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At the Big Ten meetings, commissioner Jim Delany voiced his preference that only the four highest-ranked conference champions be included in a possible four-team playoff, which could begin in 2014.

He also expressed his preference that the games be played using the current bowl structure instead of the home stadiums of the top two seeds, mostly because of the conference’s desire to preserve the Rose Bowl.

Since the inception of the BCS in 1998, the Big Ten has failed to place a team in the top four of the final BCS standings in eight of 14 seasons. In other words, if there had been a four-team playoff using the BCS standings to select the top teams, the Big Ten would have been left out 57 percent of the time. In the last four seasons, the highest-ranked Big Ten team was Wisconsin in 2010 at No. 5.

The Big Ten is afraid of a possible SEC monopoly on the four-team playoff. However, history suggests Delany’s proposal could work against his conference.

In half of the 14 seasons under the BCS, at least one conference placed two teams in the top four of the BCS Standings – including each of the last two years and three of the last four. In two of those instances, the Big Ten was the conference with two top-four teams.

In 2006 and 2008, two conferences produced the BCS’ final top four teams. In 2006, the top four were No. 1 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan of the Big Ten, and No. 2 Florida and No. 4 LSU of the SEC. In 2008, it was No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 Texas of the Big 12, and No. 2 Florida and No. 4 Alabama of the SEC.

The two plans are vastly different. How so? Take a look at the table to the right, which shows the different matchups using the 2011 season as an example.

Under Delany’s plan, the 10th- and fifth-ranked teams would have reached the national semifinals and the second- and fourth-ranked teams would have been left out.

Even after Alabama won the BCS Championship Game, the question of whether a team that failed to win its conference championship is worthy to play for the national title still divides fans. In the next few weeks, we’ll have an answer which could change college football.

When No. 6 Baylor and No. 4 Missouri go toe-to-toe in Columbia, Mo on Saturday (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3), the key could be how much Baylor coach Scott Drew sticks to his zone defense.

Baylor is a team that has no major allegiance toward its man or zone defense. The Bears have played zone on 53 percent of their defensive plays this season. Their numbers in each type of defense are similar -- teams are shooting about 39 percent against both their man and zone defenses.

But Missouri is a better offensive team against a man defense, and especially against Baylor's man defense.

When Baylor and Missouri faced off earlier this season -- a game Missouri won 89-88 on Jan. 21 -- the Tigers were worlds better against Baylor's man defense than against its zone.

Missouri came away with points on 70 percent of its plays against Baylor's man defense but only 40 percent of its plays against the Bears' zone.

Baylor played zone for 82 percent of the first half and held Missouri to 39 points, which is actually below the Tigers' average this season. But in the second half, Baylor mixed it up evenly with its man and zone defenses. The result? Missouri scored on 16 of 20 plays against the man defense, as compared to just 45 percent against the zone, and ultimately Baylor gave up 50 second-half points and lost the game.

One of Baylor's major problems is that point guard Pierre Jackson, the team's most utilized man defender, has trouble defending in a man defense. When guarding man-to-man, Jackson is allowing opposing players to shoot 52 percent from the field and an adjusted field goal percentage of 66, which also factors in made 3-pointers. Exactly how bad has Jackson's man defense been this season? Check out the chart to the right for details.

Jackson's downfall could be exposed against a guard-oriented Missouri team -- one that has four of the top 100 players in terms of points per possession against man defense.

Against man-to-man defense, Missouri has the best offense in college basketball among teams with a minimum of 1,000 plays. The Tigers are the only team in the country averaging more than a point per play. They're scoring on 47 percent of their plays against man-to-man, which also leads the country. In addition, they're shooting 48 percent from the field and turning the ball over on approximately one of every seven plays, which both rank among the top 15 in college basketball.

Baylor's zone defense may not totally shut down Missouri's offense, but the Tigers turn the ball over more often and score less often against zone defenses. If Baylor sticks to its zone defense and plays it as well as it did against the Tigers in Waco, the Bears could leave Columbia with a signature win. If they don’t, it could get ugly.

Let’s get you warmed up for the College GameDay road show (live on Saturday from Nashville, Tenn. at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN) by taking a look at some notes and nuggets from our college hoops advanced stats research team (a group we call the "Stats in the Paint" team).

(1) Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 9 ET on ESPN

When Kentucky has the ball: Kentucky leads the SEC and ranks third among all Big Six conference schools in paint points per game (37.6) this season. More than 48 percent of the Wildcats’ points have come in the paint, the second-highest percentage by any school from a Big Six conference.

Kentucky averages 1.2 points per possession in SEC games this season, which leads all teams from Big Six Conferences.

The Wildcats are shooting 59.1 percent in transition, second in the SEC, but in conference games, their transition offense has struggled on the road.

When Vanderbilt has the ball: Vanderbilt has an effective field goal percentage of 56.1 and is shooting 42.1 percent from 3-point range during SEC play this season, which are both first in the conference.

In its last three games, Vanderbilt is shooting 31.8 percent (21-66) from 3-point range and is 10-for-40 (25.0 percent) on catch-and-shoot field goal attempts.

Kentucky averages 9.2 blocks per game and has a block percentage of 15.7, both of which are first in the nation.

Saturday’s Other Matchups

(12) Michigan State at (3) Ohio State, 6 ET on ESPN

Key stat: Ohio State averages 35.5 paint points per game this season, which leads the Big Ten. Michigan State averages 35.3 points in the paint, which is the second-most in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes allow just 21.8 paint points per game, third-fewest by any team in a Big Six conference.

(6) Baylor at (4) Missouri, 1:30 ET on ESPN3
Key stat: Missouri scored 46 points in the paint against Baylor on Jan. 21, its most in conference play this season. In that game, the Tigers made 16-of-18 field goals attempted inside of 5 feet.

(20) Virginia at (5) North Carolina, 1 ET on ESPN3

Key stat: The Tar Heels have scored 498 points in transition this season, fourth-most in the nation. Virginia’s defense has allowed just 130 points in transition, fourth-fewest in Division I.

(14) San Diego State at (16) UNLV, 4 ET
Key stat: San Diego State scored 18 points on 14 transition plays in its win against UNLV on Jan. 14. It was the most transition plays and points for the Aztecs in Mountain West play this season.

UNLV ranks second in the nation this season in both transition points (509) and transition plays (437). The Rebels have 288 more transition plays than the Aztecs this season.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys never led until making the final field goal in its Fiesta Bowl victory against the Stanford Cardinal.

Oklahoma State won its first-ever trip to a BCS bowl game and finished with a school-record 12 wins.

It was the third overtime game in Fiesta Bowl history (most recent before this year was 2007 between Boise State and Oklahoma).

Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon tied career and Fiesta Bowl highs with three receiving touchdowns, and was the first receiver this season to go for more than 100 yards against Stanford.

Blackmon (eight receptions, 186 yards) was bracketed for much of the game by multiple defenders but found space when the Cardinal blitzed.

He was targeted seven times, hauling in four passes for 139 yards, including two touchdowns, when Stanford sent five or more pass rushers.

Cowboys running back Joseph Randle ran for one touchdown, his 26th rushing touchdown of the season, finishing one behind Ricky Williams for the Big 12 record.

The door swung wide open for Oklahoma State, courtesy of Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson.

Williamson missed a career-high three field goals, including a possible game-winner at the end of regulation.

Andrew Luck ended his collegiate career with interceptions in six straight games. But he threw only four incompletions all game.

On Stanford's touchdown drives, Luck was even better. He was a perfect 15-for-15 passing on Stanford's touchdown drives.

Luck completed all but one of his 24 pass attempts from the pocket Monday. He was 14-of-14 when targeting Ty Montgomery or his tight ends from the pocket, including both of his touchdown passes.

Cardinal running back Stepfan Taylor finished with a career-high 177 yards in the loss.

Oklahoma State forced two turnovers and finished the season first in the nation with 44 forced turnovers.

The Alamo Bowl may not have the prestige attached to it of some of the traditional New Year's Day bowls, but there will be a lot of statistically-driven memories from the 2011 version in which Baylor overpowered Washington, 67-56.

The teams combined to set bowl records for combined points, touchdowns and yardage in a regulation game. The only higher-scoring bowl game in history was the 2001 double-overtime clash between Marshall and East Carolina, in which the teams combined for 125 total points.

One of the most notable individual marks came from a surprise source-- the five rushing touchdowns by Baylor's Terrance Ganaway tied a record for a bowl game, shared by Neil Snow (1902 Michigan against Stanford in the Rose Bowl) and Barry Sanders (1988 Oklahoma State against Wyoming in the Holiday Bowl).

Baylor finished with a six-game winning streak, its longest since 1985, and finished with a 10-win season for the first time since 1980. The Bears will be ranked in the final AP poll for the first time since 1986.

The Bears also broke the bowl record for most yardage by a team, surpassing the mark of 718 yards set by Arizona State in the 1972 Fiesta Bowl.

Washington quarterback Keith Price accounted for seven touchdowns (four passing and three rushing), which is an individual bowl record, as noted in the chart on the right.

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III was overshadowed a bit by the work of his teammate. He finished the season with a pass efficiency of 189.5, breaking the FBS single season record that was previously held by Colt Brennan of Hawaii.

He'll wait to see how Russell Wilson (191.6) of Wisconsin fares in the Rose Bowl to see if he can stake claim to being the record holder for that stat at season's end.

Griffin III did complete 6-of-9 passes for 103 yards in the second half when Baylor was trailing. It was fourth straight win for the Bears in games that they trailed after halftime. Griffin's pass efficiency in the second half of games in which his team trailed was 211.2 this season, second-best in FBS behind Brandon Weeden's 212.3.

Griffin becomes the third straight Heisman winner to win a bowl game, joining Mark Ingram and Cam Newton.

It wasn't a surprise that the game was as high scoring as it was. Washington entered the contest 99th in the FBS in points allowed per game. Baylor was worse, at 109th.

Baylor had 10 plays that gained 20 yards or more, tied for its most such plays in any game since the start of the 2004 season.

Two college football programs that missed out on the bowl party last year will face off in the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego tonight at 8 ET on ESPN.

The Texas Longhorns failed to qualify for a bowl last season for the first time under coach Mack Brown; the California Golden Bears didn’t play in the postseason last year for the first time since 2002.

The Longhorns are 8-4 in bowl games under Coach Brown, and since his first year in 1998, only two teams have more bowl victories: Georgia with 10 and Utah with nine. California has just 10 bowl wins all-time, though five of those have come under Bears coach Jeff Tedford since 2002.

California offense vs. Texas defense
Texas was carried this season by a defense that ranked first or second in the Big 12 in scoring, total and passing defense this season. However, in its last regular-season game, Baylor shredded that Longhorns defense, putting up the most total yards (511) and rushing yards (191) of any Texas opponent this season.

The Longhorns will be tested by a California offense that is excelling right now. Cal went 3-1 in November, losing only to Stanford by three points. During that month it ranked third in the Pac-12 in points per game (32.0) and second in rush yards per game (230.0).

The Bears' offense is powered by running back Isi Sofele, who is one of the most explosive rushers in the conference. Sofele had 21 rushes of 15 or more yards, the second-most in the Pac-12 behind only LaMichael James (33). Texas has allowed 19 carries of 15-plus yards, tied for third-fewest in the Big 12.

California also found success this season when passing on third down.

Quarterback Zach Maynard led the Pac-12 with a 139.4 pass-efficiency rating on third down.

He was at his best in his past two games when he was a combined 11-for-13 on third down with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Maynard will be challenged to repeat those performances by a Texas defense that ranked first in the Big 12 in pass efficiency defense on third down (86.7) and allowed the second-fewest yards per attempt (5.1).

Texas offense vs. California defense
As good as Texas was on defense this season, it was as bad on offense, ranking eighth out of 10 Big 12 teams in points scored and seventh in total yards.

The Longhorns really struggled when throwing the ball in the red zone, ranking last in nearly every red-zone passing category.

It likely won’t get any easier to score against a California defense that gave up the fewest red-zone passing touchdowns in the Pac-12 (9) and the third-fewest yards per attempt (3.8).

Stat of the game
This will be the 50th bowl appearance for Texas. The only school with more bowl appearances is Alabama, which will play in its 58th bowl when it takes the field for the BCS National Championship game on Jan. 9.

At the 77th annual Heisman Trophy presentation, Robert Griffin III did something that has never been done before as he became the first Heisman Trophy winner in Baylor history.

Griffin beat out Stanford quarterback, Andrew Luck, by 280 points. For comparison, last year’s winner Cam Newton beat Luck by 1,184 points.

This is the fifth time in the last six seasons that a quarterback has won the sport’s top honor.

Baylor is the sixth different school in the state of Texas with a Heisman, joining Texas, Texas A&M, Houston, TCU and SMU. No other state has had more than three schools with a winner (California, Florida).

Baylor is ranked 15th in the pre-bowl AP poll. It’s the lowest pre-bowl ranking for a Heisman winner’s team since Ricky Williams’ Texas squad was No. 20 in 1998, and the second-lowest in the last 25 seasons. Williams is also the last player from a Texas-based school to win the award.

Griffin is the first Heisman winner from a school that has never won a national championship since Wisconsin's Ron Dayne in 1999.

The junior quarterback has been Mr. Big Play, with half of his 36 TD passes having covered 35 yards or more. He's on pace to set the single-season passing efficiency record, thanks in part to his 10.8 yards per pass attempt, which is third-best in FBS history behind Michael Vick and Ty Detmer.

Griffin leads the nation with a passing efficiency rating of 192.3, which would be an NCAA single-season record if he can sustain it through his team’s bowl game. As good a mark as that is, Griffin has been even better when the game has been on the line.

When the game is in the second half, and the scoring margin is within eight points, his passing efficiency rating is 211.8, with seven touchdowns and only one interception.

When it came to pressure, Griffin handled it as well as any other quarterback in the nation. Griffin completed over 70 percent of his pass attempts when opponents blitzed this season with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions.

Griffin is the fifth Heisman winner from the Big 12 Conference and 29th quarterback ever honored.

There were 770 games played in the 2011 college football season. We give you the 10 plays that shaped the BCS Championship race.

1. Tyrann Mathieu returns fumble for TD
LSU 40, Oregon 27
Significance: These top-five teams were locked in a 6-3 game. The Tigers went three-and-out and punted, but Kenjon Barner fumbled the return at the three and LSU's playmaker snapped it up and went into the end zone for a momentum-shifting score.

2. Kirk Cousins completes 44-yard Hail Mary to Keith Nichol
Michigan State 37, Wisconsin 31
Significance: Wisconsin had its eyes on a perfect regular season and a spot in the title game. But after a last-second heave, ricochet, catch and then video review, that dream was dashed.

3. Oklahoma misses 28-yard field goal vs Texas Tech
Texas Tech 41, Oklahoma 38
Significance: The Sooners were preseason No. 1 and still undefeated, but trailed 31-7 at home. They mounted a comeback, but after Michael Hunnicutt's missed FG from 28 yards out there wasn't enough time left to overcome a 10-point deficit.

4. Tajh Boyd gets intercepted in the end zone
Georgia Tech 31, Clemson 17
Significance: Down 14 points, Clemson had just intercepted Georgia Tech, getting the ball at Georgia Tech's nine-yard line. But on the first play, Boyd was picked by Jemea Thomas, ending the Tigers' comeback and dashing their national-title hopes.

5. LSU’s Eric Reid intercepts Alabama at the 1-yard line
LSU 9, Alabama 6 (OT)
Significance: In a 6-6 game in the fourth quarter, LSU's Eric Reid wrestled the ball away from Alabama TE Michael Williams at the one-yard line for an interception, preventing what could have been the winning score. LSU would win it in overtime.

6. Boseko Lokombo picks off Andrew Luck and returns it for TD
Oregon 53, Stanford 30
Significance: This was Stanford’s last major obstacle to a perfect regular season. Down 16 points, Luck had Stanford driving. But the pick ended those hopes, putting the game out of reach and handing the Cardinal its only loss of the season.

7. Boise State misses 39-yard field goal as time expires
TCU 36, Boise State 35
Significance: Playing on the home turf where they had been dominant for so long, the Broncos went down a point after TCU made the gutsy call to go for two. But Boise drove down the field before Dan Goodale sailed his kick wide right as time expired and the Broncos were no longer unbeaten.

8. Brandon Weeden's pass intercepted in first play of second overtime
Iowa State 37, Oklahoma State 31 (2 OT)
Significance: The Cyclones came back from a 24-7 deficit to tie the game at 24 heading into overtime. But on the first play of the second overtime, Brandon Weeden was intercepted. Three plays later Iowa State scored to end Oklahoma State's dream.

9. Oregon misses 37-yard field goal as time expires
USC 38, Oregon 35
Significance: Even after their season-opening loss, the Ducks still had a shot at the BCS Championship. But USC, ineligible for postseason play, gave the Ducks a battle at Autzen Stadium. Down three, Oregon had the chance to send it into overtime. But Alejandro Maldonado missed a 37-yarder.

10. Robert Griffin III completes 34-yard TD pass with :08 left
Baylor 45, Oklahoma 38
Significance: Just like Oregon, Oklahoma still had a chance to sneak back into the title picture despite a loss. But Baylor's Heisman candidate Griffin shocked the Sooners with a game-winning touchdown pass with eight seconds left.

To see images of these plays, click here.

On Monday the five finalists invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony were revealed. This year has featured one of the most interesting races for the Heisman as no one player has stood from the rest.

Here's a look at what a Heisman Trophy win -- or loss -- would mean to these players and their respective schools.

Trent Richardson, Alabama
Two seasons ago Trent Richardson was a part of a National Championship team with a Heisman Trophy winner, when running back Mark Ingram became Alabama's first winner. Richardson has nearly identical numbers to Ingram this season, and has already totaled 23 touchdowns compared to Ingram's 20 TD's.

If Richardson were to win the award it would put him and Ingram in some rare company. In the history of the Heisman Trophy only three times have two different players playing the same position at the same school won the award in a span of three seasons. It last happened when USC QB Matt Leinart won it in 2004 after Carson Palmer had taken home the award in 2002.

Andrew Luck, Stanford
Luck is listed second here as he finished second for the Heisman last season and Stanford has actually had the Heisman runner-up in each of the past two seasons (Toby Gerhart, 2009).

If Luck wins he would be the second player in Stanford history to win the award (Jim Plunkett, 1970) and join 1981 Herschel Walker as the only Heisman runner-ups to win the award the next season.

If Luck finishes second, Stanford would set a record. No school has ever had a Heisman runner-up in three consecutive seasons.

Montee Ball, Wisconsin
Montee Ball earned his invite thanks to his impressive numbers. Ball needs one touchdown in the Rose Bowl to tie Barry Sanders' FBS record for touchdowns in a season (39). Sanders won the Heimsan trophy during that 1988 season.

The last time a Big Ten player had 25 touchdowns was Eddie George during the 1995 season. George went on to win the Heisman trophy that year.

Robert Griffin III, Baylor
RGIII finished off a great regular season in which he threw 36 touchdowns compared to only six interceptions, while also leading Baylor to nine wins, its most since the 1986 season.

Griffin's invite is an accomplishment in its own considering he plays for Baylor. The Bears have only had one player finish in the top five of the Heisman vote in school history. In 1963 Don Trull finished fourth.

If Baylor's Robert Griffin III wins the Heisman Trophy this year, he will be just the third player since the BCS was established in 1998 to win the Heisman without his team playing in a BCS bowl game.

Tyrann Mathieu, LSU
The Honey Badger will take the trip to New York looking to join Charles Woodson as the only defensive backs to win the Heisman trophy.

Despite being a defensive player, recent history is on Mathieu's side to take home the award. Since 2003, seven of the past eight Heisman Trophy winners have come from the team at number one in the BCS standings entering the National Championship Game.

Entering the bowl season the SEC maintains a healthy, but not unreachable lead in ESPN’s Stats & Information’s conference power rankings. For more on how we objectively rank conferences check here.

There are many parallels between the final BCS standings and the conference rankings. Most notably the SEC is ahead of the Big 12 primarily because of its human rankings. The Big 12 is actually a stronger conference in most computer ranking systems, but the AP poll more than makes up for the gap with four SEC teams in the top 10 (the Big 12 has one).

In the BCS Alabama is playing in the national championship primarily because of human voters. Four of the 6 computer rankings that make up the BCS have OSU ahead of Alabama, but the Tide had stronger human numbers.

Conference USA was the biggest loser during championship week as undefeated Houston took a huge slide down the AP rankings after its loss to Southern Miss. The loss is almost entirely the reason Conference USA fell behind the Big East in the conference rankings for the first time in weeks.

Interestingly Houston and Southern Miss are both ahead of the Big East BCS participant West Virginia in the AP poll and in each team’s average computer ranking.

With the exception of the national championship game every bowl game will feature inter-conference matchups, making the final conference rankings standings far from set in stone. Stay tuned.

When the No. 17 Baylor Bears and No. 22 Texas Longhorns take the field in Waco, Texas this afternoon, the Longhorns will be looking to avenge last year's loss to Baylor. It was their first loss to the Bears since 1997. Texas has not lost to Baylor in back-to-back seasons since 1991 and 1992.

Along with the revenge factor, there is a perhaps more intriguing under-the-radar matchup in this game which features the Big 12’s top-ranked offense (Baylor) and top-ranked defense (Texas).

The rise of the Longhorns defense this season has been led by first-year defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, a name that we are likely to see surface in talks for the numerous high-profile coaching vacancies now in college football.

Diaz has the Texas defense playing at its highest level in years and the Longhorns have been especially dominant since the end of October.

The Longhorns are allowing only 15.8 points per game over the last five weeks, and opponents are averaging a meager 1.9 yards per rushing attempt. That number is the best in the FBS over that span.

Diaz is spending his first season in Austin after a stint as defensive coordinator at Mississippi State a season ago. The Longhorns boast the only rushing defense in the Big 12 allowing less than 100 yards per game.

Their total of 95.7 yards rushing allowed per game is not only the best in the conference, it is nearly 43 yards better than a season ago. That is the second-best improvement in rushing defense amongst Big 12 teams.

Rushing defense isn’t the only statistical category in which Texas has improved. The Longhorns are allowing a lower completion percentage, forcing more turnovers and allowing fewer big plays (see chart on right).

Diaz’ absence at Mississippi State has been felt by the Bulldogs this season. Though Mississippi State still ranks among the top-20 nationally in scoring defense, the unit has seen significant decreases in several statistical categories.

Mississippi State has allowed 161 rushing yards per game this year, over 40 more per game than a season ago. Its opponent completion percentage is 65.8 percent this year, last in the SEC. In fact, in each of the categories that Texas improved this year under Diaz, Mississippi State has regressed.

In a remarkable coincidence, Mississippi State’s rush defense has allowed about 42 more yards per game this year than last. Texas' defensive improvement in that category? About 42 yards per game.

Clearly Coach Diaz isn’t the only reason behind these numbers, but it’s difficult to argue his value to each program over the last two seasons.

The 106th edition of the Bedlam Series between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Oklahoma Sooners kicks off at 8 ET on ABC Saturday night with state bragging rights and the Big 12 Conference title on the line.

The third-ranked Cowboys also have an outside shot at a berth in the BCS Championship game if they can deliver a convincing win over the 10th-ranked Sooners combined with a loss by LSU to Georgia in the SEC Championship.

The Sooners have long been the big brother in this series with wins in over 75 percent of the matchups since 1904, including the last eight. How lopsided has this rivalry been? Oklahoma has 26 30-point wins in the series and Oklahoma State has just one.

If the Cowboys can overcome this historical precedent they have a chance to re-write their record books. Oklahoma State has never been to BCS game and hasn’t even won a share of a conference title since 1976, when they split the Big 8 title three ways with Oklahoma and Colorado.

Offense Rules
Don’t expect the scoreboard operator to get bored during this game. Not only are the Cowboys and Sooners ranked third and fourth nationally in total offense, but they also are two of the quickest-scoring teams in FBS.

Oklahoma State leads FBS with 20 touchdown drives that last one minute or less; the Sooners are fourth with 16. The Cowboys have scored at least one touchdown in under a minute in every conference game this season, and are one of two teams averaging fewer than two minutes per touchdown drive this season.

What to Watch For
One of the key matchups in this game will be in the red zone, where the Cowboys have scored 47 touchdowns this season (third-most in FBS). Oklahoma State frequently looks to air it out when inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, ranking fifth in FBS with 24 red zone passing touchdowns.

Much of the Cowboys’ success in the red zone can be traced to the prolific pass-catch combination of Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. Weeden and Blackmon have connected on a red zone touchdown in 17-of-23 games played since the start of 2010. Blackmon leads FBS with 11 red zone touchdowns and has eight more red zone touchdowns than any other receiver on the Cowboys.

The Sooners have allowed only 15 red zone touchdowns this season (tied for seventh-fewest in FBS) and just seven of those have come in the air. In their last four games combined, they’ve given up only three passing touchdowns in the red zone.

Numbers to Know
With a win, Oklahoma will have its 32nd 10-win season in school history, breaking a tie with Alabama for the all-time lead. Alabama earned its 31st 10-win season two weeks ago.

While double-digit wins aren’t anything new to these schools, there are others at the opposite end of the spectrum. Of the current 120 FBS schools, 12 have never had a 10-win season. The University of Indiana Hoosiers have the distinction of playing the most seasons without a 10-win campaign (124 seasons).

After an exciting weekend with a handful of inter-conference matchups, ESPN Stats & Info’s Conference Power Rankings remain relatively unchanged at the top.

The SEC holds a solid 5.7 point lead over the Big 12 heading into Championship Weekend. The SEC went 3-1 in inter-conference game this weekend as South Carolina, Georgia and Vanderbilt won by a combined 69 points against their ACC rivals. Overall, the SEC is 42-6 in games outside of its conference, including wins over three of the top six teams in the ACC. The SEC was always going to fall a bit this week because it was likely to lose one team from the AP top 3, but its strong out of conference performance made the drop very slight.

As a result of the SEC’s dominance this weekend, the ACC slid 7.6 points and fell into sixth place in the rankings for the first time this season. Losses by Clemson, Georgia Tech and Virginia dropped the ACC in the AP Ranks, as the ACC now averages 64.5 fewer AP points per team than the Mountain West Conference.

The Mountain West Conference continues to climb in the rankings based upon the strength of its top two teams. Boise State and TCU are the only two teams in the conference ranked in the top third of the country in the computers, but the their consistency and strong out of conference wins have helped the conference climb into fifth place.

The Pac-12 continues to rise based upon the resurgence of USC. At the beginning of the season, the Pac-12 looked to be a two-team race, but USC’s four-game win streak has catapulted the Trojans into the AP Top 10 and helped the Pac-12 build a solid lead for third place in the conference rankings.

Finally, at the bottom of the rankings the Big East remains behind Conference USA, but for the first time in three weeks the Big East has a team ranked in the AP Top 25. The MAC passed the Sun Belt for ninth place and the WAC continues to miss Boise State as it remains in last place.

The latest BCS standings lead to some interesting scenarios for the final week of the regular season. Let’s take a quick look from a historical perspective for each of the top four teams in the standings.

Be wary, LSU
LSU enters the final week of the regular season at No. 1 with some under the impression that no matter the result of Saturday’s SEC Championship Game, the Tigers will be headed to the BCS Championship game.

LSU should beware of an upset though. Over the past four seasons, three of the four teams at No. 1 in the BCS standings lost in their conference championship game. None of the teams to lose ended up making the championship game.

However there is precedent for the top team in the BCS standings losing in its conference championship game, but still making the BCS Championship game.

In 2003, Oklahoma lost in the Big 12 title game to Kansas State. However, the Sooners stayed at No. 1 in the next releasing of the BCS standings and played in the BCS Championship Game.

This season LSU will face No. 14 Georgia. That season Oklahoma faced No. 15 Kansas State.

LSU is in good position to go wire-to-wire as BCS No. 1. They are the sixth team to go through the first seven weeks as No. 1 in the standings. Five teams have gone all the way through all eight releases, the last being Ohio State in 2006.

Being idle is OK for Alabama
Though Alabama is idle next weekend and Oklahoma State has a chance to make a statement in a top-10 BCS matchup against Oklahoma, don’t expect the Tide to be lower than No. 2 in the BCS next weekend.

Since the BCS began in 1998, five previous teams have been ranked in the top two of the BCS and not played the last week of the regular season. All five went on to play for the BCS title game, meaning none were “jumped” while idle.

If Alabama reaches the title game as expected, the Tide would be just the third team to do so despite not winning their conference in the BCS era. The other two to do so: Nebraska in 2001 and Oklahoma in 2003. Both lost in the BCS Championship Game.

Oklahoma State move still possible
It is unlikely, but not unprecedented, that Oklahoma State could move up from its No. 3 position. Four times the No. 3 team entering the final week went on to play in the BCS Championship Game, most recently with Texas in 2009. The Longhorns jumped because of a loss by No. 1 Florida.

Oklahoma State has a chance to make a statement with a win over rival Oklahoma, which is No. 10 in the BCS standings. This will mark the sixth regular-season BCS top-10 matchup this season, the second-most in any season in the BCS era. The only season featuring more BCS top-10 regular-season matchups was 2008 (seven).

Stanford’s chances slim-to-none
Does Stanford have a chance to enter the BCS National Championship Game picture despite having finished its regular season?

Three idle teams ranked outside the top two of the BCS entering the last week of the regular season moved into the top two without playing. None won the national title: Florida State in 1998 (ranked No. 4), Nebraska in 2001 (ranked No. 3) and Ohio State in 2007 (ranked No. 3).

1. If you’re expecting an upset in the Iron Bowl Saturday, history says look in a different direction. In series history, there have been 33 times an AP top-10 team has faced a team ranked outside of the top 10, and the higher-ranked side is 27-6 in those games (the Auburn Tigers are currently unranked in the AP Poll). Only two of the six losses were against an unranked opponent, and the squads that pulled those upsets both finished the season with a top-15 ranking (Auburn in 2002 and the Alabama Crimson Tide in 1985).

2. Friday, No. 1 LSU Tigers face No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks in the Tigers third matchup of AP top-four teams this season. Earlier this year No. 1 LSU won at No. 2 Alabama and No. 4 LSU beat No. 3 Oregon in Arlington, TX. Only one other time in history has a team been involved in three pre-bowl matchups of AP top-four teams. That came in 1943 when Notre Dame actually played in four matchups of top four teams, winning them all, as they defeated No. 2 Iowa Pre-Flight, No. 3 Army, No. 3 Navy and No. 2 Michigan as the nations’ top-ranked team.

3. When the Florida State Seminoles and Florida Gators take the field on Saturday, they will do so with neither team ranked in the AP Poll for the first time since 1986. This ends a stretch of 26 straight meetings (including two bowls) with at least one of the teams being ranked, including 13 of which featured both teams being in the top 10. What’s even more impressive is that of those 26 meetings, both teams were ranked in 18 of them and six featured matchups of top-five teams.

4. There is still a possibility that every Big East team this season will finish with an overall record of at least .500. You have to go back 67 years to find the last time a conference had such an occurrence. As members of the Mountain States Conference in 1944, Colorado (6-2), Denver (4-3-2), Utah (5-2-1) and Utah State (3-3) all finished at least .500. Colorado was crowned conference champions with a 2-0 mark.

5. This weekend features three classic college football rivalries that might be coming to an end thanks to conference re-alignment. Including this season, Texas-Texas A&M (118), Missouri-Kansas (120) and Pittsburgh-West Virginia (104) have combined for 342 meetings. All three have been played every season since 1943 and the last year in which none of these rivalries was played was 1890.