BCS Rankings 2011: The Weakest Link in Every BCS Top 25 Team

The phrase “You’re only as strong as you’re weakest link” has been overused by every football coach, motivational speaker and half-witted boss out there, but no mater how cliche it might sound, there is some semblance of truth to it.

In college football, if you can find that one thing you can do well, whether it be running the football, creating big plays or playing stout defense, you can definitely find success, but if you have a major, glaring weakness, you’ll only be able to get so far before you’re deficiency eats you up.

There’s no such thing as a perfect football team, and there are always weaknesses to be found on any team, no matter how great the media wants to make them look.

So with that in mind, let’s expose the biggest weakness of every Top 25 team in the BCS standings.

1. LSU Tigers: The Passing Game

So far, the two-quarterback system of Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson has been sufficient, but it hasn’t been overly spectacular.

The Tigers rank 99th in the country in passing offense, averaging just 183 yards through the air per game.

It hasn’t been a problem yet, but eventually LSU will find itself in a game where it needs to rely on the pass to get the job done, and we haven’t seen if Lee and Jefferson can step up and lead the Tigers to victories with their arms yet.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide: Inexperience at Quarterback

Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron has gone from question mark to offensive leader in the span of eight games, and he’s notched wins in tough environments at Penn State and Florida and led the Tide to an undefeated 8-0 record and a No. 2 ranking in the BCS standings.

Still, we have to see if McCarron can sustain his success throughout a full season and if he can handle big late-game pressure moments.

We’ll get a great opportunity to see what he’s made of when the tenacious LSU defense comes to town on Nov. 5.

3. Oklahoma State Cowboys: The Defense

Oklahoma State’s offense is one of the most explosive in the country, ranking second in scoring offense and third in total offense, averaging 48 points and 548 yards per game, but the defense is still a concern for the Cowboys.

The defensive numbers look a little worse than they really are because opponents run so many plays against them, but still, it’s hard to give up 5.4 yards per play and win a national championship.

There will most likely come a game when Oklahoma State’s offense struggles and the defense has to carry the team to victory, and we’ll have to see if the unit can actually make a big stop when needed.

4. Boise State Broncos: Weak Schedule

Boise State’s victory over Georgia is starting to look a little better now that the Bulldogs have rallied and won five straight games and found their way back into the polls, but there’s still no hiding the fact that their schedule is not the type of slate that screams national championship worthy.

The Broncos have a great chance to roll to an undefeated season this year, but the problem is, it’s going to be hard to get folks to care.

5. Clemson Tigers: New to the Spotlight

After last week’s huge blowout win over North Carolina, Clemson is now 8-0 and has turned from preseason unranked afterthought into top-five title contender.

Still, we’re going to have to see how the Tigers handle this kind of spotlight.

QB Tajh Boyd, RB Andre Ellington and WR Sammy Watkins are a great offensive trio, but remember, they’re all still young, and you have to wonder if this team’s lack of senior leadership will end up costing them in the end.

6. Stanford Cardinal: Rookie Head Coach

Stanford is the only team in the country that ranks in the Top Five in both scoring offense and scoring defense, and the balance that the Cardinal have shown so far this season has been fascinating to watch.

When you look at the type of weak competition they’ve faced so far, though, it’s easy to come away a little less impressed.

Stanford still has to prove it can handle the big moments against the likes of USC, Oregon and Notre Dame, and first-year head coach David Shaw has to show that he can lead and motivate his team in the same fashion that Jim Harbaugh did last season.

7. Oregon Ducks: Injuries

When you go to break down the Oregon Ducks, you quickly realize that this team possesses no real noticeable flaws.

They’re solid in almost every phase of the game, and they know what they do best, and they use it to their advantage.

The only thing that could possibly slow down this team is injuries, even though the Ducks have managed to keep on flying without star running back LaMichael James, who went down with an elbow injury three weeks ago.

We still don’t know when James will return, but hopefully he can make it back before the critical matchup with Stanford on Nov. 12, because that’s the game Oregon will really need him for.

8. Kansas State Wildcats: Lack of Offensive Playmakers

Kansas State has been one of the surprise stories of the 2011 season.

No one would have expected the Wildcats to be 7-0 at this point in the season, but here they are undefeated and ranked in the Top 10 of the BCS standings.

Since they only have three notable wins over Texas Tech, Baylor and Miami on their resume, though, it’s still difficult to tell if this team is a legitimate contender or not.

Kansas State has been stout on defense, but the Wildcats lack a lot of explosive playmakers on the offensive side of the ball and that weakness could get exposed during this upcoming brutal four-game stretch that includes Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas.

9. Oklahoma Sooners: Allergic to Pressure

Big Game Bob’s Sooners pulled another fast one on all of us.

Just when we were ready to think that this team was going to contend for a national championship, Oklahoma went out and mailed in a no-show performance in an embarrassing loss to Texas Tech last weekend.

Oklahoma may be one of the most talented teams in the country, but it’s obvious that they just don’t have the heart of a champion.

10. Arkansas Razorbacks: Lack of a Rushing Attack

The loss of star running back Knile Davis back in August hasn’t truly hurt Arkansas just yet, as the Razorbacks have manged to go 6-1 without him, but their lack of a rushing attack is concerning.

The Razorbacks rank 10th in the SEC in rushing offense, averaging just 140 yards per game on the ground, and they’re going to need more out of Dennis Johnson and Ronnie Wingo Jr. over the next few weeks.

Luckily, Arkansas has a powerful passing attack that can mask their lack of a ground game, but if they want to survive their November schedule, they’re going to need to find a way to grind it out between the tackles.

11. Michigan State Spartans: Peaking Too Soon

Michigan State has had two very emotional wins over Michigan and Wisconsin in the last two weeks, and they’ve surely been celebrating a lot up there in East Lansing, but you have to wonder if the Spartans can sustain this momentum for the rest of the season.

This is a talented and balanced squad, but if they want to win the Legends Division, they’ve got to put the past behind them and prepare for a tough final stretch that includes visits to Nebraska, Iowa and Northwestern.

12. Virginia Tech Hokies: Still Not Proven

I’ve asked this question before, and I think it needs to be asked again.

What has Virginia Tech done to deserve the No. 12 ranking in the BCS standings?

The Hokies have beaten exactly zero ranked teams this season, they have played down to their competition during certain stretches and got embarrassed at home in a humiliating loss to Clemson in their only truly tough test of the season.

Yes, they’ve got a nice offensive nucleus with QB Logan Thomas, RB David Wilson and Co. but their resume isn’t worthy of a Top 15 ranking and this is a team that still has a lot to prove.

13. South Carolina Gamecocks: No Marcus Lattimore

South Carolina is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, but you don’t lose a player the caliber of a star running back like Marcus Lattimore and not feel the effects.

Let’s just say it’s never good when an inconsistent offense loses its bell cow back and the only player that’s bringing it week in and week out.

14. Nebraska Cornhuskers: Shaky Defense

A lot of people, including myself, thought that Nebraska would have a Top 10 defense this year, but for whatever reason, the Cornhuskers haven’t come close to living up to that type of billing.

Now, without Jared Crick clogging up the middle, it’s going to be tough for Nebraska to really assert its dominance on defense.

The question is, can the Cornhuskers make it to Indianapolis with the Big Ten’s eighth best defense?

15. Wisconsin Badgers: Homesickness

What a surprise, Wisconsin lost a big game on the road. It’s not like we’ve seen that before, right?

Oh wait, maybe that 11-9 record the Badgers had on the road the past four seasons should have clued us in.

Yes they got beat on a freak play, but maybe that will teach the Madison boys to stop scheduling such soft early slates, so they'll be a little more prepared for a tough road environment.

16. Texas A&M Aggies: The Secondary

Texas A&M’s secondary is apparently trying to redefine the word awful this season, as the Aggies rank dead last in the country in pass defense, giving up an average of 335 yards through the air per game.

To be fair, they’ve given up some insane yardage to some of college football’s best quarterbacks, Tyler Wilson (510 yards), Brandon Weeden (438 yards) and Robert Griffin III (430 yards), but the fact is, if this A&M team wants to compete for a Big 12 title this year, they better find some more reinforcements on the back end of the defense.

17. Houston Cougars: Inferior Competition

Houston has been putting up some obscene offensive numbers this season. The Cougars rank first in the country in both scoring offense and total offense, averaging 606 yards and 49 points per game.

They’ve been doing it against some pretty bad defenses, though.

The Cougars have already faced four of the worst defenses in the country: UTEP (91st), UCLA (105th), North Texas (108th), Rice (115th), and they’ve still got two more left on their schedule: Tulsa (102nd) and UAB (117th).

I'm sorry, but it’s hard to get excited about blowout victories over the likes of Georgia State and North Texas.

18. Michigan Wolverines: Interceptions

Denard Robinson has been trying to develop his passing skills in Al Borges’ offense, but as expected, there have been some growing pains along the way, including 10 interceptions in just seven games.

Now that Michigan’s schedule is about to toughen up, Robinson can’t afford to just be tossing the ball to defensive backs so frequently.

If he keeps it up, the Wolverines are going to pay the price.

19. Penn State Nittany Lions: Mediocre Offense

Penn Sate has one of the top defenses in the country, but its offense certainly leaves something to be desired.

The Nittany Lions are only averaging 374 yards of offensive output per game, and outside of RB Silas Redd and WR Derek Moye, there really isn’t a lot that scares you about this offense.

You can survive with that type of offensive production against teams like Indiana State, Eastern Michigan and Indiana, but with opponents like Illinois, Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin coming up, Penn State’s offense will need to step it up.

20. Texas Tech Red Raiders: No Running Backs

The season-ending injury to Eric Stephens certainly didn’t help Texas Tech’s mediocre rushing attack.

The Red Raiders have a highly productive passing game, but with Stephens out, they simply don’t have the horses in the backfield to establish a consistent ground attack .

21. Arizona State Sun Devils: Discipline

Arizona State is averaging almost eight penalties per game, and those are the type of self-inflicted wounds that will catch up to a team eventually.

If the Sun Devils want to win the Pac-12 South division, they have to cut down on the dumb mistakes and personal fouls.

Vontaze, they have sidelines and whistles for a reason.

22. Georgia Bulldogs: Pressure

It might be Atlanta or bust for Georgia this year, considering the fans and the media have an increasingly short leash for Georgia coach Mark Richt.

I myself think Richt’s “Hot Seat” status is unwarranted, however, it doesn’t seem like a good deal of Bulldogs fans agree with me.

Will Richt’s team step up for their coach or will they fold under the pressure from the fan base?

23. Auburn Tigers: Quarterback Play

Where’s Cam Newton when you need him?

I love what Michael Dyer brings to the table, but honestly, I’d rather watch soccer than watch the Auburn offense this year.

The Tigers are averaging a hefty 163 passing yards per game this season.

Can you say War Feeble?

24. Texas Longhorns: Inexperienced Backfield

With a freshman quarterback-running back tandem leading the way on offense, Texas is going to have to rely on its defense to win ball games this season, just like the Longhorns had to do last year.

Judging from their 5-7 campaign in 2010, that’s not the greatest formula for success.

25. West Virginia Mountaineers: Offensive Line

As a West Virginia fan, I could only make it through two-and-half quarters of that Syracuse game before I had to reach for the remote.

The Mountaineers’ front five got ambushed by the Orange two years in a row and that’s inexcusable.

They better figure out how to correct that problem soon, or Geno Smith is going to be in a world of hurt.