BCS Rankings 2011: 5 Possible Upsets That Could Shake Up the Top 10

Last year, it didn’t take long for the BCS standings to change, as No. 1 Oklahoma fell victim to an upset in its very first game as the top team.

This year, we’ve got eight undefeated teams that are ranked in the Top 10, but that’s going to change in the coming weeks.

The only question is, when will we see the first major shakeup?

So far this season, we’ve seemingly coasted along and everything has basically played out as its supposed to. Now we’re just waiting for that one major upset that could throw a wrench into the rankings.

Will we finally see it this week?

Here’s a look at five possible upsets that would have a dramatic effect on the BCS Top 10.

Auburn over No. 1 LSU

Before yesterday, I was questioning whether or not Auburn would be able to cover the three-touchdown spread at LSU on Saturday, but now, after the suspensions to Tyrann Mathieu and Spencer Ware, the door is at least cracked for Auburn to maybe put a scare into Les Miles’ now-somewhat-depleted squad

On paper, LSU should be the heavy favorite in this one, even with the suspensions, but we’ve been doubting this Auburn team all season long—and yet here the Tigers are at 5-2 and ranked No. 20 in the BCS standings.

Remember, these are the defending national champions, and even though they’ll be throwing new quarterback Clint Moseley into the fire, they’ve still got some dangerous playmakers in running backs Michael Dyer and Onterio McCallebb

I’d give Auburn about a 20 percent chance of pulling off an upset, but I still have to side with the purple and yellow Tigers instead of the orange and blue ones.

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 country 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.

Michigan State over No. 6 Wisconsin

Wisconsin has looked like a juggernaut in the first half of the season, but other than a big win over No. 13 Nebraska, the Badgers’ schedule has been poor (the five other teams they’ve beaten are a combined 11-22), and this is a team that has yet to play a true road game yet.

That will change this weekend when the Madison Machine heads to East Lansing to battle with No. 16 Michigan State.

The Spartans have one of the top defenses in the country and it will be interesting to see what QB Russell Wilson and the rest of the Badgers offense, which currently ranks No. 1 in the country in scoring, can do.

Wisconsin has been notoriously mediocre on the road recently, going 11-9 over the last four seasons, but I think this team is just too powerful to slip up right now.

I'd be truly surprised if Wisconsin fell to Michigan State.

North Carolina over No. 7 Clemson

Everyone seems to be waiting for Clemson to fall apart, and it almost happened last week at Maryland before the Tigers pulled off a wild 56-45 win.

Now Dabo Swinney will take his team back home for a bout with North Carolina on Saturday.

The 5-2 Tar Heels are a talented bunch and their defensive front seven is loaded with future pros, but they’ll be coming into this one fresh off a home loss to Miami last week.

Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd looked shaky in the win over the Terrapins, but Clemson should benefit from the home-field advantage and they’ve got the type of offensive firepower with guys like WR Sammy Watkins, RB Andre Ellington and TE Dwayne Allen to take care of business.

Washington over No. 8 Stanford

Stanford has rolled out to a 6-0 record behind the play of star quarterback Andrew Luck and a strong defense, but it’s still hard to tell just how good the Cardinal really are because they haven’t beaten any tough competition yet.

Now they’ll get their chance when No. 25 Washington comes to town.

The Huskies are led by the dangerous offensive trio of QB Keith Price, RB Chris Polk and WR Jermaine Kearse, and they could pose some serious problems for the Stanford defense.

If Luck plays well, Stanford should be fine, but if the golden boy has some unforeseen struggles, Washington could hang around and make David Shaw sweat a little bit.