BCS Rankings 2011: 5 Teams with Most to Lose in Week 8

With the release of the 2011 edition of the opening BCS polls, all eyes are on college football.

At first glance, all things seem normal. LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma hold the top three spots, as expected.

After sifting through the rankings and numbers, it's only natural that we take a glance at Week 8's schedule and see what the inaugural top 25 has in store for us.

In a week that is short on its' share of marquee matchups, there are a few teams whose game means more than just another W.

Here are the five teams with the most to lose in Week 8.

No. 22 Georgia Tech

The nation's most efficient offense was flying high until they rolled into Virginia on Saturday and suffered their first loss of the season.

Now, with one loss, they have an even tougher game against Miami (FL) this weekend.

Georgia Tech can run the football on any team in the country, but that's also their Achilles heel. They're arguably the most one-dimensional team in college football.

The Yellow Jackets 100 percent need a victory on Saturday to keep their ACC championship, and ultimately BCS hopes alive.

A loss to Miami would certainly kill any of those dreams—especially with Clemson and Virginia Tech up next on the schedule.

No. 6 Wisconsin

It's clear that the computers aren't really big fans of the Wisconsin Badgers, slotting them at six in the BCS polls.

That said, it's understandable why they did—their best non-conference opponent was Oregon State.

This week's game against Michigan State is going to be crucial because if lost, the Badgers can fully kiss their National Championship chances goodbye.

It's going to be a tough game, Michigan State's defense is stout and ESPN's College GameDay is on location in East Lansing.

However, Russell Wilson has this team rolling on offense and the defense is as good as any, so an upset would surprise me.

No. 4 Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State is a football team that's as good as any in the country...on offense.

Defensively, they're pedestrian at best—having given up 25 or more points in all but one game this season.

They're a dangerous football team, don't get me wrong, but they absolutely cannot overlook the Missouri Tigers this weekend.

Missouri's hungry and looking for a marquee win on the schedule. This could be it.

If the Cowboys were to lose, their National Championship hopes would go down the drain, as well as taking a serious backseat to Oklahoma in the Big 12 standings.

No. 21 Penn State

At least to me, Penn State is the biggest surprise of the teams to receive 25 of the coveted BCS spots. They've clearly benefited from computers not having eyes.

Nonetheless, they're ranked, so now I get to talk about how with one loss we could see this team implode.

This week, at Northwestern, could be their easiest game remaining on their schedule and I don't think they'll win it. Their remaining schedule consists of Illinois, Nebraska, Ohio State and a close out game against Wisconsin.

If Penn State loses to Northwestern, they're going to be another classic example of why so many people can't stand BCS computer rankings.

No. 1 LSU Tigers

Well, isn't this obvious. The Tigers clearly have the most to lose in Week 8 if they were to lose.

Not only would they find themselves in the middle of the pack in the SEC West, they would lose the biggest thing of all: the No. 1 spot.

Arguably the most important point to highlight is that if LSU were to go down, that would seemingly make their game against Alabama a must-win.

Auburn is going to be a tough game, there is no doubt about it but LSU's defense is real, real good. I don't see them losing but if they do, it would certainly shake up the BCS in a big way.