The 2011 college football season is just about wrapped up and the Stanford Cardinal appear to be locked in at no better than the fourth position. Virginia Tech's loss to the Clemson Tigers means nobody will jump ahead of Stanford. Additionally, Oklahoma State's victory over Oklahoma means nobody will fall behind Stanford.
The ability to finish fourth in the BCS rankings is likely to guarantee Stanford a shot in a BCS bowl, with the Fiesta Bowl being their likely destination. Oklahoma State's beatdown of the Oklahoma Sooners opens the door for a possible change in the BCS, but it is hard to tell if a 44-10 victory is enough to leap the Cowboys over the Alabama Crimson Tide. My personal guess is it was not enough, but if the voters feel some overwhelming urge to have an LSU-Oklahoma State national title game, who am I to argue?
As it currently stands in my mind, we are looking at a Stanford-Oklahoma State Fiesta Bowl. LSU will likely face Alabama in the national title game and Oregon will face Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Clemson and West Virginia won their respective conferences and we could potentially see TCU get into the mix as well. It should make for an intriguing Sunday afternoon.
Here are my projected top ten in the BCS:
1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma State
4. Stanford
5. Boise State
6. Oregon
7. Arkansas
8. Kansas State
9. South Carolina
10. Wisconsin