Alabama Football: Auburn Tigers and 3 Teams the Tide Should Root For

In a game that could have gone either way, No. 2 Alabama fell to No. 1 LSU, but they did not fall far.  The BCS rankings—the only rankings that truly matter—have Alabama at No. 3, ahead of Stanford and behind Oklahoma State.

Alabama's chances at the national title seem grim, but their chances at the SEC championship game seem even less likely with the LSU Tigers not likely to drop a game for the rest of the season.

For Alabama to make it back to the Top Two in the BCS polls, these four teams must put on a heck of a show.

Arkansas Razorbacks

The Arkansas Razorbacks alone stand in the way of LSU's hopes of staying undefeated in the regular season.  

LSU plays the Hogs after games against Western Kentucky and Ole Miss, two teams that don't stand a snowball's chance of winning.  

The Razorbacks have a fairly potent offense that struggled against Alabama (who mirrors LSU defensively) but hung 44 points on South Carolina.  

The Hogs were without their star defensive end, Jake Bequette, who was hampered by a hamstring injury, when they played Alabama.  Bequette is a premier pass-rusher off the line and made a whopping three sacks against the Gamecocks, one of which produced a fumble. 

The Razorbacks just might have the defense to hold LSU down, and if quarterback Tyler Wilson can put some points against a defense that shut down Alabama, they just might win. 

It's a long shot, but it wouldn't be the first stunning upset in football history, and Arkansas actually has the quarterbacks and daunting receiver army to do so.

They play at LSU, but a win on the road would create a three-way tie that would likely leave Alabama ranked No. 1 in the SEC West due to BCS standings, sliding the Tide into the SEC championship game and subsequently the national championship game.  

It could also backfire, propelling Arkansas, who looks to remain a one-loss team until the final regular-season game, above the Tide in the polls.

Oregon Ducks

This Saturday the Oregon Ducks will travel to face Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal.  

Oregon will bring the most dangerous offense Stanford will face in the entire regular season, even better than the USC offense that put 48 points up against the Cardinal.  

Running back LaMichael James has recovered enough from his dislocated elbow that he is running effectively again.

Stanford has the offensive firepower to go blow for blow with the Ducks, but their defense is suspect, having yet to be tested.  

Andrew Luck and the Cardinal are trailing Alabama by one spot in the BCS polls, and if Oregon cannot top them then Alabama has no shot at remaining ahead of Stanford.  

A win by the Ducks this late in the season should effectively remove Stanford from the BCS title equation.

Tide fans need to be cheering for the Ducks as if they were their very own Crimson Tide.  

Oklahoma Sooners

Early in the season, many had Alabama and Oklahoma pegged to play in the BCS National Championship Game.

Oklahoma was then tragically struck down by the Texas Tech Red Raiders, coached by Alabama's former nemesis, ex-Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville.  

Tuberville always seemed to have a knack for rising up in games he had no business winning.  

In the final game of the regular season, the Sooners will travel to Oklahoma State to face the currently No. 2-ranked Cowboys in the Bedlam Series.  

OK State has one of the most powerful offenses in the nation with what very well may be the most dangerous quarterback/receiver combination in the country: quarterback Brandon Weeden and 2010 Biletnikoff Award-winning receiver Justin Blackmon.

Sooner quarterback Landry Jones will be without his favorite target, wide receiver Ryan Broyles, which could be a very crippling situation. 

Both teams' defenses are suspect, and Texas Tech's aerial attack—although impressive—does not compare to that of Oklahoma State's.  

In Game 12, a win by the Sooners could turn good fortune to the Tide.  There is the risk that Oklahoma toppling Oklahoma State could put them ahead of the Tide in the polls, but it's more likely they will be haunted by their loss to the Red Raiders.  

Auburn Tigers

While the outcomes in games the Tide wont be participating in will certainly boost their chances to get back in the thick of things, the games they actually win play a big part.  

The bottom line is that Auburn needs to have the best possible record when the Tide beats them, as the Tide's other two games against un-ranked Mississippi State and FCS school Georgia Southern will not help their argument.

The Tigers have only one big game before the Iron Bowl, where they will travel to Georgia to face the currently No. 15 ranked Bulldogs.  

Georgia has only two losses, both to Top-25 teams, Boise State and South Carolina.  An Auburn victory will leave them as a three-loss team and looking mighty fine indeed when the polls come out.  

If Auburn wins this game against Georgia, it should easily put the currently No. 20 ranked Tigers into the Top-15, maybe even higher.  

A convincing Alabama win against a Top-15 or higher opponent in the final game of the regular season will go a long way in the polls.  

I recently wrote an article about how good fortune for the Tigers would, in turn, benefit the Tide, Auburn's Success Could be Blessing in Disguise for the Tide.

Indeed, it is good fortune for the Tide that Auburn is not the 7-loss team that many expected when they floundered in the season opener against Utah State.  

It may break the Alabama faithful's hearts to do so, but cheer for the Tigers when they face the Georgia Bulldogs.