BCS Rankings 2011: Predicting the Biggest Upsets of Week 8

We got our first look at the official BCS rankings on Sunday night, and, to be honest, there really weren’t too many shockers or surprises.

The top three teams—LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma—took the first three spots, as expected. After that, the rankings pretty much looked exactly how they should at this point in the season.

Now, as we move into the thick of conference play, there are sure to be upsets that will shake up the standings on a weekly basis.

Here’s a look at three potential upsets that could alter next week’s BCS standings.

Missouri over No. 4 Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State’s offense had a bit of a down performance at Texas last Saturday, but the Cowboys still rank second in the county in both total offense and scoring offense, averaging 49 points and 551 yards per game.

The only problem is that their defense has been soft so far, ranking 100th in the country in total defense. Their weaknesses could be exposed by dual-threat quarterback James Franklin and Missouri this weekend.

The Tigers have the type of ground game, led by Franklin and running back Henry Josey, that can really hammer away at a defense, and they should have the ability to move the ball effectively and keep it out of the hands of Oklahoma State’s high-powered offense.

Missouri may only be 3-3 on the season, but the Tigers had three tough losses on the road to quality teams—Oklahoma, Kansas State and Arizona State.

This is the type of talented and experienced group that is primed to pull a big upset at some point this season and this may be just the perfect spot to do it.

Northwestern over No. 21 Penn State

Northwestern has dropped four straight games to fall to 2-4 on the season and the Wildcats are now in desperation mode.

This is a team that could really use a momentum-swinging, season-saving type of win, and they’ll have the perfect opportunity to get their season back on track when Penn State comes to town this Saturday.

The Nittany Lions are 6-1 on the season, but it’s a soft 6-1, seeing as they don’t have a win over any ranked opponents.

On paper, Northwestern’s defense was just flat out bad in the first half of the year, but the Wildcats have more talent on that side of the ball than they’ve shown.

They’ve also got an offense, led by savvy senior quarterback Dan Persa, that can really put pressure on a defense and cause breakdowns.

Penn State has handily won the last three meetings between these two, but don't be surprised to see this one come down to a last-second field goal.

Miami over No. 22 Georgia Tech

Virginia became the first team all season that managed to slow down Georgia Tech’s dangerous triple-option offensive attack, holding the Yellow Jackets to just 296 yards in last week’s 24-21 win.

The Cavaliers gave Miami the perfect blueprint on how to beat Paul Johnson’s team.

Now, we have to see if Miami’s run defense—which admittedly has not been good at the beginning of the year—is up to the task of playing disciplined football and slowing down the Yellow Jackets’ powerful ground game.

Miami has a quality running game of its own, led by one of the nation’s top backs, Lamar Miller, and it will be interesting to see if the Hurricanes can catch Georgia Tech off its game for a second straight week.