BCS Rankings Week 2: Who Is Too High or Too Low?
The second BCS Rankings for the 2010 college football season have just come down, and there's a marked difference between these rankings and the first bunch that came out last week.
It didn't take long for the first BCS No. 1 team to lose, and now we have a team who is occupying the top spot for the first time in the program's history in the Auburn Tigers.
Of course, now that we have these rankings, it's time to go to town on them.
So without further adieu, let's discuss who is too high and who is too low.
Too High: No. 22 Miami
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It might be cruel to rip on a team that has bungled their preseason No. 13 ranking badly enough to deserve a no-show in the first BCS Rankings. That being said, the rankings looked better when Miami wasn't on the list.
Consider Miami's schedule. They were thunderously ripped by the only two ranked teams they've played this season, one of which was a 45-17 loss at home to Florida State. They do deserve credit for stomping on their other opponents, but it's hard to shrug off the notion that their spot would be better filled by another team.
Their biggest test the rest of the way comes at home against No. 23 Virginia Tech, who have won six in a row. If they can manage a victory in that game, maybe then their placement will look legit.
Too High: No. 16 Florida State
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Yup, another ACC team.
Florida State's placement in the BCS Top 25 is definitely not as big a puzzle as it was last week. It was idle this past weekend, and it's not their fault that a couple teams ahead of them went down.
Nevertheless, they are still not better than several of the teams bringing up the rear. Chief among these teams would be Virginia Tech. After a disastrous opening to their season, the Hokies have been on fire and are probably the better ACC team.
Proponents of the Seminoles will point to the fact that Florida State's only loss all season was to one of the best teams in the country in Oklahoma. A fine point indeed. But they got destroyed by the Sooners, and Florida State's only good win was over a blowout over a Miami team that has just cracked the polls after a two week hiatus.
Just still not sold on Florida State. They still don't have any ranked opponents the rest of the way, so any further advancement up the polls won't be due to their actions.
Too High: No. 17 Oklahoma State
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So...a loss to one of the teams behind you in the BCS standings only deserves a three-place drop in the new rankings?
Even if you get spectacularly destroyed by that team?
The Cowboys lost to Nebraska on Saturday, who came into the game as the No. 16 team in the BCS. Oklahoma State was the No. 14 team and lost 51-41. In these new rankings, the two teams have basically switched spots, with Nebraska now sitting at No. 14.
True, it was just the Cowboys' first loss of the season. But they hardly seem like a better team than a team like Iowa, whose only two losses were close defeats to Top 15 teams.
The Cowboys have it pretty rough from here on out. They face new No. 25 Baylor next week and wrap the season up at home against No. 9 Oklahoma.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Too High: No. 6 Missouri
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Saturday's win over over No. 1 Oklahoma was definitely impressive, and the Tigers certainly deserve to leapfrog the Sooners in the standings.
That being said, Missouri's rise to power just seems to good to be true. That win over Oklahoma is its only win over a ranked team all season, and it just seems strange that a team that was on nobody's radar at the start of the season should now be the sixth best team in the country.
Besides which, are they really better than Utah, who is once again the only undefeated team in the Top 10 that is behind one-loss Alabama?
We'll find out for sure whether or not they belong next weekend when they go on the road to No. 14 Nebraska, who just put a hurting on No. 17 Oklahoma State.
Too High: No. 5 Michigan State
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It's hard not to root for Michigan State. It's having its best season in over 40 years, and the way in which they always seem to pull a miracle out when they need one makes for some pretty damn good theater.
But it's because they always need a miracle that they probably shouldn't be where they are.
Because they're sitting atop the Big Ten, and are indeed undefeated, they definitely deserve to be in the Top 10. But their wins against Notre Dame and Northwestern, as exciting as they may have been, were games that could have definitely been lost had Mark Dantonio not gotten creative with his special teams.
The Spartans are basically this week's version of LSU. You don't know how they keep pulling out wins, and you just have a sneaking suspicion that they're going to lose very soon.
Well, LSU lost to Auburn this weekend, and Michigan State has to play on the road at No. 18 Iowa next week. That one is not going to be easy.
Too Low: No. 23 Virginia Tech
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Virginia Tech probably doesn't deserve to be forgiven for that loss to James Madison. But because they've been absolutely on fire in their last six games, in only one of which did they fail to score over 40 points, they deserve better than No. 23.
Right now, you could definitely make the case that the Hokies are the best team in the ACC. However, there are two ACC teams ahead of them, which has already been bitched about at length earlier in this piece.
If the Hokies can pull out a win at No. 22 Miami later in November, maybe they'll get the respect they deserve.
Too Low: No. 18 Iowa
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It's difficult to make the case that a two-loss team should be ahead of so many one-loss teams. But Iowa is definitely better than its record.
Indeed, the Hawkeyes' two losses were games that they definitely had a shot to win. They were a drive away from avoiding an upset to then No. 24 Arizona, who have climbed all the way to No. 15 in the BCS. This past Saturday's game against Wisconsin could have very easily been won with some better clock management. As it was, they lost by a mere point to the No. 10 Badgers.
They may be sitting behind three teams in the Big Ten, but they're probably better than at least two of those teams. Of course, we'll find out just how good they are next week when they take on No. 5 Michigan State.
If they lose, we won't be discussing them at all next week.
Too Low: No. 10 Wisconsin
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Where's the love for the Big Ten's second best team?
It was bad enough when they were placed behind Ohio State, the team they had just stomped, in last week's polls. This weekend's gutsy victory at Iowa may have been enough to put them ahead of the Buckeyes, but it sure looked like it should have been enough to put them ahead of the Sooners, who are sitting pretty at No. 9.
Yes, Wisconsin is better than Oklahoma. While a statement such as that is contingent on whether or not Missouri is overrated, the fact of the matter is that Wisconsin deserves better than No. 10 considering the dragons they've slain.
Compare that with Oklahoma, whose only legit win at this point was a blowout over No. 16 Florida State, who are once again overrated.
Too Low: No. 7 Alabama
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They were too low last week, and they're too low this week.
Things looked iffy for the Crimson Tide after their first half against the Volunteers. But man oh man did they put that game away in the second half, thanks in large part to Julio Jones' record setting evening.
The opinion that Alabama is too low is indeed based on the notion that Missouri and Michigan State are too high. True, undefeated teams probably should get the nod over a one-loss team. But then why is Utah, who has been on a tear ever since their close shave against Pittsburgh to open the season, behind Alabama in these rankings?
Besides, they might have been the best team in the SEC last week, when LSU and Auburn were both ranked ahead of them. Now there's one less team in that discussion.
If their tilt against Auburn to wrap up the season didn't look epic before, it sure does now.
Too Low: No. 2 Oregon
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The polls had Oregon at No. 1 last week, and they have it up there again this week.
So what exactly do those blasted computers have against the Ducks?
No disrespect to Auburn, who are definitely deserving of being among the best teams in the country, but the Ducks are the best team in the country.
Oregon still hasn't scored fewer than 42 points all season and have still yet to come up against a serious challenge outside of the first half of their game against Stanford.
The road ahead is still tough, particularly next week's game against an underrated USC squad, but there seems to be very little reason to doubt the Ducks at this point.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
