BCS Standings: Which Contenders Are Most Likely to Flame out in November?

The 2011 college football season is decidedly entering the home stretch. The month of November will provide college football fans with more than a few great games to watch, and the predictably unpredictable BCS race will only add to the excitement.

But which BCS contenders are likely starting an epic collapse in November? Which teams are running on fumes? Which coaches won't be able to control the impending rankings tumble?

Here are our picks for the BCS contenders most likely to flame out in November.

No. 15 Michigan

Sorry, Wolverine fans, but this season Michigan is clearly a pretender in the BCS race.

Yes, the Maize and Blue are 7-1, and they are currently tied atop the Big Ten Legends Division, but UM has yet to play Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Ohio State—its November opponents.

While it's clear to anyone that Michigan is much improved over the previous few seasons and the future in Ann Arbor is very bright, it's also equally clear that 2011 isn't going to be the year for a BCS run for Michigan.

No. 9 South Carolina

Another 7-1 team hoping for a BCS finish to the 2011 season is South Carolina. Unlike Michigan, South Carolina's success this season isn't impressing many people. After all, South Carolina was supposed to be good this year, right?

Don't let their inclusion on this list fool you; the Gamecocks are a good football team.

But their 7-1 record is a little misleading at this point in the season. The Gamecocks don't really have a signature win on their 2011 résumé. Additionally, a couple of the wins have been against substandard teams by very substandard margins (a 24-21 win against 2-6 Navy and 14-12 victory against 4-4 Mississippi State, for example).

The road is about to get a whole lot tougher for SC. The month starts out with a trip to No. 7 Arkansas, and the regular season concludes with the traditional finale against No. 11 Clemson. Earlier in the year, these games looked very winnable for South Carolina. Now, without Marcus Lattimore, you have to imagine at least one more loss for the Gamecocks this season.

No. 7 Arkansas

When a team is 7-1 and sits in third place in its division, you know it is playing against some tough competition.

Arkansas' one loss this season has come to fellow SEC West foe No. 2 Alabama, but beyond that, the Hogs have been pretty impressive for the balance of 2011.

The Razorbacks have dispatched two ranked opponents thus far: then-No. 14 Texas A&M on October 1 and then-No. 15 Auburn on October 8.

The Piggies get their next shot at a BCS contender this week against the aforementioned South Carolina Gamecocks.

That's probably not where the Razorbacks are most likely to stumble down the stretch. In fact, most college football pundits are pretty high on Arkansas' chances in that game.

But there's the little matter of the regular season-ending showdown with No. 1 LSU. A near-shocker against Vandy last week doesn't keep hopes high for a shocker against the Tigers at the end of the month.

Say what you will about the Razorbacks, but it just looks as if LSU and Alabama are in a class by themselves in the SEC this season. It's almost a guarantee that one of the nation's top two teams will win the SEC West, and if Alabama wins this weekend, you can feel fairly secure in placing a large wager on the Tide rolling into Atlanta on December 3.

The real fun begins with an LSU win against Alabama and a (very) unlikely Arkansas win over LSU.

No. 4 Stanford

There are a few good things, from a writer's point of view, about picking against Stanford.

First, there's the history to back you up. Stanford hasn't won a conference title since Ty Willingham led the Cardinal to a Pac-10 title in 1999.

Secondly, it helps that the Stanford fanbase isn't as wide as, say, USC, and not nearly as vocal. Questioning the Cardinal might get you an angry comment or two. Questioning the Trojans is like yelling “Go Packers!” in a Chicago sports bar.

There's also the little nagging fact about Stanford not having a real test on its schedule yet. Sure, Stanford beat Washington and barely edged USC, but those are the only two teams with even a winning record that Stanford has played this season.

The Cardinal will open November with another cakewalk, this time against Oregon State, before two very tough games over a three-week period.

First, the Cardinal will host preseason Pac-12 favorite Oregon on November 12. After a visit by Cal, Stanford will finish the season against a very feisty Notre Dame team on November 26.

Brian Kelly and company are eager to show the nation that they can hang with the big boys. This season finale will give the Irish just the opportunity they're looking for.

Finally, there's the argument that Stanford's ranking right now is basically a house of cards.

The only real test Stanford has faced this year—USC—was nearly a tragedy for Stanford fans, as the Cardinal relied on a USC fumble in the third overtime to secure a victory. A lot of BCS prognosticators and poll voters like to (over)use the phrase “body of work.” A simple check of Stanford's body of work right now would show even the most uneducated of us that Stanford has a lot of work yet to do.

It's silly to discount teams like Boise State for lack of an impressive body of work in one breath and then admit to ranking Stanford No. 3 on your AP ballot in the next because of the Cardinal's body of work.

The proof will be in the pudding, and right now, even a single loss to any Pac-12 team in a conference that's viewed as pretty weak this season will see the Cardinal's ranking drop like a stone.

No. 3 Oklahoma State

Let the hate mail begin!

How can the No. 3 Cowboys, a team that completely controls its BCS National Championship Game aspirations, be headed for a November flameout?

Simple: We've seen this movie before.

The admittedly impressive Oklahoma State Cowboys are sitting pretty right now in the Big 12 with a perfect 8-0 (5-0) record and just a few games remaining.

Of course, those games include No. 14 Kansas State and No. 6 Oklahoma. Plus, everyone saw how dangerous Texas Tech can be on any given Saturday, so let's not overlook the Red Raiders.

The Pokes have plenty of things going for them, but this program hasn't won even a conference title since Jim Stanley led Oklahoma State to a Big Eight title in 1976. Heck, even current head coach Mike Gundy has barely broken the .500 mark in conference games (25-23).

Unfortunately, there's not a ton of hard reasoning to point to when it comes to picking against the Pokes. Let's just call it a hunch.