BCS Championship: 10 Most Important Players for Remainder of Season

LSU and Oklahoma State are currently in position to face each other for the BCS National Championship. However, there are plenty of players who have the ability to change that scenario.

Throughout the season, the amount of undefeated college football teams continued to scare BCS supporters. Those people must have been pleased to find out two contenders, Stanford and Boise State, were each defeated at home this past Saturday.

Chaos has been averted...for now.

There is still plenty of football to be played, and the front-runners have numerous chances to falter. These young men have the biggest impact on the rest of the season and the BCS picture.

10. Tajh Boyd, Clemson

Clemson should have been knocked out of contention with a loss to Georgia Tech, but the Tigers are not going away so easily.

Quarterback Tajh Boyd still has a chance to lead his team back into the race with a little help, but the sophomore will need to improve his ball control. He has thrown more interceptions in the past two games (four) than he did in the first eight games (three).

Clemson is currently No. 7 in the BCS standings, but still needs to face No. 12 South Carolina and most likely No. 8 Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game.

There will be plenty of opportunities to impress voters, but Boyd needs to get back to playing like a Heisman candidate like he was earlier in the year.

9. Michael Dyer, Auburn

Most experts believed Auburn would struggle this season with a young roster after winning the national championship last season.

Despite a tough schedule, the Tigers have done more than hold their own and it is thanks to running back Michael Dyer. The sophomore has more rushing yards than any Auburn player has passing yards, and he accounts for one-third of the team's offensive touchdowns.

Alabama is waiting for one of the top two teams to lose, but it still must travel to Auburn on Nov. 26. The Tigers would love nothing more than to beat their rivals and watch the team fall down the rankings.

A big game by Dyer can make that happen.

8. Matt Barkley, USC

Matt Barkley did all he could to defeat Stanford last month, but USC still came up short in triple overtime.

Now the Trojans have one more chance to beat a high-quality opponent next week at Oregon. The Ducks did what USC could not and defeated Stanford, shooting them up to No. 4 in the BCS standings. They could still make the national title game, but they cannot overlook the Trojans.

Andrew Luck struggled against Oregon, but the Ducks planned for the star quarterback for most of the season. Matt Barkley is almost as talented and has the element of surprise.

If he can play to his potential, Oregon might be in trouble on Saturday. 

7. Aaron Murray, Georgia

LSU is the well-deserved No. 1 team in the country. The Tigers have wins over No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Oregon this season, and neither of which were at home.

However, LSU has not clinched the national championship just yet. Not only does the team have to go through the Arkansas Razorbacks, but the SEC Championship Game has stopped many teams in the BCS era from reaching the next level.

With one win over lowly Kentucky, Georgia will become SEC East Champions. Whether facing LSU, Alabama or Arkansas, the Bulldogs will get to play the role of spoiler and earn a BCS berth in the process.

Georgia is led by quarterback Aaron Murray, and there are few players in the country playing better than the sophomore. In his past two games, he has a completion percentage of 78 percent, as well as nine touchdowns and zero interceptions.

After losing the first two games of the season, Georgia has eight straight wins. This makes it a very dangerous team as the season comes to an end. 

6. Tyler Wilson, Arkansas

While Aaron Murray and Georgia have a chance to play the role of spoiler, Tyler Wilson and Arkansas can do much more than that. 

The Razorbacks had the terrible luck of having to face both LSU and Alabama on the road. They already lost to Alabama, but that has been the only blemish in an otherwise terrific season.

Tyler Wilson has a passing touchdown in all but one game this year, but had two rushing touchdowns in that game. For what it's worth, he led his team to 14 points against Alabama, which is the most the Crimson Tide has given up this season. 

Arkansas now has to face LSU, but a win can catapult the team into the national title picture. It would force a three-way tie in the SEC West, and the voters would be forced to decide which team is best. 

At the very least, it would create an interesting twist on the season. 

5. LaMichael James, Oregon

Oregon was left for dead after its opening-week loss to LSU. Everyone gave up on the season except those in the locker room.

All of a sudden, Oregon finds itself right back into contention after an upset win over Stanford.

The Ducks will need other teams to lose in order to return to the BCS National Championship Game for the second year in a row, but they must also continue to win themselves. LaMichael James will help them do that.

James missed two games this season, but is still sixth in the nation in rushing yards. He averages an outstanding 7.9 yards per carry, and last game he ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns against the previous No. 4 team in the country.

The Ducks will continue to lean on the running back, and that will keep them successful in the last few games of the season.

4. Trent Richardson, Alabama

There has been little debate over who has been the best running back in college football this season.

Trent Richardson has continued to impress in every game, even in the 9-6 loss to LSU. His combination of power, speed and pass-catching ability has NFL scouts salivating over his potential, and he can help Alabama win any game it plays.

Unfortunately, the loss to LSU has forced the Crimson Tide to play the waiting game. Even if the team wins out, it will still need others to lose in order to reach its goal of winning a national championship.

Richardson will do all he can on the field, but he cannot make teams in other cities lose.

3. Landry Jones, Oklahoma

Landry Jones has had an excellent season, but the road will only get tougher from here.

First, the schedule remains tough as the year comes to a close. He will have to outscore the talented offenses of Baylor and Oklahoma State, both of which are road games.

The other problem is that Jones' favorite target, Ryan Broyles, is out for the season with a torn ACL. The receiver had twice as many receptions this season as anyone else on the team, so the junior quarterback will need to learn to trust someone else in order to succeed.

The good news is that if he can lead Oklahoma to victory in these games, the Sooners should find themselves playing for the national championship.

2. Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State

It is hard not to come away more impressed with Brandon Weeden after every game. He started the season relatively unknown but has played his way into the discussion for the Heisman Trophy.

The quarterback began the season with ball-security issues, but has since solved them. In his three non-conference games, Weeden threw six interceptions. Within the Big 12, the 28-year-old has thrown only three interceptions to go with 23 touchdowns.

Weeden leads the second-highest scoring offense in the country, but Oklahoma State cannot slow down if it wants to finish undefeated for the first time in school history.

Oklahoma looms in the last week of the season, and only time will tell if the Sooners will be able to utilize its big-game experience against the Cowboys.

1. Jordan Jefferson, LSU

2011 has been quite an up-and-down year for Jordan Jefferson.

After starting at quarterback the past two seasons for LSU, the senior was expected to lead his loaded team to a possible national championship. Unfortunately, the story changed when Jefferson was suspended for four games to start the season following a bar fight.

In that time, Jarrett Lee was so impressive as the starting quarterback that he retained that role when Jefferson was cleared to play. The former starter only came out a for a few snaps per game.

Things changed when Lee struggled against Alabama. Jefferson took over behind center and retained the starting job against Western Kentucky the next week.

With two regular-season games remaining, the Tigers will be led by Jefferson for better or worse. He does not have as accurate of an arm as Lee, but Jefferson provides more ability with his legs.

Coach Les Miles will not hesitate to switch back to Lee, but Jefferson will get his chance to show the world what he can do.

He will either lead his team to a national championship or be the face of a disappointing season.