BCS Rankings 2011: LSU vs. Alabama and the Most Important Games of Week 10

Week 10 brings about the most anticipated regular season game of the college football season as the LSU Tigers travel to Bryant-Denny Stadium to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. It's one of several games with major BCS ranking implications as the regular season winds toward its conclusion.

Here's a quick preview of the three biggest games on next weekend's slate:

No. 1 LSU Tigers at No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide

In what's already being dubbed the “Game of the Century,” the nation's two top teams clash in a de facto national championship elimination game. Since both teams play in the same division, it's highly unlikely the loser will build a strong enough résumé to force a rematch.

The Tigers have already knocked off five ranked teams, including a 35-point rout of Auburn last week. They have built a well-balanced offense that added another weapon with the return of quarterback Jordan Jefferson prior to the off week.

Alabama hasn't faced a team ranked inside the top 10 yet, so the Crimson Tide's overall numbers are a bit bloated. That said, Trent Richardson gives defensive coordinators nightmares and AJ McCarron has limited his mistakes, which is all Nick Saban asks of him.

Bottom line: Both defenses are elite, so this game will be decided by the more efficient offense in the second half.

No. 9 South Carolina Gamecocks at No. 7 Arkansas Razorbacks

This is a battle between two teams that have been stuck in the middle of the BCS rankings since the first batch was released a couple weeks ago. One of them will pick up an impressive win while the other's BCS dreams will take a major hit.

South Carolina has yet to pick up a win over a ranked team, so it's no surprise that the computers are skeptical about the Gamecocks. They are trying to overcome an injury to star running back Marcus Lattimore while also working new starting QB Connor Shaw into the mix.

Arkansas on the other hand is looking for its third triumph over a ranked foe while setting themselves up nicely for the season finale against LSU. Led by the combination of Tyler Wilson and Jarius Wright, the Razorbacks will need to play better than they did vs. Vanderbilt to emerge victorious.

Bottom line: Arkansas will be expected to win this game because of the internal turmoil at South Carolina, but with those expectations comes added pressure. A victory is far from guaranteed.

No. 8 Oregon Ducks at Washington Huskies

Oregon dropped one spot in this week's rankings even though it beat Washington State on Saturday. The Ducks also lost their title as the top-ranked one-loss school in the nation, which puts them behind the eight ball over the next three weeks against strong teams.

There is also some problems at Oregon after starting quarterback Darron Thomas was benched in Week 9. While he expects to be back under center on the road this week, LaMichael James will need to be in top form in case the inconsistent quarterbacking continues.

Washington is no pushover. The Huskies were ranked 25th in the first set of BCS standings before losing to Stanford. Chris Polk is already over 1,000 yards on the ground and Keith Price is one of the most overlooked quarterbacks in the nation.

Bottom line: The Oregon Ducks are on upset alert this weekend.

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	LSU	.9734
2	Alabama	.9591
3	Oklahoma State	.9310
4	Stanford	.8615
5	Boise State	.8522
6	Oklahoma	.7760
7	Arkansas	.7033
8	Oregon	.6916
9	South Carolina	.6177
10	Nebraska	.6156
11	Clemson	.596
12	Virginia Tech	.568
13	Houston	.470
14	Kansas State	.460
15	Michigan	.451
16	Penn State	.402
17	Michigan State	.308
18	Georgia	.290
19	Arizona State	.236
20	Wisconsin	.216
21	Texas	.212
22	Auburn	.149
23	Georgia Tech	.128
24	West Virginia	.114
25	Southern Mississippi	.094