BCS Rankings: Georgia, Penn State and More Teams with Great Turnarounds

The 2011 college football season has flown by, but for some teams, it's been a long, hard journey of overcoming adversity. 

Nobody likes to lose, especially early in the year. However, a good team will regroup and rally together to finish strong. 

Such is the case with a few teams in 2011. Whether they were off to a bad start or hurt by a tough schedule, these teams have been able to get back on track.

Here are a few teams with great turnarounds this season.

No. 15 Georgia 

The Bulldogs began the year with the toughest first two weeks of any team in the country and, unfortunately, they lost both games.

Fortunately, the schedule got much easier and the Bulldogs have put together a nice seven-game win streak. Known for choking in conference road games the past few seasons, the Bulldogs have done a tremendous job of staying strong and fighting through whatever comes their way. 

Georgia will host Auburn this Saturday and, with a win, the Bulldogs are all but guaranteed to win the SEC East. That would be a great accomplishment considering the fact that Bulldog Nation was calling for head coach Mark Richt to be fired after the 0-2 start. 

The Atlanta Journal Constitution tweeted one of Georgia's biggest problems heading into the Deep South's oldest rivalry. 

Kicking has been a major weakness for the Bulldogs this season, when normally it's a strong suit. Georgia hopes it won't have to worry about anything this Saturday.

The last thing the Bulldogs need is for their kickers to have an off day once again. 

No. 12 Penn State 

The Nittany Lions lost to the Alabama Crimson Tide in Week 2 but, instead of hanging their heads, they got back to work, having since won seven straight games, placing themselves atop the Leaders Division in the Big Ten.  

Penn State could have flopped and fallen to some lesser teams, however, their defense has been key, holding opponents to an average of 12 points per game. 

The Nebraska Cornhuskers come into town this Saturday, and they will be looking to spoil the Nittany Lions' perfect conference record.

With the huge scandal going on at Penn State, and the possibility that Joe Paterno won't be the head coach anymore, one has to wonder if the Nittany Lions will be focused for Saturday's game.

Vegas doesn't think they will, which is why this tweet was sent out. 

No. 7 Oregon

The Ducks had a huge challenge in taking on the LSU Tigers in Week 1 and, after losing that game badly, it could have ruined their season.

However, Oregon hasn't lost since, crushing every team in it's path. Granted, their opponents haven't been great teams, but the Ducks could have easily slipped up, especially after LaMichael James was sidelined with a nasty elbow injury. 

Every Oregon victory has been a blowout, which has given them great confidence for Saturday's matchup. The Ducks hit the road to take on rival Stanford, who happens to be undefeated and No. 4 in the country. 

With a win over Stanford, the Ducks will be a lock to win the Pac-12 and, with a little luck, they could play for the title, which is something many thought was lost after starting 0-1.

Of course, its not going to be easy shutting down Andrew Luck at Stanford. In fact, here's a not-so-encouraging tweet for Oregon fans. 

No. 23 Cincinnati 

The Bearcats lost to the Tennessee Volunteers in Week 2, and while it didn't hurt them in conference play, it definitely was a set back after scoring 72 points in Week 1. 

The Big East has been up in the air this year, but the Bearcats have held it together and managed to avoid losing to teams they weren't supposed to, stringing together six straight wins.  

This Saturday, Cincinnati hosts the West Virginia Mountaineers, who have been up and down all season long.

It's tough to say which Mountaineer team will show up against the Bearcats, but should Cincinnati win, it will be in great position to win the Big East. 

BCS Standings for Week 11

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