BCS Rankings: Michigan Wolverines and Dark Horses That Need Blowout Wins

There are two ways a team can matriculate its way up the BCS rankings. The choices are either picking up a key win over a formidable opponent or impressing the voters by clobbering an inferior team. Here are three dark horses that will need to do the latter in Week 10.

No. 13 Houston Cougars

Don't look now but Conference USA powerhouse Houston has moved up inside the top 15 this week. Since joining the rankings and therefore earning more air time, the voters have started to reward the Cougars for scoring big wins against conference foes.

They go up against a lowly UAB Blazers squad on Saturday and will need to win by at least 50 to earn some style points in the polls (Marshall beat UAB by 45 in Week 9). Houston can't afford to have a sub par outing as the pressure continues to build.

The Cougars also got some good news as Southern Mississippi joined this week's rankings. If both team's could win out, a conference championship game win over the Golden Eagles could push Houston over the top in the BCS.

No. 15 Michigan Wolverines

Michigan is currently in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten Legends division. Week 10 brings about a road trip to Iowa, which sits just one game behind Michigan and will be looking to rejoin the conversation with an upset victory.

Denard Robinson is going to need to cut down on his mistakes if Michigan plans on making a run toward the BCS, whether it be via the automatic bid or as an at-large team. The electric dual-threat QB has 11 interceptions on just 142 attempts.

The Wolverines schedule over the final four weeks is stout, so they will have plenty of opportunity to built up their résumé. It must start with an easy win over Iowa, though.

No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs

Not only has Georgia worked its back into the BCS conversation with six straight wins, but the Bulldogs are also helping Boise State make its case as well (the Broncos beat Georgia in Week 1). Next up is New Mexico State, which is a game that was likely added to ensure they became bowl eligible.

The Bulldogs have utilized a balanced offensive attack to maintain their current roll and it was on full display against Florida on Saturday. Aaron Murray threw for 169 yards and the rushing game added 185 more en route to a narrow victory.

Destroying the Aggies will keep Georgia on the voters' minds before two games against ranked teams in the final three weeks. The Bulldogs are still a dark horse, but don't count them out quite yet.

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