BCS Rankings: Why Oklahoma State's Loss Still Won't Put Oregon in BCS Title Tilt

Oklahoma State's shocking loss to Iowa State on Friday vacates the second spot in the BCS Championship.  While many are looking at Oregon as the one-loss team that could fill that void, a second consecutive berth isn't in the cards for the Ducks.

Oregon takes on USC this week.  Should they win, they would be ranked, at worst, No. 3. They'll have wins over Andrew Luck and Stanford, Matt Barkley and USC, and a road win against a talented Arizona State team.

Oregon's only loss came at the hands of No. 1 LSU.  Unfortunately for the Ducks, the same is true for Alabama.

The Crimson Tide are going to lose a little ground this week and may even slip into the No. 3 spot themselves, as they play Georgia Southern today. 

The Ducks taking down USC may be enough to justify Oregon jumping Alabama.

Next week, The Crimson Tide play Auburn.  A win on the road would give them five wins over ranked opponents, with their only defeat being an overtime loss to LSU.

Many people don't want to see a rematch, but Alabama and LSU are two of the best teams in the country; it's unfair to toss in Oregon for our own selfish gratification.

The good news for the Ducks is that the game against Auburn isn't an automatic win for Alabama.  They've got to go on the road in a heated rivalry game and a slip-up there would punch the Ducks' ticket for the BCS Title Game.

Oklahoma could have potentially thrust themselves into that spot with a victory over No. 2 Oklahoma State, but with the Cowboys falling to Iowa State, that victory wouldn't be impressive enough to push them into the No. 2 spot.

This comes down to Alabama vs. Oregon, and unfortunately for the Ducks, they don't control their own destiny.