BCS Standings: Georgia and Teams Ready to Shake Up National Championship Chase

It may be easy to narrow down the pool of teams in position to compete for the BCS National Championship at this point in the season, but I urge you—resist the temptation!

A lot can, and will, change between now and December 4th. These three teams will play huge roles in how things shake out across the college football landscape.

Georgia

No. 15 Georgia should be on everybody's minds right about now, though it's certainly easy to forget about a team that loses its first two games of the season.

Thanks to Arkansas' win over South Carolina, the Bulldogs currently control their own destiny in the SEC East and, as such, need only beat No. 20 Auburn and Kentucky to secure a spot in the conference championship game.

All signs point to the Dawgs dancing with No. 1 LSU in a game that might not be as clear cut as one might think. Georgia's defense may not be as dominant as LSU's, but that doesn't mean Mark Richt doesn't have the caliber of athletes on his squad to shut down the Tigers' timid offense.

And you can bet Aaron Murray, who's easily the best quarterback in the SEC, will show better against LSU than AJ McCarron did, especially if all his running backs have returned from their respective suspensions by then.

A win in the SEC Championship Game wouldn't likely get UGA to New Orleans, but it would bring LSU's candidacy into question while potentially bolstering Boise State's resume enough to help the Broncos, to whom they lost in the season opener, bust their way into the title game.

Oregon

As strange as it is to see No. 3 Alabama still ranked ahead of No. 4 Stanford in the BCS standings, the Cardinal can correct for that supposed mistake by beating No. 7 Oregon at home on Saturday.

No easy task, not after the way Darron Thomas and LaMichael James scampered past Stanford in the second half in a 52-31 decision in Eugene last season.

The Cardinal showed in that game, and against USC last weekend, that they are, in fact, susceptible to teams with speed all over the field, which the Ducks just so happen to have in abundance.

Oregon won't have an answer for Andrew Luck on defense, especially if Cliff Harris remains suspended from the team, but they may not need one. With a win in Palo Alto, the Ducks would put themselves on the fast track to the Pac-12 Championship and give them a legitimate shot at a rematch with LSU in the national title game.

Oklahoma

Like Oregon, No. 6 Oklahoma can climb all the way back into the championship picture if it wins out.

The Sooners' case with the BCS will be tough, with an albatross of a loss to Texas Tech on their resume, but if they beat No. 2 Oklahoma State in the Bedlam Game, they may yet leapfrog their way back into one of the top two spots in the standings.

Victory in Stillwater is hardly out of the question for OU. Bob Stoops' squad has squashed the Cowboys in each of their last eight meetings and has more than enough talent on offense, even without Ryan Broyles, to keep pace with Brandon Weeden and the Pokes.

Need I mention that OK State struggled to fend off the very same Kansas State team that the Sooners stomped on the road last weekend?

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	LSU	.9931
2	Oklahoma State	.9447
3	Alabama	.8836
4	Stanford	.8749
5	Boise State	.8473
6	Oklahoma	.7978
7	Oregon	.7708
8	Arkansas	.7452
9	Clemson	.6435
10	Virginia Tech	.5913
11	Houston	.551
12	Penn State	.484
13	South Carolina	.453
14	Kansas State	.381
15	Georgia	.370
16	Texas	.366
17	Michigan State	.337
18	Wisconsin	.305
19	Nebraska	.279
20	Auburn	.210
21	Georgia Tech	.209
22	Southern Mississippi	.204
23	Cincinnati	.187
24	Michigan	.177
25	Baylor	.071