BCS Rankings 2011: 5 Teams That Can Afford to Lose a Game and Still Shine

With the first set of BCS rankings out, teams now know where they stand in terms of getting into a BCS bowl game and the national championship.

There are currently 10 teams with a perfect record, so many people assume that if any of them lose a game, their season is over.

While a trip to the BCS title game is likely done, don’t think for a second that the following teams will have a bad season just because they lose one more game.

Wisconsin

Considering how poorly Michigan and Michigan State played on Saturday, Wisconsin should be the heavy favorites in the Big Ten.

But even if the Badgers were to be upset, it wouldn’t matter too much in terms of the Rose Bowl. Everyone in the Leaders Division already has a conference loss except for Penn State, and they barely beat Purdue last week.

Take care of business against the teams they should beat and an upset shouldn’t take them out of the running for a Big Ten championship.

Alabama

Alabama takes on LSU on Nov. 5 in Tuscaloosa in one of the most highly anticipated games of the season. Alabama already beat Arkansas while LSU still has to play the Razorbacks, which is why the Tigers don’t make the list.

Nick Saban and company are essentially a lock for at least the Sugar Bowl as long as they don’t lose more than one game.

Oklahoma State

The Cowboys take on rival Oklahoma in the second most anticipated game of the season, and the third and fourth best teams in the BCS could be playing for a national championship berth.

But Oklahoma State is in a better position because they already played Texas A&M, which is the only team with one conference loss. The Cowboys can afford a loss in any game as long as they beat Oklahoma and can still get into the Sugar Bowl.

That would be a huge step for the program.

Clemson

This is an entirely different Tigers team than from previous years. The team is winning the tough games instead of choking under the pressure.

But should they choke in a game, it would not be the end of the world.

A national championship would be out of the picture but the Orange Bowl would still be within reach. Everyone in the ACC Atlantic Division has at least one conference loss already and Wake Forest is the only team with just one loss.

Two of their opponents are in the Coastal Division so a loss to them wouldn’t count as much and they still have to play South Carolina at the end of the season, which is out of conference.

West Virginia

The Big East looks like the easiest conference to win and West Virginia looks like the heavy favorites. Cincinnati and Rutgers may still be undefeated but they have not been very impressive.

They will likely each have at least two conference losses, so a loss for the Mountaineers would not be enough to knock them out of a BCS bowl.