BCS Rankings 2011: LSU vs. Arkansas and the Most Important Week 13 Games

The fresh set of BCS rankings have been released, so it's time to look ahead to next week to examine which games will have the biggest impact. There are several marquee matchups in Week 13, but will it live up to last week's havoc? Only time will tell.

No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks at No. 1 LSU Tigers

Arkansas will finally get the respect it deserves during the build-up to Saturday's marquee game between two legitimate BCS title contenders. The Razorbacks' only loss came on the road against Alabama, and the defense will need to step up more than it did in that game to upset LSU.

LSU has won every game other than its epic encounter with Alabama by at least 13 points, and has clearly established itself as the nation's top team. With Jordan Jefferson back to provide another dynamic to the Tigers' offense, it's going to take a monumental effort for any team to stop them.

Early Prediction: LSU by 10

No. 19 Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers

Everybody knows about the trying times at Penn State right now, but the football team has continued to fight and is now just one win away from the Big Ten title game. Stephfon Green and Silas Redd will need to be in elite form if the Nittany Lions want to keep their BCS hopes alive.

After losing back-to-back games against Michigan State and Ohio State, Wisconsin has righted the ship with three straight wins. Montee Ball has earned consideration for the Heisman Trophy, but the Badgers need this win to help make that happen.

Early Prediction: Wisconsin by 13

No. 8 Houston Cougars at Tulsa Golden Hurricane

The other undefeated team, Houston, continued to creep up the rankings because of the chaos in Week 12. Case Keenum navigates the nation's best offense to the tune of nearly 450 yards and 53 points per game. That's outstanding regardless of what conference a team plays in.

Tulsa is battled tested, having already faced Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Boise State. Even though the Golden Hurricane lost all three games, they averaged 22 points against those elite squads and haven't suffered any other defeats.

Early Prediction: Houston by six

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	LSU	.9933
2	Alabama	.9642
3	Arkansas	.9099
4	Oklahoma State	.8755
5	Virginia Tech	.8400
6	Stanford	.7974
7	Boise State	.6935
8	Houston	.6755
9	Oklahoma	.6747
10	Oregon	.5959
11	Kansas State	.567
12	South Carolina	.528
13	Georgia	.497
14	Michigan State	.453
15	Michigan	.439
16	Wisconsin	.382
17	Clemson	.333
18	Baylor	.295
19	Penn State	.252
20	TCU	.245
21	Nebraska	.230
22	Notre Dame	.136
23	Georgia Tech	.120
24	Auburn	.079
25	Texas	.071