BCS Standings: 3 Teams That Will Rise into Top 10 by December

The Week 11 BCS standings were just released Sunday night.

There are a few high quality teams sitting outside the top ten who could, by the end of the regular season, rise into the upper echelon of the rankings. Here are three in particular that I feel will just do that.

No. 11 Houston Cougars

The undefeated Cougars have been annihilating teams this season, but fail to garner any serious national respect because they play in the Conference USA, a dustbowl town compared to the big-city lights of its BCS brethren.

Quarterback Case Keenum orchestrates the country's highest-scoring offense, which puts up an off-the-Richter-scale 52.7 points per game.

Keenum leads the nation in passing yards (3,626) and passing touchdowns (34), and has thrown just three interceptions this season.

Also, his name sounds like a superhero's alter-ego.

Unfortunately for Houston, the computers aren't impressed by victories over North Texas, Georgia State, UAB, etc. The non-conference schedule, which features a win over a recently-resurgent UCLA team, is good but not good enough to launch a concerted campaign for a BCS bowl.

The Cougars might not get a BCS bid this season, but they will definitely finish as a top 10 team.

No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State hasn't been as impressive as their 8-1 record suggests, but I don't think they'll lose another game during the regular season.

After losing 27-11 to Alabama in Week 2, the Nittany Lions have reeled off seven-straight wins.

They haven't beat a ranked team yet, but they can change that when they take on No. 19 Nebraska and No. 18 Wisconsin to close out the season.

I don't think any Big Ten team will win a BCS game, but Penn State will at least make an appearance.

No. 14 Kansas State Wildcats

The Wildcats have dropped two games in a row, but there's no shame in losing to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

K-State lost a shootout against the Cowboys on Saturday, eventually falling 52-45 after giving their opponents all they could handle.

They have three games left this season (Texas A&M, No. 16 Texas, Iowa State) and I expect them to win all three.

With a 10-2 record in the competitive Big 12, the Wildcats will definitely earn a top 10 spot.

Here are the full Week 11 BCS rankings.

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