Oklahoma tries to solidify No. 1 BCS ranking
Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Travis Lewisyells as he dons the top half of the Red River Rivalry trophy. The Sooners defeated the Texas Longhorns, 28-20, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. (October 2, 2010) Credit: MCT
With the first BCS standings of the season out, each weekend’s biggest games take on new meaning.
Take Saturday’s slate for example.
Oklahoma, No. 1 in the BCS standings despite being No. 3 in the human polls and No. 4 in the Harris poll, travels to unbeaten Missouri on Saturday night.
The Tigers are ranked No. 18 in the USA Today coaches’ poll, but No. 11 in the BCS standings. An Oklahoma win should bolster the Sooners’ grip on the top spot in the BCS standings, right?
Think again.
LSU, No. 6 in the BCS standings and human polls, travels to Auburn Saturday afternoon (Ch. 2, 3:30 p.m.). Auburn is No. 4 in the BCS standings and No. 5 in the human polls.
But LSU’s average in the computer rankings that help make up the BCS standings is No. 2. A win by either LSU or Auburn could impact the next BCS standings.
Oregon is No. 2 in the BCS standings and human polls. The Ducks, however, have a an average of No. 8 in the computer rankings. Oregon, which is No. 1 in the Harris poll, plays unranked UCLA on Thursday night (ESPN, 9 p.m.).
Boise State doesn’t even play this week and could be greatly impacted by what happens in the above games. The Broncos, despite wins over Virginia Tech and Oregon State, sit at No. 3 in the BCS standings with a computer average of No. 7.
The bottom line is that Boise State can’t simply win out. The Broncos are going to need plenty of help to get to the BCS national title game.
The LSU-Auburn game is a big one. Not just for this week, but going forward. An unbeaten SEC team will get into the BCS national title game. That’s not even up for debate.
The great debate, as has been the case in recent seasons, will center on Boise State.
With Nebraska losing last Saturday to Texas, the Big 12 has three unbeaten teams remaining: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Missouri. The Sooners play both teams, starting with the Tigers on Saturday night.
And don’t forget about Michigan State (No. 7 in the BCS standings). The Spartans travel to Northwestern on Saturday (ESPN, noon).
With Ohio State losing and sliding to No. 10 in the BCS standings, Michigan State, which appears to be the Big Ten front-runner, will be a major factor if it continues to win. Would an unbeaten Big Ten team get left out of the title game in favor of unbeaten SEC and Big 12 teams? Perhaps.
It’s still early and there is a lot of season to go. But once the BCS standings come out, the games have added significance.
(NOTE: Rankings are based on BCS standings)
No. 6 LSU at No. 4 Auburn (Ch. 2, 3:30 p.m.): Auburn has given up 118 points in four SEC games. But with Cam Newton on offense, the Tigers can afford to. A win here and Auburn should head into the Iron Bowl at Alabama on Nov. 26 with an unbeaten record. Auburn could also jump Boise State in the BCS standings with a win, and possibly go higher with Oklahoma playing a tough road game. LSU has only given up more than 20 points twice this season. But LSU hasn’t seen a player like Newton. The computers love the Tigers with an average ranking of No. 2. Much like Auburn, LSU can make a big move in the BCS standings with a win.
No. 13 Wisconsin at No. 15 Iowa (ABC/ESPN, 3:30 p.m.): Wisconsin won’t have a lot of time to enjoy its win over Ohio State. The Badgers must go to Iowa City to play a Hawkeyes team that stumbled with a bad first half at Arizona and has been very good since. John Clay and James White, behind a solid offensive line, chewed up a solid Ohio State front seven. Iowa’s front seven is even better. Michigan’s Denard Robinson didn’t have too much success against Iowa last week before leaving the game with a shoulder injury in the third quarter. Wisconsin did a nice job of preventing deep passes from Terrelle Pryor. The Badgers will have to do the same thing this week as Ricky Stanzi, playing like a steady senior, has been clicking with Derrell Johnson-Koulianos.
No. 16 Nebraska at No. 14 Oklahoma State (ABC, 3:30 p.m.): Taylor Martinez and the Nebraska offense stalled mightily against Texas last week. Martinez, who played his worst game of the season and was benched, will need to get back in gear because the Oklahoma State offense can put up a lot of points. Brandon Weeden, Kendall Hunter and Justin Blackmon are a formidable trio. Nebraska has one of the better secondaries in the nation, so it should be a good matchup against Weeden. The real question is whether Martinez, a redshirt freshman, can shake off the benching and get his head back in the game. The unbeaten Cowboys still have trips to Kansas State and Texas left, as well as a home game against No. 1 Oklahoma.
No. 1 Oklahoma at No. 11 Missouri (Ch. 7, 8 p.m.): Speaking of No. 1 Oklahoma, the Sooners will look to avoid being the third top-ranked team to suffer an upset on the road in as many weeks. Oklahoma has played some close games this season, but got a breather last week with a 52-0 win over Iowa State. Landry Jones, DeMarco Murray and Ryan Broyles will go up against a Missouri defense that is giving up just 11 points per game, good for second in the nation. Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert played through a hip injury and had his best game of the season last week at Texas A & M with 361 yards (31-for-47) and three touchdowns. He’ll need a similar performance against a Sooners team that is 81st nationally in pass defense.
