be desired.

The non-conference slate was exclusively made up of non-BCS schools, including FCS Tennessee Tech.

When looking at who the Ducks have played in conference, no one really jumps out either. In seven games, Oregon has played two teams that were ranked in the Top 25 at the time of the game, and neither of them (Arizona and Washington) are currently ranked in any of the polls.

Kansas State's non-conference slate was by no means grueling either, but it did feature a Miami Hurricanes team that has played well in the ACC this season—a game that the Wildcats won handily.

The Wildcats played the same number of teams in the Top 25 (two) but both were ranked in the top 15 at the time of the game and are still ranked (Oklahoma and West Virginia).

The schedule is something that a team can't control, but at this point in the season, the Wildcats have had to navigate a more difficult schedule.

Advantage: Kansas State

Signature Win

With both teams having somewhat comparable schedules, the tiebreaker comes down to which has the best win.

For Oregon, its best win would be a 52-21 win over the Washington Huskies at home.

The Huskies came into the game ranked No. 23 and coming off of a signature win of their own against the No. 8 Stanford Cardinal at home on national TV. While some expected the Huskies to offer a challenge for the Ducks, Oregon annihilated Washington.

The Ducks win may not have sent a huge message, but they took care of business against a team that had been blown out by LSU and showed they were capable of beating Top-25 teams.

Kansas State's signature win has to be its most recent one. The dismantling of Geno Smith and West Virginia was an absolute shocker to college football fans.

The fact that the Wildcats were able to hold the high-scoring Mountaineers to 14 points (with only one offensive touchdown) was astounding. Take into consideration they did it on the road, and it may be the best signature win that anyone has this season.

Advantage: Kansas State

Both teams have certainly put together good resumes as we are just slightly past the halfway point of the season. Fortunately, there's still plenty of opportunities for these two teams to make their case to climb even further up the polls.

Oregon will get the opportunity to register a better signature win and improve its strength of schedule with games against USC, Stanford and Oregon State.

However, at this juncture in the season, Kansas State deserves to be ranked ahead of Oregon. The Ducks haven't done anything to fall in the rankings, but looking at what both teams have accomplished this year, Kansas State has done more to prove it belongs in the top three.