BCS Rankings Projections 2011: Will LSU, Alabama or Oklahoma Be No. 1?

With the first official BCS rankings set to be released, there's but one question on the minds of college football fans everywhere—who's No. 1? LSU, perhaps? How about Alabama, or Oklahoma?

Okay, so maybe some folks are wondering who's going to be No. 2, since whichever team ends the regular season in that spot will earn a trip to New Orleans for the BCS National Championship Game.

But that's a ways off, and—well, how many people really care about runners-up right now?

At this point, LSU would seem to have a bead on the top spot in the BCS polls. The Tigers' 41-11 win over No. 17 Florida in Baton Rouge was their fourth over a ranked opponent this season and their first such victory at home.

They opened the season with a neutral-site win against then-No. 3 Oregon at Cowboys Stadium and, after destroying Northwestern State at Tiger Stadium, posted back-to-back road wins at No. 25 Mississippi State and No. 16 West Virginia.

Most importantly, today's win for the Tigers was their most dominant over a Top 25 team to date. Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson were terrific in tandem through the air, as were Spencer Ware and Alfred Blue on the ground.

However, the real story for LSU—as it's been all season—was defense, with corner Tyrann Mathieu leading the way. Granted, the Gators offense was limited, with its top two quarterbacks out on account of injury, though Will Muschamp's bunch still sports plenty of talent on that side of the ball.

Not that you'd know it by looking at the box score, as Florida managed only 213 total yards on the evening.

And not that such a performance does anything to guarantee that the Bayou Bengals will be sitting pretty on Sunday. They've got some strong competition for that spot with which to concern themselves.

They need only look within their own division, the SEC West, to find their nearest competitor.

Alabama's resume ain't too shabby, either, with three wins over ranked opponents (two on the road) and the stingiest defense in all of college football, at least as far as scoring is concerned. Like the Tigers, the Crimson Tide have seen their offense improve week by week, buoyed by the emergence of AJ McCarron and the steady scampering of running back Trent Richardson.

Richardson will have an excellent opportunity to boost his Heisman Trophy resume, and the Tide their case for the BCS title game, when LSU travels to Tuscaloosa on November 5th.

Speaking of Heisman hopefuls, Oklahoma has two in its midst, between quarterback Landry Jones and wide receiver Ryan Broyles—both of whom have played integral roles in leading the Sooners to a fantastic 5-0 start.

OU's 10-point home win over Missouri is somewhat disconcerting, especially with the Tigers' latest loss at Kansas State.

That being said, the Sooners seized the opportunity to strut their stuff against arch-rival Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry game on Saturday. With all the talk about Oklahoma's offense, it was the defense that took over at the Cotton Bowl, scoring three touchdowns of its own while limiting the Longhorns to 17 points and 259 total yards (36 rushing).

If all goes according to plan, it won't matter who's No. 1.

One of the two SEC powers, between LSU and 'Bama, will drop after the first Saturday in November, leaving the other to tango with the Sooners, assuming there's no funny stuff that befalls either team before then.

Otherwise, you can bet Wisconsin, Stanford, Boise State and/or Clemson wouldn't mind sneaking in for a shot at the crystal football.

But that can all wait until December. For now, look for the Tigers to reign supreme in the hearts and minds of pollsters and computers alike.