BCS Standings: Stanford and the Contenders You Won't See in the Title Game

We are just hours away from the the announcing of the BCS Rankings for the second week. However, we pretty much already know who will drop and who will jump up.

There are several teams who are playing as good as any team in the nation right now, but that does not mean they will be playing for the BCS National Championship.

Which five teams ranked in the current top 10 will not be playing in this year's BCS National Championship?

Stanford Cardinal

Stanford may be the most dominant team in the nation at the moment, but they have a few remaining games that will certainly challenge Andrew Luck.

Besides this weekend against the USC Trojans—where College Gameday will be headed—the Oregon Ducks will be flying high into Palo Alto with their recent beatdowns. 

We saw how good the Washington Huskies were against mediocre competition, and yet Keith Price (who at the time led America in passing touchdowns) limped in the game with a much worse ankle than we had imagined. It led to many overthrown passes and a pick six, but it is time to give this team some credit.

Andrew Luck has the best offensive line in football (LSU also), and Stepfan Taylor and crew are coming off 446 yards on the ground.

Can anybody stop this offense?

No, but the Ducks can outscore them and ruin their title aspirations with a bevy of different runners of their own. If Darron Thomas and LaMichael James are near 100 percent, this could be the most explosive game we see all season.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

The Pokes have a stellar offense of their own, though they will need a few backups to fill in admirably. Former starting wide receiver Hubert Anyiam broke his left foot and will be out for the rest of the season.

Justin Blackmon was dinged up with a concussion, but he could have returned had the game been in doubt against Missouri.

This rushing attack has been sensational, and it looks as if this offense cannot be stopped. Baylor does not have the defense to slow this attack down. The only tough road trip seems to be Lubbock against the Red Raiders.

However, that final game at home called "Bedlam" against the Sooners will not be easy. In fact, there is a great chance they will be undefeated heading into the game. No disrespect to Gundy's crew, but history is against them. 

The Sooners would love nothing better than to destroy the Pokes' BCS National Championship aspirations, as well as the Big 12 title, in the season finale. While the Cowboys are a lock for the BCS if they are 11-0 heading into the season finale, they would be shell shocked if they lose at home in primetime to their hated rivals, costing them a chance at history.

Clemson Tigers

The Clemson Tigers are amazing right now, with an explosive offense that cannot be stopped. Tajh Boyd is coming off a five touchdown performance and currently is tied with Kellen Moore for the most passing in the nation (24).

Sammy Watkins is the best receiver in the nation and may win the Fred Biletnikoff award, given to the nation's best wide receiver. Dwayne Allen may win the Mackey Award as well.

Six turnovers forced against UNC was huge, but allowing over 300 yards in the air is not exactly great news, even though they led the entire game.

However, there is not anything going bad for the Tigers at the moment other than not cracking the top three-four in the BCS at the moment.

They will be favored to win all of their games, and they actually may blowout every single team they play. However, that does not mean they will playing for all the marbles. Boise State is still ahead of them, and I would assume the Tigers jump them by the end of the year due to playing in the ACC Championship; still, there are way too many teams that can pass them. 

Like who you ask? A second SEC team and perhaps a one loss Big 12 team or Pac-12 team. If Oregon runs the table, will they pass Clemson? Some say no chance, while others think it is a foregone conclusion.

Plus, though most have Clemson going 13-0 (myself included), I may back off due to the fact that Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship has been prone to coming big when it matters the most. 

Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooner make the list because they cans till run the table and finish in the top five if they were to knock off the Cowboys at Bedlam. Plus, they will be fighting for a BCS Bowl berth on top of another Big 12 championship.

Landry Jones and this offense are too talented to struggle like it did in the first half against Texas Tech. There were several dropped passes, and the running game never got going since they were once down 31-7.

Most are banking on the Sooners missing the BCS National Championship on top of perhaps the entire BCS. However, they can still very easily win out going into Bedlam, which almost ensures them as an at-large bid.

The Boomer Sooners were the preseason No. 1 ranked team, so not playing in the BCS National Championship would be considered a bit of a bust of a season, especially if they lose to their rivals, which allows them to play for it all. 

Oregon Ducks

This has quietly been one of the least talked about teams since they lost to LSU in the opener. LSU, of course, just happens to be the best team in the nation, and they may be the only defense who can slow down this potent Ducks offense. 

LaMichael James and Darron Thomas did not even play in their blowout victory in Boulder over the poor Buffaloes. It just goes to show you how talented this Oregon team is. They have a ton of quickness and speed on the perimeter on both offense and defense. 

The Ducks have an excellent shot at running the table, but it still will not likely be good enough, especially if Alabama were to beat LSU. A one loss LSU team who beat what could potentially be a one loss Ducks squad would be a no brainer. 

As talented and explosive as this team is, they would likely need every single team ahead of them to lose once, with LSU losing two games, if they happen to lose to Alabama.