After one week of the 2011 college football season, we have a better idea of which teams are contenders for the BCS national championship and those that are merely pretending.
Of the 120 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, about 90 percent of them enter the season with no realistic chance of being crowned college football’s national champion.
But there are always a handful of teams that are legit, and after the first week there are at least nine teams that look like they could make an appearance in the BCS national championship game in New Orleans on January 9, 2012.
Contenders
LSU – Of all the teams with national championship aspirations, the Tigers are easily the most well motivated. The last time they won the BCS title in 2007, they beat Ohio State at the Superdome in New Orleans, the site for this season’s national championship game.
LSU pushed Oregon around in their 40-27 win over the Ducks and did it without their starting quarterback and their top wide receiver. The defense and special teams are solid and the offensive line creates holes for their running game.
The biggest obstacle facing LSU comes from SEC West division rival Alabama.
Boise State – The Broncos are no longer the Cinderellas of college football. Boise State continues to win big games against teams from the power conferences, and Saturday’s 35-21 win over Georgia was convincing.
The Broncos are physical and quarterback Kellen Moore is efficient. The defense is a tad undersized but they use their speed to put pressure on the opponent’s QB. Boise State’s schedule is very agreeable and the lone game remaining on their schedule that may prove difficult is against TCU on November 12 at home.
Alabama – The Crimson Tide had an uninspiring season opening win over Kent State, but the most talented team in college football only had to go through the motions to beat the Golden Flashes.
We’ll find out this week if Alabama is a serious contender for the national championship when they face Penn State in Happy Valley.
Oklahoma – The Sooners entered the season as the No.1 team in college football, and they played up to that ranking by beating a good Tulsa team on Saturday.
Heisman Trophy candidate Landry Jones completed 35 of 47 passes for 375 yards and one touchdown. Oklahoma’s offense piled up 663 yards of offense, but their defense gave up 400 yards to the Golden Hurricane which has to be an area of concern.
Like Alabama, we’ll know more about the Sooners following their bye week when they take on Florida State in Tallahassee on September 17.
Florida State – The Seminoles weren’t flashy in beating Louisiana-Monroe 34-0 to open their season, but they got a chance to break in new starting quarterback E.J. Manuel.
Florida State didn’t run the ball very well against the Warhawks, gaining only 92 yards on the ground. But Manuel was solid in completing 22 of 34 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns.
The Seminoles only gave up 191 yards to the Warhawks and their special teams are as good as advertised. Florida State’s chances of reaching New Orleans will be largely decided when they face Oklahoma on September 17.
Wisconsin – With the addition of new starting quarterback Russell Wilson, some believe Wisconsin is a legitimate contender to reach the BCS national championship game. Wilson didn’t have to do much passing in the Badgers 51-17 win over UNLV to open their season, but he completed 10 of 13 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
Wisconsin’s bread and butter is their running game, and a host of Badgers’ running backs combined to gain 241 yards on the ground. The Badgers face Oregon State on September 10, a team that lost to FBS member Sacramento State on Saturday.
Oklahoma State – Everyone knows the Cowboys have an explosive offense and an average defense, and that’s exactly what we saw in Oklahoma State’s 61-34 season opening win against Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Cowboys rolled up 666 yards against the Ragin Cajuns, but gave up 320 yards. Oklahoma State turned the ball over three times too, all coming from interceptions thrown by quarterback Brandon Weeden. If Oklahoma State is going to remain in the mix of teams vying for a national championship, they’ll have to tighten up the defense and stop turning the ball over.
Texas A&M – With so many distractions taking place because of the turmoil that exists in the Big 12, Texas A&M was very workman-like in their 46-14 season opening win over a good SMU team.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was fantastic in completing 21 of 26 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns leading the Aggies balanced offense. Texas A&M has a bye week then face Idaho on September 17, then the following week things get serious when they take on Oklahoma State.
Nebraska – The Cornhuskers had no trouble defeating Chattanooga 40-7 in their season opener, but it wasn’t exactly vintage Nebraska football. The Cornhuskers ran for 229 yards, but quarterback Taylor Martinez was merely average in completing 11 of 22 passes for 116 yards.
We’re probably not going to know much about Nebraska until they face Wisconsin on October 1.
Pretenders
Oregon – The Ducks were ranked No.3 entering the season and were hoping to send a message when they faced LSU on Saturday, but it was the Tigers who sent the message.
Oregon has a lot of offensive weapons and they can score tons of points, unless of course they’re facing a team like LSU that pushed them around all night. The Ducks are clearly a finesse team that likes to use their speed, but they don’t perform well against opponents who are more physical.
The Ducks can still reach the national championship game but they’ll have to win out and get some help from other teams.
TCU – In what was the most entertaining game to open the college football season, TCU lost a 50-48 thriller on a Baylor field goal with just over a minute left to play.
The Horned Frogs rallied from a 47-23 deficit to take a 48-47 lead in the fourth quarter, mostly behind the passing of quarterback Casey Pachall who completed 25 of 39 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns.
But against a very good Baylor team, the biggest weakness facing TCU this season came to light when their defense gave up 564 yards to the Bears. The Horned Frogs only chance to play for a national championship was to complete their schedule undefeated, but losing to the Bears means they can kiss any hopes of reaching New Orleans goodbye.
Notre Dame – The Fighting Irish entered the season as a dark horse national championship contender, but their BCS title dreams virtually came to an end less than five minutes into their first game against South Florida.
Notre Dame had one of the tougher roads to New Orleans to begin with, but losing to the Bulls at home wasn’t supposed to happen. The Fighting Irish gained 508 yards against South Florida but turned the ball over five times, the biggest of which was on their opening drive.
The Irish will have to win out in order to have a chance to play for the national championship, but they’ll need help from other teams.
Georgia – After a dismal 2010 season, many believed that Georgia was poised to rebound in 2011. Playing in front of a partisan crowd in Atlanta against Boise State was the perfect opportunity for the Bulldogs to send a message, but the Broncos did all the talking.
Georgia’s offensive line was terrible and quarterback Aaron Murray looked like a freshman starting his first game. The Bulldogs special teams weren’t very good and their secondary looked lost. And to make matters worse, Boise State won’t be the best team Georgia faces this season.
