BCS Rankings: Who Got Screwed in the Standings?

The first batch of the 2011 BCS rankings were released tonight, and there are some teams that should not be happy about the list.

We were able to get our first glimpse of how the computers ranked the teams, factoring strength of schedule heavily rather than just using the "eye-test" that many voters like to use. Human voters are able to see how a team performs in games, rather than just use the scores in a formula.

With only two teams getting a chance to play for the national championship, these rankings are incredibly important. A poor ranking this early can hinder a team's hopes for the rest of the season.

Here are the teams that are most hurt by the new rankings.

No. 19 Houston

Most people have not realized it yet, but Houston is undefeated.

The Cougars also have the best passing offense in the country to help create the fourth-highest scoring offense in the entire nation.

Thanks mostly to the human polls the team debuted at No. 19 in the BCS standings.

A non-AQ team automatically qualifies for a BCS bowl if it finishes in the Top-6 of the rankings. Unfortunately, 13 spots might be too much to overcome during the remainder of the season, even if the Cougars finish undefeated.

No. 15 West Virginia

The computer ratings were not kind to the Mountaineers.

West Virginia is ranked No. 14 in both the Harris poll and the USA Today poll, but the highest ranking the school received by the computers was 18.

While the team does play in the relatively weak Big East, West Virginia hosted current No. 1 LSU and performed admirably.

The good news for the team is that there are few challenges on the schedule. The bad news is that it will not help the quest to climb the rankings.

No. 11 Kansas State

Although Kansas State has only beaten one ranked team, the Wildcats are still undefeated.

With Oklahoma and Oklahoma State still on the schedule, the team has a long way to go to be considered a realistic contender for the national championship. Still, the players deserve recognition for what the team has done this year and the latest rankings do not do it justice.

Kansas State finds itself behind two one-loss teams in Arkansas and Oregon. While these teams might be more talented than the Wildcats, they both should be behind a flawless Big 12 team.

No. 8 Stanford

Despite having a top-5 scoring offense and defense, Stanford still gets no respect from voters or the computers.

Quarterback Andrew Luck might be the best in the country at his position, and he has a solid chance of being the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft.

With the only tough game remaining on the schedule being Oregon, the Cardinal would most likely need some other teams to lose in order for to climb up the rankings.

Starting at No. 8 might be too much to overcome.

No. 7 Clemson

Clemson survived a scare on Saturday by overcoming an 18-point deficit to the Maryland Terrapins.

Although this showed some weaknesses, it also showed some resiliency on the part of this young team led by sophomore quarterback Tajh Boyd.

The ACC rarely gets any respect from voters, and recent history shows that the conference really does not deserve much respect. However, the Tigers have defeated three ranked teams already and have two more later on the schedule.

If Clemson wins out, this team deserves some consideration to be in the BCS Championship Game.

No. 6 Wisconsin

Wisconsin has been one of the most dominant teams on the field this season. According to the computers, none of that matters.

Once margin of victory was removed as a factor in the computer formulas, the showing of dominance only matters to the human voters. This allows Wisconsin to be ranked fourth in each human poll, but much lower in the computer average.

The Badgers have only one quality win this season, but that was a convincing 48-17 victory over Nebraska. Overall, they have outscored opponents by 40.5 points per game.

Still, the BCS rankings have the team on the outside looking in at No. 6.

No. 5 Boise State

There is not much more this team can do to prove it belongs.

Boise State has gone 44-2 since 2008 and has only one BCS bowl appearance to show for it.

This season, the Broncos switch to a more difficult conference and schedule a road game at Georgia. When neither proved to be a challenge for this team, critics just blame the opponents for not being as good as advertised.

The Broncos might have to wait until it is a member of the Big East to get the respect it deserve, but this season seems like another year Boise State will have to settle for a lesser bowl game.