Southern Miss vs. Houston: An Undefeated Cougar Team Should Not Play LSU

LSU and Houston are the only two teams in the country that are undefeated. In terms of quality of play, though, the Tigers are light-years ahead of the Cougars.

There is definitely a reason why the Cougars are ranked sixth, as opposed to second, in the BCS Rankings. There is no reason for Houston to be playing in the national championship.

Yes, everyone else has a loss, but this is not 2007 where everyone had two losses. Even then, Hawaii didn’t go to the national championship for the right reasons—it got thoroughly demolished by Georgia.

People have been judging Boise State and their national title hopes for years based off of the strength of schedule. Houston’s is an absolutely pathetic 75th out of 120 teams in the country—and that is up 29 spots from what is what before the team played 8-4 Tulsa.

Their opponents have gone a combined 61-83 and only three of those teams have records above .500.

That vaunted offense that leads the nation with 52 points per game? The best three defenses it has faced are 38th, 55th and 58th in the country.

What about the defense holding Justin's opponents to under 21 points per game? The three best offenses it has faced are 24th, 40th and 63rd in the country.

Oh, and that 8-4 Tulsa team that computers like so much ranks 118th against the pass.

That is far and away the Cougars best win. The team would have only one Top 25 win should it beat Southern Miss, which has the best pass efficiency defense they have faced all year.

Alabama ranks first nationally in every major defensive statistic. Oklahoma State has beaten five teams that have been ranked in the Top 25 and a win over Oklahoma would make that six. Stanford has three, including USC, which would be ranked 11th if it could be ranked in the BCS. Virginia Tech has a ranked win and is the heavy favorite to beat No. 20 Clemson this weekend.

Even Boise State has a win over a Top 25 opponent in Georgia!

If you’re not a fan of a rematch for the national championship without a playoff, that’s great. But every one-loss team in the country is more qualified to go to the national championship than Houston.