BCS Rankings Week 10: Auburn, Oregon Or Boise State, Who Deserves to Be No. 1?

This weekend, the college football world seemed to settle down a bit after three weeks of pure turbulence.

The top three ranked teams in the nation (Auburn, Oregon and Boise State) rolled to statement victories, cementing their place at the top of the college football world. But even though each remains undefeated, are their resumes really all that impressive?

Tonight, the BCS weekly rankings will be announced live and for the first time all season, we’ll have a rather clear picture of what the top will look like before everything is unveiled.

Auburn will likely stay at the No. 1 position, with Oregon coming in at No. 2 and Boise State sitting on the outside looking in at No. 3. But is that really a true reflection of the how the season has played out thus far?

Let’s play the numbers game and take a look at the resumes of Auburn, Oregon and Boise State from three key standpoints: strength of schedule, offensive play and defensive play.

Warning: Some numbers may underwhelm those who are looking to jump on a bandwagon.

Auburn Strength of Schedule

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

AUBURN, AL - OCTOBER 23: Quarterback Cameron Newton #2 of the Auburn Tigers celebrates with the fans after their 24-17 over the LSU Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Arkansas State (3-5)

@Mississippi State (7-2)

Clemson (4-4)

South Carolina (6-2)

Louisiana-Monroe (4-4)

@Kentucky (4-5)

Arkansas (6-2)

LSU (7-1)

@Ole Miss: (3-5)

Opponent’s Record: 44-31 (58 %)

Quality Wins: 4

Oregon Strength of Schedule

Steve Dykes/Getty Images

EUGENE, OR - OCTOBER 2: Head coach Chip Kelly of the Oregon Ducks looks encourages his team during warm ups before the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Autzen Stadium on October 2, 2010 in Eugene, Oregon. Oregon won the game 52-31. (Photo by Steve Dy

New Mexico (0-8)

@Tennessee (2-6)

Portland State (2-6)

Arizona State (4-4)

Stanford (7-1)

@Washington State (1-8)

UCLA (3-5)

@USC (5-3)

Opponent’s Record: 24-41 (36 %)

Quality Wins:1

Boise State Strength Of Scedule

Geoff Burke/Getty Images

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 06: Quarterback Kellen Moore #11 of the Boise State Broncos passes against the Virginia Tech Hokies at FedExField on September 6, 2010 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images)

NF: Virginia Tech (6-2)

@Wyoming (2-7)

Oregon State (4-3)

@New Mexico State (2-6)

Toledo (6-3)

@San Jose State (1-8)

Louisiana Tech (3-5)

Opponent's Record: 24-34 (41 %)

Quality Wins: 2

Auburn Total Offense

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

AUBURN, AL - SEPTEMBER 25: Michael Dyer #5 of the Auburn Tigers against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Jordan-Hare Stadium on September 25, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Points Per Game: 43

Passing Yards Per Game: 188

Rushing Yards Per Game: 307

Total Yards Per Game: 495

Oregon Total Offense

Harry How/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 30: LaMichael James #21 of the Oregon Ducks cuts back against the USC Trojans during the first quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 30, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Points Per Game: 54

Passing Yards Per Game: 261

Rushing Yards Per Game: 311

Total Yards Per Game: 572

Boise State Total Offense

Otto Kitsinger III/Getty Images

BOISE, ID - SEPTEMBER 25: Wide receiver Titus Young #1 of the Boise State Broncos runs the ball against cornerback Brandon Hardin #17 of the Oregon State Beavers at Bronco Stadium on September 25, 2010 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Otto Kitsinger III/Getty

Points Per Game: 47

Passing Yards Per Game: 301

Rushing Yards Per Game: 213

Total Yards Per Game: 514

Auburn Total Defense

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

AUBURN, AL - OCTOBER 23: Nick Fairley #90 of the Auburn Tigers sacks quarterback Jordan Jefferson #9 of the LSU Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Points Per Game: 23

Passing Yards Per Game: 243

Rushing Yards Per Game: 115

Total Yards Per Game: 358

Oregon Total Defense

Steve Dykes/Getty Images

EUGENE,OR - NOVEMBER 14: Linebacker Eddie Pleasant #11, linebacker Spencer Paysinger #35 and linebacker Kenny Rowe #58 of the Oregon Ducks gang up to tackle running back Dimitri Nance #31of the Arizona State Sun Devils in the third quarter of the game at

Points Per Game: 18

Passing Yards Per Game: 211

Rushing Yards Per Game: 125

Total Yards Per Game: 236

Boise State Total Defense

Geoff Burke/Getty Images

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 06: Quarterback #5 Tyrod Taylor of the Virginia Tech Hokies is tackled by defensive end #40 Tyrone Crawford, linebacker #33 Tommy Smith, and linebacker Aaron Tevis of the Boise State Broncos at FedExField on September 6, 2010 in

Points Per Game: 13

Passing Yards Per Game: 160

Rushing Yards Per Game: 75

Total Yards Per Game: 235

Verdict?

Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images

AUBURN, AL - OCTOBER 16: Auburn head coach Gene Chizik blows his whistle during warm ups before the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 16, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

Still too early to tell. Auburn will top the rankings again tonight, but at this point, can we really definitively say any of these three deserve to be considered the best team in college football?

For my money, I would put Alabama, Nebraska or Ohio State on a neutral field with any of them right now and have a good feeling about my odds.

But the fact is, the Tide, the Cornhuskers and the Buckeyes have all been picked off once this season, so that pushes them down in the minds of voters, whether that be unfair or not.

Well let me just say this: for all those playing the “Boise State doesn’t play anybody and therefore shouldn’t even be considered for the championship game" card, can you please take a look at Oregon’s schedule and tell me how many world-beaters and Goliaths they’ve toppled this year?

Yes, their offense is great, but if you’re going to throw some flack at Boise for not playing anybody, even though they’ve gone out and tried to schedule as many BCS opponents as possible, then maybe you should say, "Hey, Chip Kelly, New Mexico and Portland State, was that really the best you could do non-conference wise?"

The truth is Oregon has played a schedule that borders on pathetic. Will it catch up with them in time?

In my mind, yes.

But again, we'll have to let this all play out.

We’ve got a little over a month of the college football regular season left, and if you thought these first two months were wild, you ain’t seen nothing yet.