BCS Bowl Projections: 5 Teams We Aren't Buying as Legit BCS Bowl Contenders

The 2011 college football season is coming to a close. Contenders are rising to the top while others fall to late-season upsets. 

Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Oregon and Clemson all lost in Week 12. Four of the Top 10 BCS teams losing has caused mass confusion at the top of the newest editions of the AP and USA Today polls.

Virginia Tech and Arkansas find themselves in the thick of things. Stanford is back after their Week 11 loss to Oregon. Houston remains undefeated, and Boise State is kicking themselves harder than ever.

The Top 10 will look different in this week's edition of the BCS rankings. New teams will have to replace old contenders.

However, a Top 10 ranking does not make one invincible. Not all teams are as they appear.

Here are five teams we aren't buying as legitimate BCS bowl contenders:

Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia lost their first two games of the season.

Nine consecutive wins later, and the Bulldogs are 9-2 and SEC East champions.

The Bulldogs are an exciting team. A young offense and an overachieving defense are a great recipe for a surprising season.

Quarterback Aaron Murray has 28 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has made great strides throughout his sophomore season.

Surrounding Murray are a bunch of very capable but inexperienced skill players.

Defensively, only ten teams give up less points per game than the Bulldogs. Their defense has improved immensely from last season.

Georgia could get a big boost with an SEC championship victory. Currently, their best victory is over Auburn.

The Bulldogs are dangerous. However, Murray and the offense could use another year of experience before they play in the big time.

Houston Cougars

Houston's run-and-shoot offense has the Cougars sitting at No. 7 in the USA Today/Coaches poll. The Cougars are 11-0 with two more hurdles left to clear.

The Cougars will finish the regular season undefeated. However, this does not mean Houston is an elite team.

One-loss Boise State is still the best mid-major team in the country.

Houston's offense is exciting, but this team is not tested. Their spread attack will be neutralized by an experienced BCS squad.

Case Keenum is the most prolific passer in college football history. Patrick Edwards has caught 14 touchdown passes. These two have not seen an elite secondary all season and would be in for a rude awakening.

The Cougars are a great story and deserve credit for their incredible season. They deserve a BCS bid. Just don't be surprised if the Cougars crash back to Earth, hard, against elite competition.

Virginia Tech Hokies

Virginia Tech has quietly put together a 10-1 season in the ACC Coastal division. The Hokies only loss comes to Atlantic division leader, Clemson.

Week 12's BCS chaos allowed the Hokies to rise to No. 4 in the USA Today/Coaches poll.

The Hokies win games with their run game and overall defense.

Bud Foster runs a very aggressive defensive scheme. Once again, the Hokies have the athletes to make it effective.

David Wilson has run for over 1,000 yards and quarterback Logan Thomas has run for nine scores.

Thomas' arm is the key for the Hokies. He has 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions on the season. The sophomore's decision making must continue to improve if the Hokies want to be relevant.

Virginia Tech fits their familiar mold again this season. However, Thomas needs a little more seasoning before he is ready to lead this team into BCS territory.

Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma lost their first road game of the season in Week 12. Their loss to Baylor dropped the Sooners to 9-2 and No. 12 in the newest AP poll.

The Sooners have dropped games to two lesser teams. They failed to defeat Texas Tech in Norman and could not take care of the Baylor Bears in Waco.

This Oklahoma team seems to be similar to past Sooner squads. A high-octane offense and aggressive defense, but questionable in big games.

Killer instinct goes a long way in college football. Losing two late-season, pivotal matchups is not what BCS teams do.

Offensively, Landry Jones runs the spread attack as efficiently as anyone. However, the Sooner defense loses focus and gives up too many big plays.

The talent is there, but the execution and winning attitude is not.

Stanford Cardinal

Stanford is 10-1 this season, their only loss coming at the hands of the Oregon Ducks in Week 11.

Oregon is not a bad loss for the Cardinal. However, Stanford's already-questionable schedule looks worse after losing to their one elite opponent.

In Week 12, the Cardinal struggled to get by the California Golden Bears in a rivalry game. They got the victory, but the Cardinal seem shaky on both sides of the ball.

The Stanford offensive line is not giving Andrew Luck time to throw the ball. Luck's lack of receiving options appear to be catching up to him and the Stanford ground game is not built to run by itself.

Defensively, the Cardinal are good but not great. They play tough at the point of attack and work hard in the trenches but they lack the speed to be considered an elite unit.

Stanford is a solid team from top to bottom. Even so, they are unproven and may have peaked too early.