BCS Rankings Week 9: Why Oregon Should or Shouldn't Be No. 1

With the second release of the BCS standings out tonight, Oregon again finds themselves at No. 2 in the BCS rankings, even after the loss of former No. 1 Oklahoma. This week, Auburn jumps to the head of the pack, leaving many Ducks fans scratching their heads.

With five games remaining in the season for Oregon, they still have many tests to pass before this conversation becomes relevant but many Oregon fans may become uneasy of the idea of teams continuing to jump them in the BCS rankings.

Time to take a look at not only why Oregon should be No. 1 but the flaws in the argument that they should not top the BCS.

Oregon Should Not Be No. 1 Because...

They have played a weak out of conference schedule. Oregon opened the season with a 72-0 victory over New Mexico, went to Tennessee and won 48-13, and closed the out of conference schedule with a 69-0 victory over Portland State.

Oregon has earned wins against Arizona State and Washington State. With these five victories it is not hard to understand how they are 7-0.

Not so fast my friend. Everyone is talking about how well Wisconsin is playing and yet the beat ASU by one at home due to a missed extra point.

Also, nobody discredited LSU when it took Tennessee forgetting how to count on the road to beat them. Anybody who wants to discredit an out of conference schedule should not be a member of the SEC, plenty to laugh about there.

Oregon Should Not Be No. 1 Because...

They do not play in the SEC. Lets be honest with each other, unless you play in the SEC, your conference is already viewed as being weak.

When a top SEC team pulls out a late victory over a lesser conference opponent, it is viewed as a gritty, hard fought win. Apply that same argument to the Pac-10 and you hear about how the favored team was exposed.

Oregon Should Not Be No. 1 Because...

They don't have the defense necessary to defeat top programs. Many people see that Washington State scored 23, Stanford scored 31 and Arizona State scored 31. What they do not see is that those teams scored a combined 13 points in the second half.

Also remember that while it is always talked about how quickly Oregon can score, that means that the Oregon defense is back on the field just as quick. Oregon's offense only averages around 22 minutes in time of possession, which leaves their defense on the field more then other defenses.

Oregon Should Be No. 1 Because...

The BCS is still a flawed system. It is a computer, that cannot watch the games and rather just takes results and spits out a number that nobody understands. College football is still the only sport in which a computer helps decides who will play in our championship game.

Take the computers out and when you do, every human poll has Oregon at the top.

Oregon Should Be No. 1 Because...

They have been the most dominant team on the field. Some stats for you:

• 55.1 points per game (1st in the nation)
• 308.4 rushing yards per game (3rd in the nation)
• 15.9 points against per game (12th in the nation)
• 7 points against in the 4th quarter all year
• Won all games by double digits

Oregon Should Be No.1 Because

They have continued to get up for the big games. On the road in SEC country, Oregon fell behind 13-3 only to scored 45 unanswered points and win 48-13.

Later in the year, College Gameday came to Autzen for the game of the week between Oregon and Stanford. Oregon feel behind quickly 21-3, only to go on a 48-10 run to win 52-31.

Lastly, Oregon didn't bother erasing a huge lead when playing on ESPN Thursday night, instead, they blew UCLA out 60-13.