BCS Rankings 2011: 12 Players Who Will Decide Who Gets the Crystal Football 

The BCS polls love teams who have the best records with the most difficult schedules. The computer also loves dominating performances where scoring as many points against your opponents can lead to a national title game. 

There will be a lot of movement in the top rankings of the BCS polls in the coming weeks, as conference foes will face off against each other. LSU is still No. 1 and is likely the favorite to be one of the teams in the BCS title game if they win out in the SEC. Alabama’s loss only dropped them one spot, which has probably enraged Stanford and Boise State, as well as other undefeated teams.

There will be a lot of players in the top ranked teams who will need to step up in order to raise the crystal ball and become national champions. Here are the list of players who will decide the fate of their teams. 

A.J. McCarron (Alabama)

If Alabama wants to make it to the national title game, then quarterback A.J. McCarron must step up and make some big plays on offense.  

This season is McCarron’s first full season as a starter and he is only a sophomore. He is the ideal game manager for Nick Saban’s offense, but will need to do more if they meet LSU for a rematch in the final game of the college football season. 

McCarron over threw his receiver for the first and only touchdown in the LSU game, and he needs to make these throws. He accumulated a majority of his yards on dump off passes to Richardson, who gained a lot of yards after the catch. McCarron has a speedster receiver in senior Marquis Maze, who should be utilized more often. 

McCarron needs to hit the deep ball as the play action is set up beautifully by Trent Richardson’s running ability. If he can give this Alabama team some big plays through the air, then the Tide could be holding the trophy up this winter.

Tyler Wilson (Arkansas)

Junior quarterback Tyler Wilson has been solid in his first full season as Arkansas’ quarterback. He has orchestrated some great comebacks this season and has shown a lot poise. Wilson rarely commits any turnovers, which allows his teams to win.  

Wilson showed a lot of poise against South Carolina after throwing an interception return for a touchdown, only to comeback with a 68-yard touchdown on the next play.  He is a kid who plays better after adversity.  

Don’t sleep on Wilson if his team wins out and the teams ahead of the Razorbacks lose out. The win against the Gamecocks proved how good the Razorbacks really are and that they are worthy of competing for the national title spot.

Wilson will need to have a great performance in his final game against the LSU Tigers. It won’t be easy, but I believe that Wilson has the mentality and talent to push the Tiger’s defense to the limit. This game against the Tigers will determine if the Razorbacks are deserving of the the BCS title game, and Wilson will be the key.

LaMichael James (Oregon)

LaMichael James has the experience of already playing in the national title game, and will have to beat Stanford for the Pac-12 title to have any shot of getting back.

He is the fastest running back in the nation and can run between the tackles at the college level.

In Oregon’s matchup against Stanford this coming week, James will be facing one of the best rushing defenses in the nation. He will likely have to run wild against Stanford to give the Ducks any shot at facing LSU or whoever else that will be in the final game.  

If James and the Ducks were to face LSU for the BCS title game, then James will have his work cut out for him to lead his team to victory.

Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State)

Quarterback Brandon Weeden threw for a school record 502 yards and four touchdowns against Kansas State this past week. He continues to lead the No. 2 ranked scoring offense in the country with his precision passing and ability to thread the needle.  

Weeden has led his team the No. 2 ranking in the BCS polls. All this team has to do is win out the rest of their games if they want to play for the BCS National Title game.  

Weeden must cut his turnovers down as he tends to force balls and throw interceptions. The game against the Oklahoma in the final game of the season will determine if the Cowboys will be in the championship game, so Weeden must play a perfect game.  

Weeden is the quarterback that no one is really talking about, but he has led his team to the second best ranking in the nation. He needs to continue to throw to Blackmon and torch every team he faces.

Kellen Moore (Boise State)

The Boise State Broncos will have to blow out every team from here on out to convince the BCS computers that this team deserves to finally be in the most important game of the season. This means that quarterback Kellen Moore will have to play even better then he already has.

Put Moore in Oklahoma’s spread offense, and I have no doubt that he would lead this team to the title game.

The only challenge ahead for Moore and Boise State is a TCU team who has been decimated by players going to the NFL and graduating. This will be the key game for Moore to dominate and show why they deserve to finally play in for the national championship game.

Jarrett Lee (LSU)

Jarrett Lee has done a great job all season in not turning the ball over with only one interception before the game against Alabama. He has been a great game manager all season relying on the running game and the defense. 

Jarret Lee had his worst game of the season against Alabama, and rightfully so since they were the best defense in the nation. He completed three of seven passes for 24 yards and had two interceptions. After the two picks, coach Miles knew the passing game would not be effective against this team and focused on running the ball. Backup quarterback Jordan Jefferson was behind center for most of the game after Lee's two picks. 

Lee isn’t asked to do much, but he will need to make the big plays in order for the Tigers to win the big game. He takes care of the ball more than Jefferson does, and that is why he is playing ahead of him. Lee must gain his coach's trust back for the final few games. He is accurate and needs to step up as the leader of this team.

Landry Jones (Oklahoma)

Landry Jones is very talented, but will have his work cut out for him as he lost his favorite target Ryan Broyles for the season.  

The loss against Texas Tech really hurt this Oklahoma’s title chances, and Jones knows it. He must have dominating performances against Baylor, Iowa State and a Oklahoma State powerhouse. Luckily for Oklahoma, Baylor is ranked 25th and Oklahoma State is ranked second, which can only help with the BCS computers. 

If the Sooners didn’t lose to Texas Tech then many would expect this team to be higher then Oklahoma State and Stanford at this point of the season.  

Oklahoma must pray that the teams ahead of them lose, and that they can have some dominating performances against the ranked teams in their schedule.

Jones’ arm is accurate, strong and can take this team places. He powers the best spread offense in the nation, and it would be hard for any defense to stop this team. This is includes the SEC. Don’t be surprised to see this team hoisting the trophy at the end of the season.

Jordan Jefferson (LSU)

Many view the two quarterback system as being a disaster waiting to happen, but I believe it can work for this team.

Jordan Jefferson is being used as an option quarterback for this team, but he can also throw the ball. Teams are going to be confused when Jefferson enters the game, and it will allow the Tigers to get some big plays either on the ground or down the field.

Jefferson led the Tigers to a tie against Alabama, with his running ability and being able to read the defense on the option plays. He continued to keep the defensive ends and linebackers off balanced in this game.  

Jefferson can throw and run which can hurt a lot of defenses at the college level. His abilities can take this team to where they want to be.

Andrew Luck (Stanford)

All the Stanford fans probably feel like they got shafted by the latest BCS polls being stuck behind a one loss Alabama team. You guys don’t really have to worry as long Stanford wins out. The key to get to the BCS title game is Andrew Luck.

Luck is probably the smartest player in the country, and he knows that his Stanford team needs to dominate their opponents in their remaining schedule. This includes a dominating performance against seventh ranked Oregon Ducks this week. He has the arm and the talent surrounding him to do so. 

With a little luck from the other teams losing, and Stanford’s Luck having have stellar games from here on out, this team can raise that prestigious trophy and bring glory back to the Pac-12.

Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State)

Justin Blackmon is unstoppable and the best wide receiver in the nation. I have not seen a receiver this dominate in such a long time. He continues to want the ball on every play, and this is how the best player on the team should be. Blackmon is continually double covered, but always seems to get the job done.  

In the shootout against Kansas State, Blackmon caught 13 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns. He could not be stopped in this game. But, he also had two fumbles in this game which resulted in a score, which cannot happen if he wants to lead this team to a title game. 

Weeden and Blackmon have the best connection in the nation. Weeden must continue to throw to Blackmon so he can make big plays. The showdown against Oklahoma will show how good this team is, and if Blackmon can lead his team to the championship.

Trent Richardson (Stanford)

No disrespect to Andrew Luck, but Trent Richardson is the best player in the country right now. He has such a balanced running game with a combination of speed, agility, power and balance similar to all the other great college running backs in history.  

LSU did contain Richardson for the most part and the loss has made it hard for Alabama to make it to the National Bowl game, but don’t be surprised to see Richardson ripping through the rest of the schedule. LSU’s stout defense had a tough time bringing Richardson down in this game, and he gained extra yards after the initial hit. 

He is the best back in the country, and will likely carry this team for a rematch against LSU in the final game of the season.  

Richardson can take over games on the ground, and can single-handedly take this team to the national championship game.

Tyrann Mathieu (LSU)

Tyrann Mathieu is a game-changer in the college game who is very similar to Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed in the NFL. The little guy is all over the field, and quarterbacks have to be aware of him on every play. Mathieu gives the best secondary in the country a play-maker who can win games single-handedly. 

Mathieu did not have the game against Alabama that most have come accustomed to when watching him play, but he was solid. He shutdown Alabama’s receivers with his press coverage and recovered with his speed on numerous plays. Mathieu’s biggest play of the night came when he saved a touchdown against Trent Richardson, who broke loose from several LSU tacklers.

Mathieu is also young and immature, which was evident from his close-line on Alabama receiver Marquis Maze. Bone-head plays such as these can lose games, and he needs to stay focused for this team to win out. 

Look for Mathieu to make some huge plays that will ultimately lead to the Tigers undefeated season and hoisting the crystal football in the final game of the season.