BCS Rankings 2011: Bold Predictions for Each of the Top 25 Teams

The day after Christmas may always seem like a bummer, but most kids are still opening their presents and have a ton of time to play with their toys.

The same can be said with the latest BCS rankings, as teams such as Wisconsin and Stanford will have their opportunities down the road to shine bright.

Relax; it is just Week 1 of the BCS and there are still hundreds of games to be played. The BCS has never failed in my eyes, and the best two teams always play each other; plus, the BCS Bowls have been really exciting in recent years.

However, the standings are due to change, and I will be making my bold predictions on which bowls everybody will land in, as well as where they will rise or fall to.

Note: My legit predictions will occur in the bowl prediction, but my bold predictions are far from locks, hence the BOLDNESS.

No. 25 Washington Huskies

The Huskies may have barely made the rankings, but they are a dangerous team. Quarterback Keith Price has throw for three or more touchdowns in every single game this season. Plus, with Stanford on the road and Oregon at home in the next weeks, there will be a few chances for Washington come away with a huge upset. 

Bowl Prediction: Sun Bowl (Pac-12 No.4)

Bold Prediction: UW will upset either Stanford in Palo Alto or will upset Oregon at home

No. 24 Texas Longhorns

The Longhorns have suffered two tough losses in a row to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. While things do not look great offensively or defensively, there are a few games remaining that could turn their season around. In fact, they will be favored in the remainder of their games outside of perhaps the final two road games at Baylor and Texas A&M.

Bowl Prediction: Holiday Bowl

Bold Prediction: Texas will run the table and finish the season in the top 15

No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini

The Fighting Illini were looking at a top 10 ranking, but after suffering a miserable home loss to Ohio State, things may be downhill from here.

Bowl Prediction: Ticket City Bowl

Bold Prediction: Illini will lose three more games

No. 22 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Yellow Jackets were expected to crack the top 10 had they not lost to Virginia. How things quickly change in one week. Now the toughest part of the schedule is here and they come limping in. Uh oh!

Bowl Prediction: Music City Bowl

Bold Prediction: Georgia Tech will finish 7-5 in the regular season

No. 21 Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State has now caught fire, winning five in a row, with Northwestern and Illinois up next. Their bowl game will be determined on how they finsish against Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin. 

Bowl Prediction: Gator Bowl

Bold Prediction: Penn State will play on New Year's despite having the third worst offense in the Big Ten statistically speaking.

No. 20 Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers are catching fire, but they have LSU, Georgia and Alabama still on the schedule. That will spell doom for this club who still has upper echelon bowl game aspirations.

Bowl Prediction: Cotton Bowl

Bold Prediction: Auburn will lose three more games

No. 19 Houston Cougars

I may not believe these Cougars are worthy of this ranking at the moment, but they still have the talent to win every single game. 

Bowl Prediction: Liberty Bowl

Bold Prediction: Houston will go 13-0

No. 18 Michigan Wolverines

The Big Ten conference has been crazy this season, and there may not be any really good teams outside of Wisconsin. Still, somebody in the Big Ten is going to left out of a New Year's Day Bowl. Michigan blew their chance against the Spartans, and it should cost them a chance from playing in the Big Ten Championship.

Bowl Prediction: Insight Bowl

Bold Prediction: Michigan will only lose one more game in the regular season

No. 17 Texas A&M

A&M is starting to catch fire, and if they go into Norman and knock off the Sooners, all hell will break loose. Even if they lose, they should get a great bowl game as the third or fourth best team in the Big12 at the moment.

Bowl Prediction: Cotton Bowl

Bold Prediction: Aggies will upset Kansas State and come close to beating the Sooners

No. 16 Michigan State Spartans

Sparty can shock the landscape of college football with a big upset over the Badgers. The following week, they must go to Lincoln in what will be an amazing game as well.

Bowl Prediction: Outback Bowl

Bold Prediction: Knock off Badgers

No. 15 West Virginia Mountaineers

Geno Smith and his receivers are lighting up the Big East conference, and nobody looks to give upset them perhaps until the Bearcats come calling. 

Bowl Prediction: BCS Orange Bowl

Bold Prediction: Run the table

No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks

At 6-1, I am not sure there is another team with as many issues. Stephen Garcia was dismissed, and now the loss of Marcus Lattimore could cost them a few games and eventually, the SEC East.

Bowl Prediction: Outback Bowl

Bold Prediction: They will ruin Clemson's undefeated season

No. 13 Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Huskers have many more favorable matchups as Michigan State comes to Lincoln. However, a trip to Ann Arbor could decide who wins the Legends Division.

Bowl Prediction: Capital One Bowl

Bold Prediction: Will win out and play in the Big Ten Championship

No. 12 Virginia Tech Hokies

The Hokies had a favorable schedule and blew their BCS chances with a loss to Clemson at home. However, they can still crack the top 10 and challenge for a BCS Bowl if they win out.

If they do play Clemson again in the ACC Championship, a loss would likely knock them out of any realistic chance of being an at-large team in the BCS.

Bowl Prediction: Chick-Fil-A Bowl

Bold Prediction: Will run knock off every team in sight, including Clemson in ACCCG

No. 11 Kansas State Wildcats

The Wildcats are the team of destiny right now, as nobody is giving them a chance. Texas Tech should have beat them, but the same can be said for about three other teams that lost to Bill Snyder's club. The schedule is brutal down the stretch, but it won't come without at least one huge victory.

Bowl Predicton: Alamo Bowl

Bold Prediction: Will ruin Oklahoma's BCS chances with an upset

No. 10 Oregon Ducks

The Ducks are steamrolling the opposition, and a date with Stanford should decide their BCS fates. If Darrron Thomas and LaMichael James come back sooner than later, this is your team beat in the Pac-12.

Bowl Prediction: BCS Rose Bowl

Bold Prediction: Will not lose again, including a Rose Bowl victory.

No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks

Tyler Wilson is playing like an All-American these days, and the schedule is favorable until the season finale at LSU. I look for Arkansas to run the table up until that game, which could be a game between two top five-six teams.

Bowl Prediction: Capital One Bowl (They won't play in Cotton to play A&M again, will they?)

Bold Prediction: Knock off LSU in Baton Rouge

No. 8 Stanford Cardinal

Andrew Luck is simply the best on the planet, but will his defense continue to come away with key stops? Notre Dame, USC, Washington and Oregon are all on the schedule, and one could argue they all have more talent.

Bowl Prediction: Alamo Bowl

Bold Prediction: Will lose at least two more games

No. 7 Clemson Tigers

Clemson is easily the class of the ACC at the moment, but is that saying much? Only Georgia Tech remains on the schedule of being a solid team until they play South Carolina in the season finale. There is a great chance Clemson runs the table and gets left out of the title game.

Bowl Prediction: BCS Orange Bowl

Bold Prediction: Will go undefeated and NOT finish in the top four, let alone play in the BCS National Championship. 

No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers

Russell Wilson will have his chances to make a Heisman push against Michigan State and Ohio State. However, if his Badgers run the table, they would still be left out against the SEC and Big 12 undefeated winners.

Playing a fairly soft schedule has not helped them in the rankings, and the only chance they have is if they smoke the likes of the Buckeyes and Spartans en route to their Big Ten Championship appearance. 

Bowl Prediction: BCS Rose Bowl

Bold Prediction: Badgers lose a game and never touches the top five in the BCS

No. 5 Boise State Broncos

Call me one crazy guy, but I foresee a ton of madness occurring in the month of October and November. Every top five team has demolished their opponents, and that can't possibly continue any longer, can it? The SEC winner is a lock to reach the title, but is the Big 12 winner a lock to reach it if they have one loss? 

I don't buy the fact that the Big Ten or the Pac-12 is going to have an undefeated team. The Sooners always slip up and I love their team, but Kansas State or Oklahoma State will get them. The Cowboys still have the Wildcats on their schedule, as well as Baylor and Missouri this weekend. I see several games on the docket for the favorites to lose since their schedules are heating up. The computers are slowly favoring the Broncos since they have hung 50 every weekend, and remember, they just have to crack No. 2. 

Bowl Prediction: BCS National Championship

Bold Prediction: Boise gives their shot and plays in the National Championship

No. 4 Oklahoma State Cowboys

In case nobody has noticed or said a word yet, the Cowboys are No. 4 in the nation according to the computers. I find it kind of odd how four guys jumped on their bandwagon voting them as the top team, and yet, two others just voted them fourth like the polls did.

If they keep winning, they will never be passed up for Boise State or the Big Ten/Pac-12/ACC winners. Their bedlam with the Sooners essentially will be a play-in game to the BCS National Championship game if they remain unbeaten.

Bowl Prediction: BCS Sugar Bowl

Bold Prediction: Win the BCS National Championship

No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners

Landry Jones has been sensational with all the viable options he has, but it is the defense of the Sooners that has taken charge in their two big games this season against Florida State and Texas. It is too bad those teams are vastly overrated, but the Sooners just beat who is on their schedule. If they can get by Kansas State in a few weeks on the road, they may be destined for greatness.

Bowl Prediction: BCS Fiesta Bowl

Bold Prediction: Blowout the SEC champion in Louisiana for the BCS National Championship

No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide

They are barely behind LSU for the top spot in the BCS, but who cares? People that are arguing right now either have mental issues or just are bored around the water cooler.

Alabama and LSU are neck-and-neck in the polls and they are essentially identical teams. Both defenses are ferocious, and they can beat you up at the line of scrimmage.

The winner of their Nov. 5 game will be a lock to play in the BCS National Championship, assuming they don't choke against the SEC East winner.

Regardless, the LSU-Alabama game might be the most anticipated regular season game we will witness in the current BCS era.

Bowl Prediction: BCS National Championship

Bold Prediction: Will dominate LSU en route to Saban's second BCS ring.

No. 1 LSU Tigers

The Bayou Bengals are looking unbeatable right now, but time will tell on Nov. 5 just how amazing they are. The computers have them behind Alabama, but it simply does not matter until the two actually play. We always talk about the amazing defenses, but the biggest question is, whose quarterback will come up bigger: AJ McCarron or Jarrett Lee?

Bowl Prediction: BCS Sugar Bowl

Bold Prediction: Tigers sneak into the BCS National Championship game despite losing to Alabama