National Championship Musical Chairs

With Stanford losing to Oregon last week, there remain only two undefeated teams left in the national championship debate: LSU and Oklahoma State. However, there are many more one loss teams still in consideration.

Houston is also undefeated at 10-0 but has had a far from hardy strength of scheduled to be in national championship consideration.

That leaves four one-loss teams still in the hunt for the national championship.

Alabama

The Tide has lost one game this year to the number one team in the country, LSU. They managed to hold the Tigers to just nine points in their overtime loss. Alabama’s inability to make crucial field goals cost them the game.

But the Crimson Tide still have a chance for redemption. It will take a win against #24 Auburn and an Oklahoma State loss. If that happens, can anybody say rematch?

Oregon

The Ducks are similar to Alabama in the fact that their one loss came to LSU. Since losing to the Tigers in week one, the Ducks have crushed every opponent, including then-undefeated and 4th-ranked Stanford.

The problem is Oregon really has little control of their own fate. Essentially, Oregon would need Oklahoma to lose this week to Baylor or next week to Iowa State and then beat Oklahoma State on December 3.

On top of that they would more than likely need Alabama to lose to Auburn on November 26.

Oklahoma

The Sooners have one unexplainable loss to Texas Tech. They have beaten teams like Texas, Florida State and Kansas State. They find themselves currently ranked 5th.

Oklahoma has the most control over their own fate out of any one-loss team. If Oklahoma wins out, they should play the SEC champ (most likely LSU) for the national title. The problem is they have an offensive juggernaut in Oklahoma State to go through.

Arkansas

The Razorbacks’ one loss came to Alabama earlier this year. They have since beaten Texas A&M, Auburn, and South Carolina.

The problem with Arkansas is that they lost to Alabama. Sure, it was a respectable win (if that even exists), but even if Arkansas wins out it will come down to a three-way tie between LSU, Alabama and Arkansas (assuming Bama wins out and LSU only loses to the Razorbacks).

The tiebreaker would come down to the head-to-head results of the two top ranked teams in the BCS polls. Meaning if Arkansas beats LSU, they would need Alabama to lose, too, and fall below them in the BCS rankings. It’s a tall order for the Hogs.

Ultimately, Oklahoma State and LSU have the best chance of playing each other for the national title. Of the one-loss teams, I’d say Oklahoma has the best shot if they can beat Oklahoma State.

The other one-loss teams essentially have to rely on someone else to keep their hopes alive. Regardless, it will be an interesting next few weeks.