College Football Rankings 2011: 5 Teams with Easiest Path to BCS Championship

The AP Top 25 polls released for Week 5 of the college football season shows an interesting trend: 18 of the Top 25 teams are undefeated, and have the capability to escape the rest of their schedule the same way they came in.

While everybody can not win all of their games, as all Top 25 teams play one another at some point, it is possible for some of these teams, with their remaining schedules, to finish out the season undefeated and have a shot at a national championship or a BCS Bowl Bid.

While these teams may not necessarily qualify for the National Championship, nor may they make it, but they have the potential, unlike teams like LSU who play some of the toughest schedules, to secure a bid on college football's biggest stage.

Boise State

For a couple of seasons now, Boise State has been going undefeated (with the exception of last season, when they lost to Nevada), and has consistently been snubbed because of not being in a BCS qualifying conference. In order to have a shot at the National Championship, they must go undefeated. Even one loss automatically puts them out of contention for any kind of BCS Bowl bid.

Their schedule is relatively weak, with their largest competition being Georgia, who they beat in the opener. The team's last test will be against TCU, whom they play on November 12th. Boise State's schedule consists of teams like Tulsa, Fresno State,Colorado State, Air Force, UNLV, San Diego State, Wyoming and New Mexico. Not exactly the highest caliber teams on the most difficult of schedules.

The key for Boise State is to continue playing their game and not to slip up in the last seconds like they did against Nevada last season.

Stanford

Fan- and Heisman-favorite quarterback Andrew Luck has poised the Stanford Cardinals to make a run in the Pac-12 with him under center. They have to play the likes of UCLA, Colorado, Washington State, Washington, USC, Oregon State, Oregon, California and Notre Dame.

Looking at the Cardinals schedule in a weakened Pac-12 conference, their primary threat is Oregon, who they do not play until November 12. Otherwise, the Cardinals are, as is the case with Boise State, in control of their own destiny right now. They are far too talented a team with Andrew Luck to lose games easily and often.

South Carolina

In a weaker SEC East, South Carolina—despite their inconsistencies with quarterback Stephen Garcia—is still in one of the best positions to win the SEC Eastern division. What's working against them is not only their quarterback, but also their ability to stop anybody on defense, especially with the big holes the Gamecocks have in their secondary.

Ranked in the Top 10, the Gamecocks have plenty of winnable games left to play. The rest of their games include Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, The Citadel and Clemson.

They must play against Auburn next, but Auburn has a very suspect defense and their offense has sputtered at times during the season. Their biggest tests will come against Arkansas, Florida and rival Clemson. It is likely that the winner of the Florida-South Carolina game will be the winner of the SEC Eastern division.

Virginia Tech

The Hokies, who seem to be the victor of the ACC Coastal division every single year, are once again in a good position to once again win the division and make a higher jump past their usual BCS Bowl bid.

Looking at the schedule, the Hokies have to play Clemson, Miami(FL), Wake Forest, Boston College, Duke, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Virginia. The majority of these games should fall in favor of Frank Beamer and his Virginia Tech Hokies. The primary threats of their remaining schedule will be against the new and improved Clemson Tigers and the reborn Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

The Virginia Tech Hokies have already played all of their non-conference games for the season, and Clemson will be their first real test of the season, and Clemson will them plenty to handle.

Michigan

With the explosive athletic ability of quarterback Denard Robinson carrying the Michigan offense, the Wolverines may soon be back to Big Ten prominence, especially if they can make more strides in their defensive play.

Looking at their remaining schedule, the Wolverines have to play Minnesota, Northwestern, Michigan State, Purdue, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Ohio State. As long as Robinson stays healthy, Michigan will always have the offensive capability and capacity to stay in any game they play. The biggest question with Michigan will be their defense, and how they will hold up against the likes of Michigan State and Nebraska, who both also boast high powered, athletic offenses.