As we enter the halfway point of the 2011 season, there are still 13 teams without a loss. Three in the Big Ten; Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois and three in the Big 12: Kansas State, Oklahoma State, & Oklahoma. The SEC has two, Alabama and LSU, the ACC has two, Georgia Tech & Clemson and the PAC 12 has one, Stanford. The Big East is the only AQ Conference that is unable to boast of an undefeated member. Two non AQ Conferences, The Mountain West and Conference USA have one each, Boise State and Houston.
In the Big Ten, Wisconsin plays Illinois on 11/19 but does not play Michigan this season. This does allow for the potential of two undefeated teams meeting in the first ever Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis. Not so with Illinois – in the event the Illini were to go unbeaten, they would have had to taken down Michigan and Wisconsin, who they play on back to back weekends in November. So based on scheduling, the Big Ten could end its regular season with two undefeated teams; Wisconsin and Michigan.
In the Big 12, Oklahoma plays Kansas State on October 29th and Oklahoma State, in the Bedlam Game, on December 3rd. Kansas State plays the Oklahoma schools on back to back weekends, OU on the 29th of October and Ok State on November 5th. So there can only be one undefeated team at the completion of the regular season, in the Big 12. Since the Conference has only ten teams for the 2011 campaign, they do not have a championship game this year.
LSU and Bama “lace em up” on the 5th of November, this will leave the SEC with one undefeated team, if things go according to Hoyle. While the SEC does have a title game, all of the teams representing the Eastern division have @ least one loss. The SEC has the potential to finish the regular season with one undefeated team, not two, like the Big Ten.
The ACC’s two undefeated teams, Clemson & Georgia Tech, are in the unique position of possibly playing each other twice before the Bowl Season kicks off. They meet at Georgia Tech on the 29th of October and could meet again, in the ACC’s Atlantic vs Coastal showdown on December 3rd. Please keep in mind, these teams have end of the season dates with SEC powers, Tech plays host to Georgia & Clemson visits South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium. So a long way to go in the ACC to think about an undefeated representative, and while Clemson, looks to be the best team in the league, they clearly have the more difficult road to travel (@ Tech & South Carolina).
Stanford, the PAC 12 lone undefeated team, is suspected of preying on the weak. They have beaten only one team with a winning record, a 3-2 Duke, who plays Florida State later today. Please deposit this information early into your Bank Account, by day’s end, The Cardinal will not have beaten a single team with a winning record, as they should handle a 3-2 Washington State @ home today. Things will change in the coming weeks, as they face Washington, USC, Oregon, and Notre Dame. However, the schedule is favorable, as they play only Southern Cal on the road. While the PAC 12 has its inaugural Title Game on December 3rd, all teams in the South have at least one loss.
The Mountain West’s unblemished team, Boise State, has to worry, on paper, only about a down, yet dangerous, TCU team, in its run toward its second undefeated season in the past three years. Boise has lost only a bowl game, in 08, to TCU, 17-16 and an Overtime contest, last year, to Nevada, 34-31. Meanwhile, Houston, the C-USA undefeated team, has end of the season meetings with SMU at home and Tulsa (Mini Red River Rivalry) on the road to which they must bring their A game. If the focus in their other games, they simply are better than their opponents and should prevail, that is, if they come to play.
So what does this all mean? It means this! The Big Ten will have one undefeated team…. Wisconsin! Oklahoma does not survive “Bedlam”, and finishes the season with one loss to Oklahoma State, who also has a loss (play @ Texas, @ Missouri, and @ Texas Tech; plus, Kansas State at home, before they even get to Bedlam, one of these games will end their run) leaving all Big 12 teams with at least one loss! Now the fun part, Bama beats LSU, who also loses, @ home, to Arkansas. The Razorbacks finish the season with one loss. Alabama heads into the SEC Championship game, @ the Georgia Dome, without a defeat and leaves’ stunned, a shocking 7 point loss, to Mark Richt and the Georgia Bulldogs. No team has survived the rigors of the rugged SEC! Out West, Stanford losses to Oregon & ND and goes the way of the Buffalo. Meantime, Clemson beats Georgia Tech in the ACC Title Game, but had already loss to them @ Bobby Dodd Stadium on 10/29. Georgia Tech ends their season with two straight losses, first to Georgia and then in the ACC Championship game to Clemson. The ACC has no team without a blemish. The Big East was last heard from trying to attract the Beijing Tigers to their league, but only for American Football and Chinese Checkers. So in the end, the BCS Title Game has thee undefeated Teams to choose from: Wisconsin, Boise State, & Houston, and several one loss teams; Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, & Oklahoma State. Wisconsin (Houston is ignored by the BCS and Boise State goes to a BCS Bowl… but not THE BCS BOWL); it’s Wisconsin vs a one loss team out of the SEC…. Alabama! Just a thought People! Enjoy the Games.
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