College Football 2011: The BCS Conferences' Toughest November-December Schedules

When approaching the end of the season, some teams spring, others limp.

And much like 2010, there are some teams whose BCS hopes are realized or dashed:

Boise State lost to Nevada.

Oklahoma State lost to Oklahoma.

Nebraska lost to Texas A&M.

Michigan State lost to Iowa.

November and December serve to thin out the herd, so-to-speak. These months answers most of our BCS questions. They are the closest thing the FBS has to a playoff, and it's likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

With that in mind, let's look at the most difficult November-December schedules (not including conference championship games) from each of the major conferences.

ACC: Boston College

The Eagles aren't expected to wow anyone in 2011, and they will probably not be in the running for a BCS bowl.

Even if BC can get through a comparatively easy September and early part of October, the Eagles will still have Virginia Tech and Maryland to finish out October.

Then the fun really begins.

Boston College hosts Florida State, an early season ACC favorite, on Nov. 3.

Then on Nov. 19, the Eagles will travel to South Bend to face an ever-improving Notre Dame squad.

If all of that didn't seem bad enough, Boston College will finish the regular season with a Nov. 26 trip to Miami to take on the Hurricanes.

The second half of BC's schedule doesn't look good for their bowl hopes, and November will be a killer.

In order for the Eagles to make a bowl game, they'll have to go nearly unscathed through the first six weeks of the season.

Big 12: Baylor

The Baylor Bears had themselves a little breakout in 2010.

Their 7-6 mark was the team's most wins since 1995, and they went to their first bowl game since 1994.

The 2010 season started out great for the Bears, but as can sometimes happen to the unexpected Cinderellas in college football, November was a killer.

The Bears finished the 2010 regular season with three straight losses, and Baylor has an equally daunting late-season schedule in 2011.

They begin the month of November by hosting a Missouri team highly ranked in most early preseason polls. By the time Nov. 19 rolls around, Baylor will find themselves hosting what is sure to be a heavily-favored Oklahoma squad.

On Nov. 26, the Bears will take on Texas Tech at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington before finishing up the regular season with a Dec. 3 contest against the Longhorns.

If the Bears have any hope of matching last season's bowl bid, they'll likely have to win at least one game they're not supposed to win in 2011.

That's made all the more difficult when looking at Baylor's early-season schedule, which includes TCU, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.

Big East: Louisville

Louisville finished the 2010 season on a high note, besting Southern Mississippi in the St. Petersburg Bowl to finish the year 7-6.

That was Louisville's best finish since a 12-1 mark in 2006.

The Cardinals will end the 2011 season with a similar schedule to that of 2010, where they went 2-3 over their last five games.

Louisville begins November with a trip to West Virginia on Nov. 5. WVU should be improved over last season when they beat Louisville 17-10, and Mountaineer Stadium isn't the easiest place for opposing teams to play.

On Nov. 12, Louisville hosts Pittsburgh before traveling to defending Big East champion Connecticut on Nov. 19.

The Cardinals finish up the regular season with a Nov. 29 date with the South Florida Bulls in Tampa.

Big Ten: Penn State

Entering the month of November for Penn State will be like stepping from a warm shower into a frigid November Pennsylvania morning.

The easy part of the schedule for the Nittany Lions will be in the rearview mirror. Although November starts with a bye week, Penn State will have to face three teams each with high hopes of reaching the Big Ten Championship game.

The Nittany Lions begin by hosting Nebraska on Nov. 12. The Cornhuskers are looking to make an immediate impact their first season in the Big Ten, and what better place to do than Paternoville.

The following week, Penn State travels to Columbus to take on the co-Big Ten champion Buckeyes. Penn State has an embarrassing record against Ohio State, losing four of the last five, and nine of the last 12.

When the game is in Columbus, the numbers are even worse. Since joining the Big Ten in 1993, Penn State has won in Columbus just once (2008).

Penn State finishes the regular season with a trip to Madison to face another defending co-Big Ten champion in Wisconsin.

The Badgers return a lot of talent for 2011, and Camp Randall is never an easy place in which to play.

That's especially true in late November.

Pac-12: Oregon State

The Beavers had a disappointing 2010, finishing 5-7 and without a bowl bid for the first time in five years.

The late-season schedule for Oregon State in 2011 won't make things much easier.

On Nov. 5, the Beavers will take on Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford will be looking for another run in conference, and has high hopes with a Heisman favorite back under center.

Nov.12 sees the Beavers on the road with a game against Cal, being played at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

After a Nov. 19 game at home against Washington, Oregon State gears up for the Civil War against Oregon. The 2011 installment of the Civil War will be a road test for the Beavers, and Oregon is one of the most difficult places play.

On top of the difficultly of beating Oregon at home, the Ducks primed for another run at the BCS in 2011, returning a wealth of talent, including 2010's FBS leading rusher, LaMichael James.

If the Beavers hope to return to a bowl game in 2011, they'll have to take advantage of early-season matchups where they are favored, because November looks to be a killer for Oregon State in 2011.

SEC: Alabama

If there's one team in the nation that's no stranger to tough schedules, it's probably Alabama.

The SEC conference schedule is fraught with danger, and there's trouble around every corner.

Most teams in the SEC have the ability to beat any of the other teams on any given Saturday, and the SEC's regular-season crucible has prepared conference teams for some spectacular postseason play.

In 2011, the Crimson Tide have the distinction of having the most difficult late-season schedule in the SEC, and one of the more difficult late-season schedules in the nation.

With the exception of the embarrassing practice of SEC teams scheduling FCS opponents in November, Alabama's schedule from Nov. 5 on is the stuff from which nightmares are made.

The Tide begin November with a visit from LSU. The Tigers were surprising to many in 2010, handing the Tide their second loss of the season.

With both teams beginning the season in everyone's top 10, and the real possibility that there will be fewer than two losses split between the two teams by the time Nov. 5 rolls around, the game between LSU and Alabama may be one of the marquee matchups in the SEC in 2011.

The Crimson Tide travel to Mississippi State on Nov. 12 to take on another team that surprised many in 2010.

The Bulldogs are returning some good talent for 2011, and they hope to improve upon 2010's success in the SEC. Teams playing Mississippi State are always on upset alert, and the Bulldogs are no strangers to knocking off the proverbial Goliaths.

Alabama gets a bye week on Nov. 19 when they host FCS Georgia Southern.

Finally, the season in the SEC West—as it so often does—may come down to Nov. 26.

The 2011 edition of the Iron Bowl against defending BCS champion Auburn is a road game for the Crimson Tide.

There are few rivalries in sports that compare to Auburn-Alabama, and there are even fewer in college football.

The oft-used cliché of “the records go out the window” actually applies to this game. But when both teams come into the game with a trip to the SEC Championship game on the line, it somehow takes on an even greater significance.

People who count Auburn out for 2011 because of their massive drain of talent might regret dismissing the Tigers so quickly. Auburn, regardless of their losses, will field an excellent team, and Alabama, regardless of how good they might be, will need to marshal all of its strength to erase the memory of an epic collapse in the 2010 Iron Bowl.