Top 4 Turmoil: How Should This Week Shake Up the BCS Rankings for the Unbeatens?

Our four remaining unbeaten teams, Oregon, Auburn, TCU and Boise State, all preserved their immaculate records with wins this week. However, it wasn't as easy as expected for the top three.

No.1 Oregon squeaked past unranked Pac-10 rival Cal by a score of just 15-13.

Oregon's struggles were highlighted in its offensive production. Having previously scored a nation best 54.7 points a game, the Ducks had their worst game of the year offensively. The offense managed just 317 yards and only one touchdown, the other coming on a Cliff Harris punt return. And this was against unranked Cal.

There was a point where it seemed one of our unbeaten teams was going to lose its perfect record.

Amidst all the controversy over Cam Newton, No. 2 Auburn was down 21-7 against Georgia after the first quarter. After a 40-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green, the Tigers decided they needed to start playing. They scored two second quarter touchdowns to go into halftime tied, before running away in the fourth quarter.

Heisman candidate Cam Newton seemed unfazed by the media hype, going 12-15 with two touchdowns to go along with 151 yards rushing and another pair of scores on his feet.

Another upset seemed to be in the cards at TCU, where the Horned Frogs were almost beaten by San Diego State.

The Aztecs were up 14-0 before TCU rallied to pull ahead—but it wasn't over then, as TCU almost gave away its lead, but survived a late San Diego State comeback. A 40-35 win at home against an unranked team won't do TCU many favors in its bid for a BCS title shot.

The unbeaten team who helped itself most this week was Boise State. Although the Broncos' big win came against a less than impressive Idaho team, they managed to win comfortably—something which Oregon, Auburn and TCU couldn't do.

So, how should this week's action shake up the BCS rankings?

For a start, after barely scraping by Cal, Oregon should lose its No.1 ranking.

Nobody had been able to stop the Oregon offense previously. Cal did. Oregon's offensive struggles were contrasted by Auburn's success. Cam Newton continued to show why he's the most dangerous threat in college football, and we can add Georgia to the list of schools who failed to contain him.

Auburn should move to No.1, knocking Oregon off the top. So, Oregon should slide into the No. 2 slot, right?

Not so fast. While it is almost a certainty that Auburn and Oregon will be the top two, notice that I said how SHOULD this week shake up the BCS Rankings—not how it will.

Many criticize Boise State's and TCU's strength of schedules. What goes unnoticed is Oregon's schedule. In my opinion, they're an overrated team. They may be unbeaten, but look at the records of the teams they've beaten.

Boise State gets overlooked, but they've beaten Hawaii, Virginia Tech and Oregon State. With upcoming games against Nevada and Fresno State, who have both been impressive this season, Boise State can boost its body of work.

So if Oregon were to drop below No.2, who should take their place: Boise State or TCU?

TCU gave itself the upper hand on Boise State after dismantling then fifth-ranked Utah last week. That should have been enough to carry TCU into the top two, but they remained at No.3—and the Utes went on to lose to Notre Dame this week, taking a lot of TCU's glory away from them.

With Utah's loss and TCU's performance against San Diego State, should Boise State move ahead of TCU?

I can debate between Boise State and TCU all day, but while Oregon and Auburn remain unbeaten, it doesn't matter. Despite their wins, Boise State and TCU are on the bubble and will be unless Oregon and/or Auburn lose.

So what SHOULD happen in my opinion is that Auburn should move to No. 1 with Oregon dropping to No. 3. Boise State should slide up to No. 2, while TCU should move down to No. 4 because of Utah's loss.

With the way the BCS works, what probably WILL happen is that Oregon will drop to No. 2 at the lowest and may even remain at No. 1, while TCU and Boise State will continue to be snubbed like they have been all season—they will remain on the outside looking in.