SWC75
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As of 10/24/11, these are the undefeated teams left in Division 1A/FBS college football. (The BCS standings are out now and since they, not the writer‘s or coach’s poll determine who gets into the national championship game, I‘ll just quote the BCS ranking from here on in.)
Teams in BCS automatic qualifying conferences:
LOUISIANA STATE 8-0 (314-92) is ranked #1
Their remaining opponents:
10/29 BYE
11/5 at Alabama #2 (8-0)
11/12 Western Kentucky (3-4)
11/19 at Mississippi (2-5)
11/25 Arkansas #10 (6-1)
They have two remaining games against ranked teams and two against teams with winning records. They play one undefeated team and one one loss team. Their league has a championship game.
ALABAMA 8-0 (315-55) ranked #2
Their remaining opponents:
11/5 Louisiana State #1 (8-0)
11/12 at Mississippi State (3-4)
11/19 Georgia Southern (7-0)
11/26 at Auburn #23 (5-3)
They have two remaining games against ranked teams and two against undefeated teams. One of those is LSU. The other is Georgia Southern, the #1 ranked FSC school which has won six national championships on that level. If Alabama beats LSU it could be the #1 FBS team vs. the #1 FCS team. They have three games remaining against teams with winning records. Their league has a championship game.
OKLAHOMA STATE 7-0 (340-188) ranked #3
Their remaining opponents:
10/29 Baylor (4-2)
11/5 Kansas State #8 (7-0)
11/12 at Texas Tech #20 (5-2)
11/18 at Iowa State (3-4)
12/3 Oklahoma #9 (6-1)
They have three remaining games vs. ranked teams and four against teams with winning records. They play one undefeated team. Their league does not have a championship game.
CLEMSON 8-0 (289-186) ranked #5
Their remaining opponents:
10/29 at Georgia Tech (6-2)
11/5 BYE
11/12 Wake Forest (5-2)
11/19 at North Carolina State (4-3)
11/26 at South Carolina #13 (6-1)
They have one remaining game against ranked teams but all four against teams with winning records. One of those teams have one loss. Their league has a championship game.
STANFORD 7-0 (340-88) ranked #6
Their remaining opponents:
10/29 at Southern California (6-1)
11/5 at Oregon State (2-5)
11/12 Oregon #7 (6-1)
11/19 California (4-3)
11/26 Notre Dame (4-3)
They have only one remaining game against a ranked team but three against teams with winning records. Two of those teams have one loss. Their league has a championship game. (I’m shocked USC isn’t in the Top 25 at 6-1. I‘m also shocked that Oklahoma State, Boise State and Clemson are ranked above Stanford, who have defeated every opponent by at least 26 points.)
KANSAS STATE 7-0 (235-138) ranked #11
10/29 Oklahoma #9 (6-1)
11/5 at Oklahoma State #3 (7-0)
11/12 Texas A&M (5-2)
11/19 at Texas #24 (4-2)
12/3 Iowa State (3-4)
They have three remaining games against ranked teams and four games against teams with winning records. One of those teams is undefeated. Their league does not have a championship game.
Teams in non-automatic qualifying conferences
BOISE STATE 7-0 (303-113) ranked #4
Their remaining opponents:
11/5 at UNLV (1-5)
11/12 Texas Christian (5-2)
11/19 at San Diego State (4-2)
11/26 Wyoming (4-2)
12/3 New Mexico (0-7)
They have no remaining games against ranked teams but three games against teams with winning records. Their league does not have a championship game.
HOUSTON 7-0 (346-164) rank #17
10/27 Rice (2-5)
11/5 at UAB (1-6)
11/10 at Tulane (2-6)
11/19 Southern Methodist (5-2)
11/26 at Tulsa (4-3)
They have no games against ranked teams. Two are against a team with a winning record remaining. That team has one loss. Their league has a championship game.
Comment: Two big ones went down: Wisconsin on a Hail Mary and replay vs. Michigan State and Oklahoma, whose patched-up defense couldn’t stop Texas Tech.
The Badgers may have a rematch against the Spartans in the first Big Ten Championship game. State is the only team, to beat them in the last two regular seasons. Here’s a blast from the past: Perhaps the most famous play in a regular season game is Billy Cannon’s 89 yard punt return through the whole Mississippi team on Halloween night in 1959. It allowed the defending national champions, ranked #1 to beat #3 Mississippi, probably their biggest rival at the time. (The play was equally important to Syracuse as Tennessee upset LSU on a goal line stand the next week and thus the top two teams in the SEC were out of the way on the road to the national title.) Mississippi got a rematch vs. the Tigers in the Sugar Bowl and crushed them 21-0. They held Cannon and his mates to -15 yards rushing and 74 total yards while gaining 363 themselves. What if Wisconsin came back and beat the Spartans like that? It could thrust them back into the national title picture. Is a team that decisively avenges it’s only defeat as good as an undefeated team? But for now, they are out of it.
Oklahoma has the chance to take two other Big 12 teams out of it themselves: Kansas State, who is undefeated. People think they haven’t played anybody but their schedule is not much different than the Oklahoma teams, whom they will play in the next two weeks. They were winning a lot of close games but they just blew out Kansas 59-21 so they may be gaining confidence and momentum. I still don’t think Oklahoma State or Clemson have the defense to take it the distance. Stanford is now the golden team with the Golden Boy. They look like the Indy Colts in their heyday, when they actually had a running game to go with the passing show. They are just crushing people. They finally played a ranked team in Washington and buried them 65-21. Nobody has gotten within 26 points of them. But USC and Oregon are coming up and they will be big tests. If the Sooners clean out the Big 12 and Stanford gets beat, Boise State may actually get a shot at a national title. Houston can forget it.
Both Alabama and LSU have a bye. We’ve been talking about comparative scores. The Tide and the Tigers seem to be trying to outdo each other. Alabama beat Florida, 38-10 and got a cover story in SI about having the greatest defense ever. Then LSU throttled the Gators, 41-11. LSU crushed Tennessee, 38-7. Alabama answered 37-6. This will be the most anticipated regular season game in years. It’s presumed to be a sort of “national semi-final” and could be if Alabama doesn’t get AppStated by Georgia Southern or get n=knokedc off by ancient rival Auburn and if LSU doesn’t get knocked off by Auburn. One wonders if, given the tremendous record of the SEC in recent years, (five straight national titles by four different teams), if the Alabama-LSU game is close, might they have a rematch in the national title game. If there was someone else still undefeated out there, wouldn’t that be quite the subject of conversation?
Remaining games between undefeated teams:
11/5 LSU at Alabama and Oklahoma State at Kansas State
Here are the games between undefeated teams and those dangerous-looking one loss teams:
10/29 Stanford at Southern California, Oklahoma at Kansas State
11/12 Oregon at Stanford
11/25 LSU at Arkansas
11/26 Clemson at South Carolina
12/3 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State
Teams in BCS automatic qualifying conferences:
LOUISIANA STATE 8-0 (314-92) is ranked #1
Their remaining opponents:
10/29 BYE
11/5 at Alabama #2 (8-0)
11/12 Western Kentucky (3-4)
11/19 at Mississippi (2-5)
11/25 Arkansas #10 (6-1)
They have two remaining games against ranked teams and two against teams with winning records. They play one undefeated team and one one loss team. Their league has a championship game.
ALABAMA 8-0 (315-55) ranked #2
Their remaining opponents:
11/5 Louisiana State #1 (8-0)
11/12 at Mississippi State (3-4)
11/19 Georgia Southern (7-0)
11/26 at Auburn #23 (5-3)
They have two remaining games against ranked teams and two against undefeated teams. One of those is LSU. The other is Georgia Southern, the #1 ranked FSC school which has won six national championships on that level. If Alabama beats LSU it could be the #1 FBS team vs. the #1 FCS team. They have three games remaining against teams with winning records. Their league has a championship game.
OKLAHOMA STATE 7-0 (340-188) ranked #3
Their remaining opponents:
10/29 Baylor (4-2)
11/5 Kansas State #8 (7-0)
11/12 at Texas Tech #20 (5-2)
11/18 at Iowa State (3-4)
12/3 Oklahoma #9 (6-1)
They have three remaining games vs. ranked teams and four against teams with winning records. They play one undefeated team. Their league does not have a championship game.
CLEMSON 8-0 (289-186) ranked #5
Their remaining opponents:
10/29 at Georgia Tech (6-2)
11/5 BYE
11/12 Wake Forest (5-2)
11/19 at North Carolina State (4-3)
11/26 at South Carolina #13 (6-1)
They have one remaining game against ranked teams but all four against teams with winning records. One of those teams have one loss. Their league has a championship game.
STANFORD 7-0 (340-88) ranked #6
Their remaining opponents:
10/29 at Southern California (6-1)
11/5 at Oregon State (2-5)
11/12 Oregon #7 (6-1)
11/19 California (4-3)
11/26 Notre Dame (4-3)
They have only one remaining game against a ranked team but three against teams with winning records. Two of those teams have one loss. Their league has a championship game. (I’m shocked USC isn’t in the Top 25 at 6-1. I‘m also shocked that Oklahoma State, Boise State and Clemson are ranked above Stanford, who have defeated every opponent by at least 26 points.)
KANSAS STATE 7-0 (235-138) ranked #11
10/29 Oklahoma #9 (6-1)
11/5 at Oklahoma State #3 (7-0)
11/12 Texas A&M (5-2)
11/19 at Texas #24 (4-2)
12/3 Iowa State (3-4)
They have three remaining games against ranked teams and four games against teams with winning records. One of those teams is undefeated. Their league does not have a championship game.
Teams in non-automatic qualifying conferences
BOISE STATE 7-0 (303-113) ranked #4
Their remaining opponents:
11/5 at UNLV (1-5)
11/12 Texas Christian (5-2)
11/19 at San Diego State (4-2)
11/26 Wyoming (4-2)
12/3 New Mexico (0-7)
They have no remaining games against ranked teams but three games against teams with winning records. Their league does not have a championship game.
HOUSTON 7-0 (346-164) rank #17
10/27 Rice (2-5)
11/5 at UAB (1-6)
11/10 at Tulane (2-6)
11/19 Southern Methodist (5-2)
11/26 at Tulsa (4-3)
They have no games against ranked teams. Two are against a team with a winning record remaining. That team has one loss. Their league has a championship game.
Comment: Two big ones went down: Wisconsin on a Hail Mary and replay vs. Michigan State and Oklahoma, whose patched-up defense couldn’t stop Texas Tech.
The Badgers may have a rematch against the Spartans in the first Big Ten Championship game. State is the only team, to beat them in the last two regular seasons. Here’s a blast from the past: Perhaps the most famous play in a regular season game is Billy Cannon’s 89 yard punt return through the whole Mississippi team on Halloween night in 1959. It allowed the defending national champions, ranked #1 to beat #3 Mississippi, probably their biggest rival at the time. (The play was equally important to Syracuse as Tennessee upset LSU on a goal line stand the next week and thus the top two teams in the SEC were out of the way on the road to the national title.) Mississippi got a rematch vs. the Tigers in the Sugar Bowl and crushed them 21-0. They held Cannon and his mates to -15 yards rushing and 74 total yards while gaining 363 themselves. What if Wisconsin came back and beat the Spartans like that? It could thrust them back into the national title picture. Is a team that decisively avenges it’s only defeat as good as an undefeated team? But for now, they are out of it.
Oklahoma has the chance to take two other Big 12 teams out of it themselves: Kansas State, who is undefeated. People think they haven’t played anybody but their schedule is not much different than the Oklahoma teams, whom they will play in the next two weeks. They were winning a lot of close games but they just blew out Kansas 59-21 so they may be gaining confidence and momentum. I still don’t think Oklahoma State or Clemson have the defense to take it the distance. Stanford is now the golden team with the Golden Boy. They look like the Indy Colts in their heyday, when they actually had a running game to go with the passing show. They are just crushing people. They finally played a ranked team in Washington and buried them 65-21. Nobody has gotten within 26 points of them. But USC and Oregon are coming up and they will be big tests. If the Sooners clean out the Big 12 and Stanford gets beat, Boise State may actually get a shot at a national title. Houston can forget it.
Both Alabama and LSU have a bye. We’ve been talking about comparative scores. The Tide and the Tigers seem to be trying to outdo each other. Alabama beat Florida, 38-10 and got a cover story in SI about having the greatest defense ever. Then LSU throttled the Gators, 41-11. LSU crushed Tennessee, 38-7. Alabama answered 37-6. This will be the most anticipated regular season game in years. It’s presumed to be a sort of “national semi-final” and could be if Alabama doesn’t get AppStated by Georgia Southern or get n=knokedc off by ancient rival Auburn and if LSU doesn’t get knocked off by Auburn. One wonders if, given the tremendous record of the SEC in recent years, (five straight national titles by four different teams), if the Alabama-LSU game is close, might they have a rematch in the national title game. If there was someone else still undefeated out there, wouldn’t that be quite the subject of conversation?
Remaining games between undefeated teams:
11/5 LSU at Alabama and Oklahoma State at Kansas State
Here are the games between undefeated teams and those dangerous-looking one loss teams:
10/29 Stanford at Southern California, Oklahoma at Kansas State
11/12 Oregon at Stanford
11/25 LSU at Arkansas
11/26 Clemson at South Carolina
12/3 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State
