BCS Standings 2011: How Will Strength of Schedule Impact Top 25?

Week 7 of the 2011 college football season is in the books. Before Week 8 kicks off next week, teams will have a chance to peruse the standings that really matter: the BCS standings.

The standings are calculated based upon the Harris poll, the coaches poll, and the scores on four other computer-based ranking systems.

Strength of schedule may not be factored in directly. However, fans love to dissect the schedule of any team threatening to pass their team in the BCS rankings.

Some teams in the BCS face a challenge week in and week out. Others seem to coast by all season without facing any real competition.

When the season is over, the teams running the gauntlet will have much more respect in the eyes of college football observers. 

LSU has played Oregon and West Virginia in their non-conference schedule. That is on top of the rugged SEC schedule the Tigers must play. Scheduling quality non-conference opponents on top of an already-difficult schedule adds to the Tigers' dominance this season.

The opposite end of that spectrum leads to Boise State. Same story, different season for the Broncos.

Georgia fell victim to Boise's high-powered offense in Week 1. After their comfortable victory against the Bulldogs, the Broncos fell right back into playing their traditionally weak schedule.

The lack of competition played by teams such as Boise State, TCU and Utah has hurt them in recent years. Fans do not respect it, and the polls will eventually penalize these teams by allowing other teams to jump them in the rankings. 

This happens every season, and it will happen to Boise State again this season.

Strength of schedule is certainly not the only factor worth looking at. However, with the rise of underdogs like Boise State, college football gurus analyze strength of schedule heavily.

Playing above average teams every week certainly will help a team in the polls come season's end.

If multiple teams finish the season undefeated it will cause chaos in the BCS standings. It will also validate the importance of schedule strength depending on whom the computers project into the title game.

In that situation, teams like Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma get the nod over Boise State any day of the week.

Strength of schedule can be thanked for that.