3rd Down: The Undefeated

Anyone want to play the 'what if' game?  There has been a constant debate going on for weeks now, in college football about who would play Alabama in the national title game.  Well, now that Alabama is out of the equation (for now), the conversation heats up with both BCS title spots up for grabs and three teams that can all make compelling cases for why they should play in the championship game.  Nick and I thought it would be fun to talk about each one and what they've got working for, or against them regarding their bid for a BCS Title appearance.  Chances are that as soon as we finish this blog, one of them will lose and this will be all for not but here goes. 

Kansas State
Working for them- At the moment, K-State has the most important thing in the whole equation working for it- they're number one in the BCS, which I hear is important.  Another perk the Wildcats have over No. 2 Oregon is that they don't have to play in a conference championship game, therefor have fewer opportunities to screw it up.  I understand that this can really boost a team, as we often vote on give more important to what happens late in the season but, K-State is number one, and until they lose, they probably won't get jumped. 

Another big plus for Kansas State is that they've got the current Heisman frontrunner on their team.  Collin Klein brings a lot of attention to the Wildcats each week and with a highly visible game against Texas, that's sure garner a lot of coverage, that can only help you.

Working against them-I think the only thing working against this team right now is a home game against Texas to end the season. The Longhorns are surging right now and looking like a team that can beat the Wildcats. The other problem I see for this team is they have not played as well lately as they were early in the season when they beat Oklahoma and blew out both West Virginia and Texas Tech. The only thing that can keep this team from playing in the title game is for Collin Kline to fall back to earth and an unexpected loss to Baylor or Texas over the next two weeks. I honestly do not see this team losing and expect them in Miami on Jan. 7.
Oregon
Working for them- Probably the biggest thing Oregon has going for it right now is that every human poll out there loves the Ducks.  They're ranked No. 1 in AP, Coaches Poll and Harris Poll.  No one passes they eye test quite like the Ducks who's high flying, churn and burn offense, chews opponents up and spits them out- they're cranking out nearly 55 points and 325 rushing yards per game. 

Working against them- We don't get to see them very often.  Playing on the West Coast, the Ducks often don't start until 10pm or later on the East Coast. 
Their schedule- let's face it, the Ducks strength of schedule is weak.  If they win out, they won't have a single team on their schedule with fewer than three losses and will likely not have any opponents finish in the top 20.

Their conference title game could help them- if UCLA represents the Pac-12 South.  I say that because, at the moment UCLA only has two losses.  If they face USC, we'll be looking at three loss opponent who would get their fourth if the Ducks win, likely putting SC on the bubble of the top 25, further devaluing the Ducks already shaky strength of schedule. 

Notre Dame
Working for them- They're Notre Dame.  Like it or not, they still carry a lot of weight in college football and a nation title game with the Irish would bring in mega-ratings. 

Working against them-  Narrow, home wins over, Purdue (by 3), Stanford (in OT, by 7), BYU (by 3) and Pitt (by 3 in 3OT).  You can excuse the close win over Stanford but the other three?  At Notre Dame?  That's hard to ignore.

Some BCS Title Game Scenarios:
Now that we have talked about what all three undefeated teams have going for and against them let's look at a few scenarios and title game possibilities. There is no way I can talk about every scenario without this blog going on for the rest of the season, but I am going to talk about a few that are very likley.

An Kansas State loss with Oregon and Notre Dame winning out:
Oregon-Notre Dame play for title.

An Oregon loss and K-State and Notre Dame winning out:
Kansas State-Notre Dame meet in Miami.

An Notre Dame loss and K-State and Oregon winning out:
Kansas State and Oregon meet in the championship.

All three undefeated teams win out:
If this happens I think the computers and the pollsters will choose a Oregon-Kansas State championship game.

All of those scenarios are pretty easy to imagine when it really gets crazy if all three undefeated teams lose or two of the three lose.

If both Kansas State and Oregon lose, with Notre Dame winning out and Alabama beating Georgia in the SEC Title game:
If this happens, the two best defenses in the country will meet in Miami. An undefeated Notre Dame team makes the National Title game and I think a one loss SEC Champion Bama team still makes the title game since Georgia will most likely be a top five team when they play in Atlanta.

If both Oregon and Notre Dame lose, Kansas State winning out and Bama still beats Georgia in the SEC Title game:
K-State meets Bama in the NC Game. If this happens I think the two best teams in the country will meet in the national championship. This is the game I have wanted to see all season long. Now after Bama struggled with an very talented quarterback in Johnny Manziel, I want to see how they handle Collin Kline.

If Kansas State and Notre Dame lose, Oregon wins out and Bama wins SEC:
This could be one of the biggest contrasts in styles with Oregon playing a fast paced game against an excellent Alabama defense. I think if this happens you will see what most people wanted to see at the beginning of the season.

If all three undefeated teams lost: This is where it gets really crazy and it is hard to even begin to imagine the scenarios. If this happens there are literally a thousand different ways this could go with Bama getting a shot to defend its title, Georgia beating Alabama and getting a chance at the title. I think we need to let the season play out a little more before we really make some assumptions.