BCS Rankings 2011: Breaking Down the Oklahoma Sooners

Let the games begin!

The initial BCS rankings were released Sunday night, signaling the beginning of the race for the top two spots. There have been a slew of different polls and rankings leading up to this, but the BCS is the only poll that really matters, as it decides who gets invited to the All-State BCS Championship Game.

The initial position in the BCS is very important because it is difficult to jump over another unbeaten team in the non-human eyes of the BCS formula.

Now that the first poll is out, how did Bob Stoops and his Oklahoma Sooners fare?

How They Got Here

It has been an interesting road for the Sooners through the first half of the season. They began the year as nearly unanimous favorites, topping every major poll by a considerable margin. Most polls have supplanted them with Alabama or LSU, a testament to the dominant performances from the two SEC schools.

Their unbeaten run through their first six opponents has been a mixed bag, to say the least. A gutsy road win against then-No.5 Florida State was bookended by poor defensive showings against Tulsa and Missouri, allowing a combined 932 total yards between the two opponents at home in Norman.

The defense got things together in a big way against archrivals Texas, outscoring the Longhorns with three defensive touchdowns in the annual Red River Rivalry while forcing more than 100 yards in negative yardage.

Last week, it was the offense that struggled against a Kansas team that allowed 70 points in its previous game. The Sooners had three turnovers and continued their woes in the red zone, being forced to kick three field goals from extra-point range. Luckily, they scored enough late in the game to make the box score look respectable.

Best Win

The Sooners have two wins to hang their hat on: a 23-13 dogfight against Florida State in Tallahassee in Week 3 and a 55-17 beatdown over Texas two weeks ago.

Those wins have taken hits, however. Florida State has tumbled through the polls with consecutive losses against Clemson and (ouch) Wake Forest. Texas got exposed for the second week in a row by Oklahoma State and dropped quite a bit themselves.

The computers have favored Oklahoma in the past because of their routinely difficult non-conference schedule. Even though FSU and Texas have slipped, they are still quality wins, especially compared to the cupcake schedules of some of the surrounding teams.

BCS Ranking

As expected, the BCS system has the Sooners at No. 3 in the poll. They key, however, is how close the numbers are of the surrounding teams.

LSU and Alabama are neck and neck at the top two spots, with LSU (.9522) barely leading Alabama (.9519). The margin of .0003 is one of the closest I have ever seen.

Oklahoma comes in a bit behind them with a .9301. Luckily, the SEC giants play each other in November.

In-state rival Oklahoma State, a relative newcomer to the BCS Top 10, comes in fourth with a .8568. This a considerable margin to overcome, but a win in the ensuing Bedlam game the last week of the season would be enough to get the Sooners into the BCS title game, providing they come into the game unbeaten.

Oklahoma is in a great spot at No. 3. It is right behind LSU and Alabama and are comfortably ahead of Oklahoma State.

Remaining Schedule

The rest of Oklahoma's schedule is going to be tough to maneuver through, facing three teams ranked in the BCS Top 25.

The gauntlet includes Oklahoma State (4), Kansas State (11) and Texas A&M (17).

The other three teams (Texas Tech, Baylor, Iowa State) aren't guaranteed wins, either. Tech always plays OU close, Baylor's Robert Griffin III can take a game over at any time, and Iowa State would love to add Oklahoma to its impressive list of upsets under coach Paul Rhodes.

This is arguably the toughest remaining schedule in the country, so if Oklahoma were to come through untouched they would undoubtedly be selected to play in the BCS title game.

Bowl Projection

The Sooners began the year with high expectations and they have only grown to this point. They "control their own destiny," as they like to say, and only need to win out if they want a shot to claim their eighth national championship.

An unbeaten record will no doubt have them in the championship game, especially because the two teams above them play each other and a perfect record would mean beating the team behind them at No. 4, Oklahoma State.

If they were to lose a game, it would most likely be to Oklahoma State. If this were the case, the Sooners would probably be invited to the Fiesta Bowl where they would play an at-large team. An OU-Boise State rematch would be eminent if the Sooners were to end up here. Oregon would be another possible match up.

Bob Stoops will have his hands full with a tough schedule and monumental expectations.