BCS Rankings Week 14: 10 Teams Playing Better Than Oregon and Auburn Right Now
BCS Rankings Week 14 come out today and it will be Oregon and Auburn at the top of the poll, as they've been for weeks.
But are they playing the best football in the country right now?
There are a lot of teams out there that are playing well down the stretch and some teams that are on a roll coming into the final week and bowl season. This is the closest year in terms of competition I've seen in a while, and inside are 10 teams that are playing the best football in the country right now.
Any thoughts or comments—leave them below.
No. 10: Nebraska
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The Cornhuskers have played well this season, and the most recent blemish on their schedule wasn't without a little controversy.
Nebraska was flagged for 16 penalties against Texas A&M, while the Aggies were only flagged for two. It upset Bo Pelini, who was yelling at the referees all game long. Since that awful loss to Texas, Nebraska beat Oklahoma State and Missouri.
Yes, there were struggles against Iowa State, but Nebraska beat Colorado without Taylor Martinez, 45-17. Not bad at all.
No. 9: Virginia Tech
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Virginia Tech had an awful start to the season—there's no denying how bad it was.
Losing to James Madison is inexcusable. However, the Hokies rebounded and have been one of the best teams in the country since then. Virginia Tech was written off after that loss, but the Hokies have flown under the radar and have won out since then and are in the ACC Championship Game against Florida State.
In the ACC, that doesn't usually mean much, but most of these games weren't even close. The Hokies are playing with a purpose right now. If Virginia Tech didn't lose to James Madison, the Hokies would be getting a lot of buzz right now.
No. 8: Michigan State
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Only the Michigan State Spartans could finish with one loss and somehow miss out on a BCS bowl game.
The Spartans will find themselves playing on January 1, but it won't be the Rose Bowl—Wisconsin will head there and Ohio State will get the other BCS bid out of the Big Ten. The Spartans had one bad game against Iowa, but have otherwise had a very strong season.
Michigan State is a resilient team that played well despite having their head coach suffer through a heart attack and the recovery. They did beat the Big Ten champion, though. There's something to be said for that.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 7: Ohio State
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Ohio State is another one-loss team that is on the outside looking in on the national title game.
Normally, that record would get the Buckeyes into the Rose Bowl, but this year Ohio State will have to settle for less out of the Big Ten and get an at-large bid.
Ohio State beat last year's Oregon team, which isn't that much different from this year's team, and the Buckeyes aren't the same team that got blasted by Florida in the national title game.
I'm not a huge Terrelle Pryor fan, but he can make plays in big spots for Ohio State.
No. 6: Oklahoma
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The Sooners are headed to the Big 12 Championship Game and did it with a huge road win against Oklahoma State in a rivalry game.
Oklahoma has struggled at times this year, but the Sooners have played well down the stretch when they needed wins to get to the conference championship game. Now Oklahoma will take on Nebraska—with a win there, the Sooners are on fire.
I'm not a huge Bob Stoops fan, but he has his team playing well the past couple weeks.
No. 5: Texas A&M
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Texas A&M is flying way under the radar right now, and it doesn't help that the Aggies aren't playing in the Big 12 Championship Game, either.
The Aggies have won six in a row and that includes wins over Oklahoma and Nebraska (however shady that win was, not to mention ugly, with a 9-6 final score). Baylor was also a victim and a team that was ranked earlier in the year.
Winning in Austin against the Texas Longhorns is no easy feat, either, regardless how down the Longhorns are right now.
No. 4: Arkansas
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Winning six games in a row, with most of them against SEC competition, is never an easy feat and Arkansas has done it.
The Razorbacks have beaten South Carolina, Mississippi State and LSU in that stretch, and that's not bad at all. Arkansas did get blasted by Auburn on the road, but I feel if the two met on a neutral field at this point, things might be a little different.
Ryan Mallett is playing some good football right now and I'd love to see Auburn and Arkansas go at it one more time.
No. 3: Wisconsin
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Wisconsin is just dropping bombs on opponents at this point.
The Badgers have posted seven wins in a row and have blasted teams with 83 and 70 points in two of those games. Wisconsin also beat Ohio State and Iowa in that stretch. It's been an impressive run by a team that's going to the Rose Bowl.
I think the Badgers could give any team in the country a run for their money right now.
No. 2: Stanford
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Other than the loss to Oregon, Stanford has just beaten the life out of its opponents down the stretch.
That Cal team that the Ducks struggled with in a 15-13 win? The Golden Bears were demolished to the tune of 48-14, and Andrew Luck is playing great football right now. Stanford gave Oregon trouble for a good period of time before the Ducks pulled away.
That's another game I'd like to see, but right now Stanford is a team no one wants to see. But imagine a Rose Bowl between the Cardinal and Wisconsin.
No. 1: TCU
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You can say what you want to say about the schools in the automatic qualifying conferences and the strength of schedule, but there's no denying how well TCU is playing.
In the one game the Horned Frogs had issues, one of their coaches had a heart attack on the sideline. That's hard for any team to handle during the course of a game and still expect to play well.
Andy Dalton and company saw what happened to Boise State on Friday night and promptly destroyed a bad New Mexico team. The Horned Frogs likely won't get a shot at the national title and will probably end up in the Rose Bowl.
That game against what should be Wisconsin will be a strong test for the Horned Frogs.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
