BCS Rankings: Comparing the Resumes of Alabama and Oklahoma State

With just hours until the BCS announces its final rankings of the season and the bowl season picture becomes clear, the Oklahoma State Cowboys surely have made a lingering impression on the voters.

Via a 44-10 rout of Oklahoma in the Bedlam game, the Cowboys have made an argument for a bid in the BCS National Championship Game with LSU at the Superdome in New Orleans.

The Pokes have offensively muscled off opponents all season long, while Alabama has been a defensive stronghold as both teams have staked claims to meet the Tigers on Jan. 9.

While either team deserves a chance to unseat LSU as the lone undefeated team in the FBS, only one will get the opportunity.

Here is a look at the resumés for both the Cowboys and the Crimson Tide.

Alabama

While Oklahoma State stakes its claim with overwhelming offensive production, Alabama can stake theirs with the opposite.

The Crimson Tide boasts the top scoring defense in the country, allowing a measly 8.8 points per game, as Nick Saban's side held opponents to seven points or less seven out of 12 times.

Alabama is ranked first in five defensive categories (rush defense, pass efficiency defense, total defense, scoring defense and pass defense). 

Alabama's only loss came against an LSU team that has been rolling its opponents all season long. In a 9-6 defeat, the Tide had several chances to gain the advantage, but at the end of the day it came up shy.

The Tide have wins over five ranked opponents, but two of them are currently unranked. In those two contests, Alabama won convincingly against Florida (38-10) and Auburn (42-14).

In Alabama's 11 wins, its average margin of victory is 29.9 points. Its blowout wins mostly come by way of defense as shown by the 9-6 loss to No. 1 LSU.

The combined record of the Crimson Tide's opponents is 84-61.

If the BCS is looking for a rematch and/or possibly another defensive standoff, Alabama is the way to go.

Oklahoma State

The most enticing element that could have Oklahoma State in the BCS Championship Game is its offense.

The Pokes are averaging 49.3 points per game, good for second in the FBS. At the same time, the Cowboys are third or better in passing offense, total offense, scoring offense and turnover margin.

In Oklahoma State's 11 wins, it has a 25.3 average margin of victory, but for completely different reasons than Alabama.

Mike Gundy's side has four wins over ranked opponents, and two of them (Texas, Texas A&M) should be unranked going into the final release. The Cowboys do have victories over Oklahoma, Kansas State and Baylor, three teams that site just below the Pokes in the Big 12 standings.

Like Alabama, the Cowboys have a single blemish to their name with a 37-31 double-overtime loss to Iowa State, a defeat that hardly comes close to scraping the surface of a loss to LSU.

In 10 of its 12 games this year, Oklahoma State has scored at least 35 points.

The combined record of the Pokes' opponents this season is 81-63.

The Cowboys' defensive shortcomings are more than made up for with their offensive prowess. And if the BCS is searching for a team not named Alabama and an offensive juggernaut to pin against a defensively stout LSU, look no further than Oklahoma State.