2011 BCS National Championship Game: My "Bowl"d Predictions

The week 7 dust has settled, we find that the preseason 1 and 2 have fallen, and the first appearance of the BCS rankings has surfaced. Now, it's time to sort through the madness, and try to make any sense of who may be playing for the Crystal Ball in January. 

We'll go in order:

1. Oklahoma - With road games remaining against Missouri and Oklahoma State, and a potential third road game for the Big 12 Championship, it's hard to believe that Oklahoma will run through the rest of their schedule blemish-free.  Of course, if they do, they're in. 

2. Oregon - I think Oregon has the greatest chance of remaining a "shoe-in" for the big game.  With a weak-ish road game against USC, and home matchup against Arizona, they have a strong chance of running the floor, and sending a West Coast fan base to Glendale. Yes, I know, Oregon State "always" brings their A-game in the rivalry matchup.  But c'mon, with losses to the two "BCS busters," I can't see Oregon State winning...

3. Boise State - Eh.  Based on the underlying rules of the BCS, Boise should NOT be playing for the Crystal Ball, even if they "earned" it; whatever that means.  Should one of the top 2 teams stumble, I see any of the undefeated, or 1-loss teams from the actual BCS AQ conferences jumping Boise.  Sorry Bronco faithful.  Playing really well against ok teams isn't enough.  They don't even improve their future chances next year, moving to another non-AQ conference.

4. Auburn - Should Auburn run the floor, which won't be easy with LSU, Alabama, and a potential SEC Championship game, they deserve top billing more than anyone on this list.  Even with 1 loss (minus a loss in the SEC Championship), Auburn, and their Heisman-leading QB, should be considered for Glendale. 

5. TCU - See #3; and apply the same logic, minus the final comment about switching conferences.

Outliers: Out of the remaining undefeateds and 1-loss teams, Michigan State has the best chance of crashing the party.  They have played big in big games, and big in small ones, too. They have a road game in Iowa City remaining, and should they win out, they will have put themselves in a darn near perfect position. 

It would be dumb to ignore LSU and Alabama.  The "who's the best in SEC" will sort itself out once we see what happens when LSU plays Alabama plays Auburn plays LSU; make sense?

This, in fact, is my favorite time for college football.  With the first iteration of the BCS, we can now let the projecting begin...