BCS Rankings: Penn State and Dark Horses That Have Most to Gain in Week 9

Even though most of the attention and television time is spent analyzing the nation's top BCS teams, there are still several dark horses lurking in the background, looking to crash the party. Here are three of those teams with the most to gain in Week 9.

Georgia Bulldogs

After starting the season with back-to-back losses against ranked teams, Georgia has righted the ship with five straight wins and has joined the BCS rankings at No. 22. It is also tied with South Carolina for the SEC East lead and a chance to play in the conference title game.

The Gamecocks will be without star running back Marcus Lattimore for the rest of the season, which opens the door for the Bulldogs to overcome that early deficit. Georgia will receive its toughest test this weekend since losing to South Carolina when it faces Florida in Jacksonville.

The biggest key for Georgia running the table will be its defense. The unit has had no trouble slowing down inferior offenses like Mississippi State and Ole Miss, but allowed 70 points in its two losses. Stopping the Gators—and, in a couple weeks, Auburn—will be vital to its BCS hopes.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Yes, the Big East still gets an automatic bid into a BCS bowl game. While it probably doesn't deserve one anymore, you can't blame a team like Rutgers for utilizing the avenue to a major bowl. The Scarlet Knights fell to Louisville last week, but a win over West Virginia would put them back on track.

Their defense ranks ninth in points allowed per game and has done an amazing job against the pass. It has intercepted a nation-leading 15 passes and allowed just five touchdown passes, which makes it dangerous to pass-heavy offenses.

If Rutgers can get more production from its running game, it has the potential to be one of the biggest BCS surprises in a long time. Winning out will accomplish exactly that.

Penn State Nittany Lions

For a storied program like Penn State, it's odd it isn't getting a bigger spotlight for leading the Big Ten Leaders Division. Led by a strong defense and a balanced offense, Joe Paterno's squad controls its own destiny.

It won't be easy, though. The Nittany Lions have home games against Illinois and Nebraska before finishing the regular season with trips to Ohio State and Wisconsin. They might be able to survive one loss, but two during that stretch will probably be a BCS death blow.

Silas Redd and the defense will need to be in fine form to emerge from this rough stretch on top of the division. As cliché as it sounds, they just have to take it one game at a time, and beating Illinois is the first step.