BCS Rankings: Teams with Best Chance to End SEC College Football Monopoly

Assuming the college football landscape doesn't undergo another cataclysmic shift between now and early December (which it very well might), the SEC would appear to be on track to send two of its top teams—between LSU, Alabama and Arkansas—to the National Championship Game.

That is, unless some of the other teams in the mix earn some big wins over the next two weeks and curry favor with the voters and the computers in the process. The SEC's iron grip on the crystal football, not to mention who gets to play for it, will not be easy to break, but if anyone's going to do it, it will be one of these teams.

Oklahoma State

The Cowboys currently find themselves in prime position to sneak their way back into the title picture. Their shocking road loss at Iowa State on Friday night dropped them only two spots, from No. 2 to No. 4, behind the three-headed monster in the SEC West. 

As damning as a defeat at the hands of the "mighty" Cyclones would seem, it's hardly damning to OK State's title hopes, seeing as how it was their first misstep of the season. A win over No. 9 Oklahoma in the Bedlam Game on December 3rd may well be enough to earn the Pokes enough favor in the polls and the equations to leapfrog a pair of SEC teams and give Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon a chance to play for all the marbles.

Virginia Tech

No. 5 Virginia Tech has quietly worked its way up the rankings, thanks in large part to a soft schedule that features one win over a team currently ranked in the BCS Top 25 (No. 23 Georgia Tech).

The Hokies, though, will have two excellent opportunities to boost their profile between now and the release of the final BCS rankings. If the Hokies beat 8-3 Virginia on Saturday, they will advance to the ACC Championships Game to play Clemson, giving them the opportunity to avenge their only loss of the season—23-3 to the Tigers in Blacksburg.

And with the wackiness that has taken over college football of late, two wins over quality opponents may be enough to propel VA Tech close enough to the top to earn a trip to New Orleans.

Stanford

With a little bit (or a lot) of Luck, Stanford may yet crack the beauty contest for the crystal football without even playing for its own conference championship.

Of course, the Cardinal's case would be helped tremendously by Oregon losing to Oregon State in the Civil War, as such would guarantee Andrew Luck and company to play host for the inaugural Pac-12 title game.

Not that beating UCLA or Utah would do much to boost Stanford's strength of schedule or anything like that, but having that crown atop their collective head couldn't hurt. What the Trees really need, though, is for Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State and Alabama to lose once apiece to really throw the BCS into a tailspin, thereby opening the door for them to slide on down to the Bayou while nobody's looking.

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