LSU, Oregon Top BCS, But For How Long?

Nov. 11, 2007 — -- Get ready for a fight to the finish.

Ohio State's loss to Illinois on Saturday assured that there won't be a berth in the BCS National Championship Game clinched on Nov. 17. And looking at the schedules of the new top five teams in the standings, it's almost certain that much of the BCS puzzle will remain scrambled until the final day of the regular season ... maybe even until the day after.

LSU was the weekend's big winner, and it had little to do with the Tigers' bulldozing of overmatched Louisiana Tech. Losses by Alabama and Auburn allowed LSU to wrap up a spot in the SEC championship game, and the more significant loss by Ohio State moved the Tigers into the top spot in the BCS standings with only three weeks to play.

Oregon climbed up to No. 2, followed by the Big 12 trio of Kansas (No. 3), Oklahoma (No. 4) and Missouri (No. 5). Barring a few more upsets (which wouldn't be all that shocking in a year like this), the national championship race is down to these five teams.

And that means Dec. 1 is setting up like an old-school New Year's Day. With LSU playing in the SEC title game, Oregon hosting Oregon State and two of the Big 12 teams squaring off in a championship tilt on that date, there should be at least three matchups of great significance in the waning hours of the regular season. And if the upset bug starts biting, West Virginia's rivalry game with Pittsburgh that day also could be important.

Between now and then, these contending teams should check themselves in the mirror frequently, because style will matter. No team in the top five has established itself so far ahead of the others that it can afford to slop around when facing lesser opposition. Every touchdown or defensive stand could help, since voters will be looking to separate two teams from the pack over the next three weeks.

Perhaps no team has more need to earn style points than Oregon. The Ducks (8-1) have remaining games at Arizona (4-6), at UCLA (5-5) and versus Oregon State (6-4). Simply winning those games will not be overly impressive to voters. With Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri all having the chance to beat at least one top-10 team down the stretch, Oregon might need to win big just to hold on to its No. 2 position.