BCS Rankings 2011: Predicting the Final Records of the Top 10 Teams

The first BCS rankings have been released and few surprises were found among the nation’s elite. The BCS release begins the race to the title, and the heat really begins to turn up on the top teams. The focus is hard to keep week to week as the big picture becomes glaringly apparent.

Keeping poise down the stretch is what makes good teams great and separates the BCS duds and studs. Few make it the entire season unscathed, and there have been seasons where no teams finished undefeated.

This year there are numerous scenarios that eliminate the top undefeated teams but in the end, two of the top four are likely to be left standing. Here is a look at the current Top 10 and what the likely finish to their seasons will be. 

No. 10 Oregon Ducks

The Ducks slide into the No. 10 spot after an early season loss to LSU. The Ducks recently lost LaMichael James to injury but will look to have him back in the lineup very soon. Rumors have it possibly occurring as early as this week.

With or without James, the offense has been potent. The Ducks have too many weapons not to be able to crank out the yards and put up points. The Ducks play well enough on offense that their mediocre defense is good enough to earn wins.

The remaining schedule has three away and three home games. The Ducks have a tough stretch in November as they travel to No. 25 Washington, to No. 8 Stanford and come home to face USC.

The Ducks are likely to run the gauntlet well, but this won’t be their season to be a one-loss contender. They will lose one of those three games in the stretch and finish with a 10-2 regular season record.

No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks

Arkansas has a very nice layup for the remainder of the schedule until their final contest against No. 1 LSU. The Razorbacks travel to Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, but their toughest contest will be at home against No. 14 South Carolina.

The Razorbacks have been explosive on offense this season. They have earned yards and made big plays happen when they needed to. Their offense will challenge any defense they face in the future very formidably.

The Razorbacks are likely to lose only to No. 1 LSU to finish the season putting them at the 10-2 overall record mark. That is a high achievement for a season that was loaded with talent in the SEC Western division. 

No. 8 Stanford Cardinal

Stanford finishes the last half of the season facing only two more ranked opponents. They play host to No. 25 Washington this week and they host No. 10 Oregon on Nov. 12. Both games will be big for the Cardinal as the drive to the title depends on being undefeated.

The Cardinal has great leadership from quarterback Andrew Luck and has looked very good defensively as being fifth overall in the nation with points against. Despite losing starters from a year ago, the Cardinal shows up ready to play.

Look for Stanford to likely have a great shot at winning out the remainder of the season, but something tells me that one of the games finishes on the wire and not in the Cardinal favor.

No. 7 Clemson Tigers

Clemson has found itself among the discussion of the nation’s elite as of late. Clemson has been a consistent winner in the ACC lately but has never garnered this type of respect in the BCS outlook.

Clemson faces one of the easiest roads of any undefeated going forward. With only games against No. 22 Georgia Tech and No. 14 South Carolina looking tough down the road, the Tigers have a good shot at staying in the mix heading into championship week.

Clemson does have to travel to Tech and Carolina but those games still look very winnable. Clemson always seems to find a way to play itself out of good situation, and the likelihood is that they stumble on the road in one of these games.

Look for the Yellow Jackets to be the likely culprit to ruin the season for Clemson fans in two weeks. The Tigers will finish 11-1 on the season heading into the ACC championship game. 

No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin has played one of the easiest schedules among the Top 10 this season. They have won handily in every contest and really took the Cornhuskers from Nebraska to the woodshed, but overall their competition has been weaker than most.

Trying to vie for position against teams that play multiple teams in the Top 15 is a hard argument. Even with the new addition of the Big 10 championship, the Badgers will still face a tough uphill climb if the remaining undefeated teams can last above them.

Looking ahead at the finish, the most difficult road tests will be at No. 16 Michigan State this week and at No. 23 Illinois near the close of the season. Finishing undefeated is not outside the realm of possibility and is actually very likely. Look for Wisconsin to finish 12-0 in the regular season.

No. 5 Boise State Broncos

Boise State finds its way into the Top 5 virtually every year. The Broncos are a part of the national title talk again this season and have an extremely easy stretch of road to remain undefeated.

The Broncos did win a big marquee matchup to start the season against Georgia but have played a very weak schedule since. With no other ranked teams remaining on the schedule, the argument is difficult to make for the Broncos over any other BCS conference winner.

The Broncos will likely finish this season undefeated barring any major upset. A 12-0 run for the Broncos has become standard in the past few seasons.

No. 4 Oklahoma State Cowboys

The Cowboys play a pretty tough stretch of football through November and into December. Finishing the season at Oklahoma is tough enough, but the rise of Kansas State this season makes the Nov. 5 game that much more interesting.

The Cowboys still have to face Missouri this week on the road and they play host to a very explosive Baylor team, but the only true worry has to be Oklahoma. The Cowboys are going to have to have an added focus to survive this next month. Being on top is never easy.

Despite the obvious offensive talent that the Cowboys possess, it would seem impossible for their defense to hold off some of the coming competition. At the end of the day, I think that Kansas State and Oklahoma get the better of the Cowboys. The Cowboys finish 10-2 on the season.

No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma began the season on top of every major college football poll. As the season progressed, the Sooners continued to win, but Alabama and LSU have simply looked unbeatable. The good news for the Sooners is that no other team on their schedule has looked that way.

The Sooners have a tough finish to the month of October as the travel to No. 11 Kansas State and then host No. 17 Texas A&M. Despite those two games, the final test is an away game to Oklahoma State.

The Sooners have some tough games ahead, but they are likely to come out on top in all of them. The most difficult test is the road game to finish the season at Oklahoma State, but even there the Sooners are likely to succeed in a shootout. The Sooners finish the season 12-0 and likely attend the BCS title game. 

No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama has a tough road to travel to remain undefeated this season as the first week of November opens up against No. 1 LSU. The Tide does host the Tigers, so that will ease the balance of the contest into their favor.

The Tide also travels to No. 20 Auburn to finish the season, but that contest is likely to end in Alabama’s favor. The Tide has faced the majority of the tough challenges so far, but a road game to Mississippi State after LSU will be one to watch.

Look for Alabama to come out on top versus LSU and likely win the road contests to Mississippi State and Auburn. Alabama is on the road to remaining undefeated and is likely to finish the regular season at 12-0.

No. 1 LSU Tigers

LSU plays three Top 20 teams to round out the season. The Tigers play host to the No. 20 Auburn Tigers this weekend, then they travel to No. 2 Alabama Nov. 5. The Tigers also face No. 9 Arkansas to finish the season.

LSU has the most difficult road to the undefeated ranks left in the Top 10. They have three tough contests that await, and that could change the fate of the season dramatically. LSU is one of the most talented teams in the country but talent won’t help them finish out undefeated.

The Tigers have too many tough games ahead to assume that they will finish out undefeated. The Tigers are likely to play in close games but only lose to Alabama. Look for LSU to finish 11-1 on the season.