If LSU can remain unbeaten by beating Ole Miss, Arkansas, and then most likely Georgia (who have to beat Kentucky at home to win the SEC East) in the SEC Championship game and Oklahoma St. can win out by beating Iowa St. and then Oklahoma in Bedlam, the National Championship game is simple. It will be #1 and 13-0 LSU against #2 and 12-0 Oklahoma St. in New Orleans. If LSU losses one of their final three games, they will most likely still land in the National Championship since they beat both #3 Alabama and #4 Oregon already this season. However, the craziness and huge debate will begin if Oklahoma St. losses to #5 Oklahoma in Stillwater the final week of the season. Therefore, it begs the question: What team deserves to be ranked 3rd in the BCS standings and jump into the National Championship if Oklahoma St. falls?
Alabama currently sits 3rd in the BCS standings and the Crimson Tide may have the strongest argument to be ranked at that position. In their 9 wins they have outscored their opponents by more than 30 points and their closest victory was a 16-point beating of Penn St. 27-11 on the road. The Tide have knocked off three ranked teams including #6 Arkansas 38-14. The Tide have been the only team all season to hold the Razorbacks to less than 29 points and their tremendous defense is allowing just 7.1 points per game, which is the best in the nation. Bama has held their opponents to single digits in 6 of 9 games as well. Compared to Oregon, Alabama's loss to LSU is much more impressive. The Ducks fell to the Tigers by 13 points, 40 to 27, in a game that wasn't even as close as the score indicates. In fact, Oregon trailed by 20 points for most of the 4th quarter until they scored a late touchdown. However, the Tide played a hard fought, tough game with the Tigers that they barely lost in overtime 9 to 6. The Tigers still have another chance to prove themself in a big game with they take on Auburn in the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Oregon benefited greatly from having the national spotlight on them last week, as they made a big jump in the BCS rankings. In a huge primetime game against #4 Stanford and Heisman Trophy front-runner Andrew Luck, the Ducks whipped the floor with the Cardinals in a 53-30 whopping on the road in Paulo Alto. The Ducks offense looked unbelievable quick and devastating, as LaMichael James had 146 yards on 20 carries to go along with his 3 touchdowns on the ground. In total, the Ducks ran for 232 yards on the Stanford defense, which had been so good at stopping the run in previous weeks. They also forced Andrew Luck into two interceptions and forced 5 turnovers overall. The impressive win over the previously undefeated Cardinals moved the Ducks from 7th to 4th in the BCS standings, ahead of Oklahoma. Oregon will once again have a chance to prove its talent in primetime when they take on #18 USC on Saturday. However, their Pac 12 Championship game will be against an unranked and much weaker Pac 12 South opponent. Another cause for concern for Duck fans is that the Crimson Tide played a much closer game with the LSU Tigers than Oregon did.
Oklahoma's loss to Texas Tech at home is going to be a lot to overcome, especially since both Alabama and Oregon loss to #1 LSU. The Red Raiders are currently 2-5 in the Big 12 and are sitting in second to last in the conference. Not only have they been losing games, but they have been getting killed in recent weeks, which makes Oklahoma's loss to them so much worse. The Red Raiders lost to Iowa St. at home, who are 2-4 in conference play, by 34 points, Texas by 32 points, and they lost by 60 points, yes 60 points, to Oklahoma St. this past weekend in Lubbock at home. Despite their horrible loss, of the three teams, the Sooners have by far the best opportunity remaining on their schedule to prove on the national stage that they deserve to be in the National Championship game, as they will take on #2 Oklahoma St. on the road in Stillwater in the final week of the season. If the Sooners can knock off the Cowboys, who have been just destroying teams this season, it may be hard to keep them out of the National Championship.
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