BCS Rankings 2011: Top 25 Teams That Need to Be on Upset Alert

We didn’t have to wait long for some dramatic upsets to shake up the top of the BCS standings.

It only took one week for two Top 10 teams to fall, as both Oklahoma and Wisconsin became the first major casualties of the BCS standings.

With LSU and Alabama both taking a week off before their huge showdown on Nov. 5, we know that the top two teams will stay the same for another week, but after that, nothing is guaranteed.

Here’s a look at 10 Top 25 teams that need to be careful this week.

No. 3 Oklahoma State Cowboys

Even though Baylor is only 4-2, nobody has been able to slow down QB Robert Griffin III this year. The electric dual-threat signal-caller has become the biggest breakout star of the 2011 season.

Griffin has been disgustingly efficient this year, completing 78 percent of his passes for 1,950 yards and hitting 22 touchdown strikes.

He’s got what it takes to go toe-to with QB Brandon Weeden and the high-powered Oklahoma State offensive attack.

The only problem is, the Bears defense has given up 18 passing touchdowns this season, which ranks 117th in the country.

Baylor will need to sure up its pass defense if the Bears want to have a chance against Oklahoma State.

No. 5 Clemson Tigers

This smells like a classic letdown game, and there’s a reason Las Vegas set the spread at four for this one.

Clemson is coming off a huge blowout win over North Carolina last week, and QB Tajh Boyd is riding high after throwing five touchdown passes in the 59-38 romp.

The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, are reeling after losing back-to-back games to Virginia and Miami, which knocked them completely out of the Top 25.

Georgia Tech is now starting to watch its hopes of making it to the ACC championship game slowly slipping away, and Paul Johnson’s crew will be in desperation mode on Saturday.

Clemson has to be fully prepared to slow down the triple-option offense, which always has the chance to be dangerous and explosive.

It will be interesting to see if the defense can step up and shut down the Yellow Jackets, and if Boyd can capture a little of that magic he had last weekend.

No. 6 Stanford Cardinal

We all know that Stanford’s biggest game of the year will be the brawl with Pac-12 North foe Oregon at the end of the year, but the Cardinal will have the opportunity to send out a message to voters when they take on No. 20 USC in Los Angeles this weekend.

After a big win over Notre Dame last Saturday, the Trojans are now 6-1 on the year, and they’re the type of opponent that could really cause Stanford some problems.

This will be the toughest test of the year so far for the Cardinal, and we’ll finally get to find out what this team is really made of as they try to slow down the deadly passing duo of QB Matt Barkley and WR Robert Woods.

Since USC’s secondary has played so poorly this year, Luck and the Stanford passing attack should have a great chance to put up some big numbers on Saturday, but the Cardinal will have to make sure that they contain Woods and Barkley, or else it could turn into a shootout.

No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners

Kansas State may be ranked one spot ahead of Oklahoma, but the Sooners are the ones that are the two-touchdown favorites for the game on Saturday.

It will be interesting to see how Big Game Bob’s team responds after a lackadaisical showing in a home loss to Texas Tech last weekend.

It’s still tough to gauge how good this Kansas State team is, but at the very least, the Wildcats have the type of pieces to be dangerous.

Oklahoma is better on both sides of the ball, but you have to question the attitude and resolve of this team after last week’s dismal showing.

No. 11 Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State has enjoyed quite a two weeks, as the Spartans not only managed to beat their in-state rival Michigan, they also came up with one of the best endings we’ve seen in college football in years to take down previously unbeaten Wisconsin in the best game of the year so far.

The Spartans have to be basking in a lot of emotion right now and really soaking up all the great vibes up there in East Lansing but they have to be careful not to get too caught up in all of the hoopla because they’ve got a tough game to prepare for against Nebraska.

This will only be the third time that Michigan State has headed out on the road this season.

Tthe Spartans didn’t exactly look stellar on their two previous road trips to Notre Dame and Ohio State.

Mark Dantonio’s crew has put themselves in position to be the favorite to win the Big Ten Legends division, but a loss to division foe Nebraska would be a major setback.

The No. 14 Cornhuskers, who are now 6-1, are no joke this year, and they’re definitely not the type of team you take lightly.

Technically Nebraska is a 4-point favorite, but since Michigan State is the higher ranked team, we'll stretch it and call this an upset.

No. 13 South Carolina Gamecocks

Stat to know: South Carolina is 1-14 all-time in Knoxville.

Last week, Tennessee gave Alabama all it could handle, at least for a half anyway, and now the Volunteers will head back home and try to spoil South Carolina’s run at an SEC East title.

South Carolina is still transitioning to the Connor Shaw era, and the Gamecocks will be without their star running back Marcus Lattimore, who was lost for the year with a knee injury.

Steve Spurrier’s ball club may be the more talented team on paper, but we have to see how they handle losing such a key weapon like Lattimore.

No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin had its national title dreams crushed after a devastating loss on a freak final play at Michigan State last Saturday.

The question now becomes, will the Badgers rally or fold in the face of adversity?

We know Wisconsin has had a tendency to be shaky on the road during the Bret Bielema era, and the Badgers proved that to be true once again last weekend.

Now they will head to Columbus to face an Ohio State team that’s had two weeks to prepare for them.

Let's see how QB Russell Wilson and the Badgers respond.

No. 19 Penn Sate Nittany Lions

After back-to-back losses to unranked teams, Illinois has now been put firmly in the pretender category after starting off the year 6-0.

Now we’ll have to see if the Illini can get back on track at Penn State this weekend.

The Nittany Lions have quietly put together a 7-1 record, and they look like they’re going to be in the thick of the Big Ten Leaders race, but they can’t afford any slip-ups.

Illinois has a dangerous playmaker in QB Nathan Scheelhaase, and he could cause some trouble for the Penn State defense.

No. 20 Texas Tech Red Raiders

Tommy Tuberville finally got that one big “pop” win at Texas Tech, but now the Red Raiders have to make sure they don’t blow it by losing to Iowa State at home this weekend.

The win over Oklahoma is the only notable victory Texas Tech has on its resume, and we still don’t know how good this team really is.

Iowa State has lost four straight games, and it’s not likely that the Cyclones are going to turn their season around in Lubbock, but there have been plenty of times when we’ve seen teams get a big win and then come back the next week and look flat.

No. 22 Georgia Bulldogs

This year’s Cocktail Party doesn’t have the same type of buildup as we saw in recent years when Florida and Georgia were competing for BCS bowl games, but it still has implications for the SEC East race.

If Georgia beats the Gators, it will put the Bulldogs in the driver’s seat in the East, but a win won’t come easy.

Florida is only 4-3 on the season, but two of those losses were to LSU and Alabama.

The Gators have one of the best defensive front sevens in the country.

If starting quarterback John Brantley can return to lead the offense, Florida will give Georgia all it can handle.

No. 25 West Virginia Mountaineers

After getting rocked by Syracuse last Friday, West Virginia is barely clinging to a BCS ranking, and now the Mountaineers will have to try to find a rebound win away from home when they visit Rutgers this Saturday.

West Virginia is better than they looked against the Orange, and they have a better overall team than Rutgers, but going on the road for the second week in a row can take its toll on a team, especially after such a bad performance.

Rutgers has the type of offensive talent to hang with West Virginia.

We’ll have to see how much heart the Mountaineers really have.