5 Teams More Deserving of a Shot at the BCS Championship Than Alabama

Personally, I have nothing against Alabama.  I think the Crimson Tide are a great team, one of the best in the country.

But they aren't the second-best team in the country, and they don't deserve to play LSU for a shot at the championship.  

Granted, at this point in the season, a lot of determining who deserves to play in which bowl game is a judgment call, since there's no real way to know who's the best, second best, and so on.

But because Alabama has already lost to LSU once this season, it doesn't make since to match them up, yet again, since there are several other teams deserving of that opportunity.

I'm from Oregon, and I would have loved to see the Ducks play for the title.  But I have to make the same argument against them.  They're a very good team, but even had they not lost to USC, their loss to LSU means they're no more deserving of that second spot than Alabama is.  

So why rank either ahead of another one-loss team?

Here are five teams, in no particular order, which deserve a shot at beating LSU more than the current second-ranked team, Alabama.

Boise State Broncos

Boise State has one loss.  The sad thing is, even if they hadn't lost to TCU, most ranking systems would still consider an undefeated Boise State inferior to a one-loss Alabama.  

Yes, the Broncos play in a weaker conference.  But that isn't their fault.  The only true way to test how good they are is to let them match up against a team from a superior conference, and see what happens.

They already beat a highly ranked Georgia team to start the season, and they deserve a chance to prove that very good teams can come out of bad conferences.

The Broncos currently rank in the top 20 nationally in points scored, points allowed, and passing yards per game.  Kellen Moore has been one of the most consistent and dominant quarterbacks in the nation, again.

Boise State is a legitimate contender for the national championship, and deserves to be treated like it.

Houston Cougars

Irrespective of who you are, where you play, or what conference you are in, achieving an unbeaten season is truly impressive.

Barring a meltdown versus Southern Miss in the conference championship, Houston will finish the 2011 season as one of two unbeaten teams in major college football, assuming LSU also beats Georgia in the SEC championship game.

Houston has a very strong argument for why they should play LSU for the championship.  They haven't had a letdown all season, something no one but LSU can say.

They have one of the all-time great college quarterbacks in Case Keenum, and it would be amazing to see what he can do against a stingy Tiger defense.  

I'm not in favor of penalizing any team for playing in a so-called weaker conference.  If a team is dominant, it's dominant; there's nothing else to it.

The Cougars have earned a shot at proving themselves on a national stage if they remain undefeated throughout an entire season. Going unbeaten through twelve games is something no other team in the country, but one, can claim.

Virginia Tech Hokies

Virginia Tech probably has the weakest case out of these five teams, but they've still managed to lose only once this season, and getting much stronger over the second half of the year.

They have one of the toughest defenses in the nation, giving up just over 15 points per game on average.

They have the best overall record in their conference by far, with the recent implosion of Clemson, and they look to have a very good chance of locking up their own conference title next weekend.

Alabama can only lay claim to being the third best team in their conference once the SEC championship game is over.

The Hokies are coming of an impressive 38-0 victory over an improved Virginia team, which says a lot about how well they are playing right now.

They would likely put up a very good fight against LSU.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State has become one of the most explosive teams in college football this season, averaging nearly 50 points per game.

Much of that is due to quarterback Brandon Weeden, who was a leading Heisman Trophy candidate until the game against Iowa State, and receiver Justin Blackmon, who already has 15 touchdowns this season.

They've played one of the most difficult schedules in the country, with several big wins coming against ranked opponents.  The only slip-up was the emotional double-overtime loss to Iowa State a couple of weeks ago, without which they would almost certainly be the No. 2 team in the country.  

The only remaining obstacle, admittedly a big one, is the Big 12 championship game versus tenth ranked Oklahoma on Saturday.  If they can win there, then this team could potentially jump Alabama in the BCS rankings and take the second spot.

But putting the BCS aside, why not put the best team from the Big 12 in the title game, instead of turning it into a glorified SEC championship game?

Stanford Cardinal

The Stanford Cardinal is one of the most balanced teams in college football, ranking 26th or better in points scored, points allowed, passing yards, and rushing yards per contest.

They have one of the surest NFL prospects in recent memory in quarterback Andrew Luck, and their only loss this season came at the hands of a very good Oregon Ducks team.

Stanford is arguably the best team in the Pac-12, yet unable to play for a conference championship because its only loss came by Oregon, who now has two losses yet is in the driver's seat for the Rose Bowl.  

Stanford playing for the national championship would be a great story of West Coast versus East Coast, with the star power of Andrew Luck matching up against the stingy LSU defense.

Would they be able to stop him?

I'd like the opportunity to find out.