BCS Rankings Week 2: Who Got Screwed in the Second BCS Poll?
The second BCS Rankings have barely had time to settle, but why stop picking them apart?
Because last week effectively let us know who the usual suspects were going to be for the rest of the season, there's probably not as many surprises this week.
But that that doesn't mean we can't keep bitching about the BCS, an activity that is fast becoming an American pastime.
As always, the primary question is this: who got screwed?
Click "Begin Slideshow" to find out.
Michigan
1 of 10
The coaches have Michigan as the No. 25 team in the country, but the BCS chose Nevada and Baylor to round things out in the Top 25 instead.
Is Michigan deserving? Probably not, but you could definitely make the case that they're more deserving than Nevada. Michigan's only losses were to Michigan State and Iowa, who are both ranked in the BCS.
Nevada, on the other hand, has one loss to Hawaii, who is not ranked anywhere.
West Virginia
2 of 10
The Mountaineers were hit with their second loss of the season when they were beaten at home by Syracuse on Saturday.
As a result, the No. 20 team in last week's BCS rankings is now on the outside looking in, while teams like Nevada and Baylor have cracked the list.
Now, are all the other two-loss teams in the BCS Top 25 really that much better than the Mountaineers? Or is West Virginia's banishment simply because the Big East is that bad?
This is a minor outrage, to be sure. But still.
No. 23 Virginia Tech
3 of 10
This one is another minor outrage, but an outrage nonetheless.
With two of the bottom five BCS teams making their exit from the list this week (West Virginia and Kansas State), you have to wonder why exactly Va Tech's sixth win in a row wasn't enough to at least bump them up to No. 23.
Instead, they were bumped only two spots to No. 23, just ahead of newcomers Nevada and Baylor, and behind another newcomer in No. 22 Miami.
Anybody see the logic in that?
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 20 South Carolina
4 of 10
The Gamecocks were probably unfairly punished for their loss to Kentucky. But their win over Vanderbilt can't be that unimpressive, can it?
After all, Arkansas' win over Ole Miss was good enough to move them past South Carolina in the standings.
Indeed, it doesn't seem fair that South Carolina should move up only one spot with a win when the Razorbacks can move up four spots with a win. Both of their wins were over unranked opponents, and both of these teams are in the SEC, so what gives?
Both the writers and the coaches have South Carolina over Arkansas, so this one is clearly on those damn computers.
No. 18 Iowa
5 of 10
The Hawkeyes are the highest ranked two-loss team in these new BCS rankings, but that still seems like a travesty.
Realistically, the Hawkeyes are a play or two away from being undefeated. Couple that with the fact that their two losses were to teams that are currently ranked among the Top 15 in the BCS, and you get the picture of a team that deserves better than No. 18.
Besides, this team has just as many stars as any other team. Ricky Stanzi is legit, as are Adam Robinson and Marvin McNutt.
No. 13 Stanford
6 of 10
Andrew Luck and the Cardinal won their game against Washington State on Saturday night, yet they were one of two teams in the BCS Top 15 that actually regressed after being victorious, going from No. 12 to No. 13.
Instead, they relinquished their spot to LSU, who saw their good defense get shredded by Cam Newton.
So... why doesn't LSU get the benefit of the doubt for losing to the No. 1 team in the BCS? Wouldn't it make more sense to put them at No. 9 or something like that?
At least, that's probably what you're thinking if you're Stanford.
... Stanford is a person, right?
No. 11 Ohio State
7 of 10
Ohio State is the other team that regressed after a win, and they have a much bigger gripe than Stanford does. Stanford beating Washington state by 10 is one thing, but Ohio State beating Purdue 49-0 is something else entirely.
It makes sense that Wisconsin would be moved ahead of Ohio State after their win over Iowa, but you could make the case that Ohio State is more deserving of a Top 10 spot than Oklahoma.
Regardless, being knocked down in the standings after a 49-0 win just seems cruel.
No. 8 Utah
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Two of the undefeated teams that were ranked ahead of the 7-0 Utes went down on Saturday, and the Utes moved up only one spot in the polls to No. 8. And they are still the only undefeated team in the BCS rankings that has a one-loss team ahead of them: Alabama at No. 7.
Is Alabama better than Utah? Probably. But the Utes probably don't want to hear that. And it's likely that they definitely do not want to hear that they are barely worthy enough to be thought better of than Oklahoma, who quickly fumbled their No. 1 ranking.
No. 5 Michigan State
9 of 10
Wait... how could moving into the Top 5 in the BCS possibly be a bad thing?
Well, there's the fact that Michigan State is probably not good enough to be a Top 5 team. Aside from that...
Seriously though, any team that can just barely squeak by Notre Dame and Northwestern probably does not deserve to be among the five best teams in the country, not when fellow undefeateds Missouri and Utah are doing things like unseating No. 1's and scoring over 50 points a game (something Michigan State hasn't done once).
So why does this constitute Michigan State being screwed?
Because now they have to live up to it. If they lose, which is definitely possible next week at Iowa, having one of the weaker schedules of the Top 10 teams is probably going to finally catch up with them. Both Wisconsin and Ohio State are going to be ahead of them in the standings no matter where the Spartans end up.
In other words, they've been set up.
No. 2 Oregon
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The Oregon haters love to point out that the Ducks' strength of schedule is very weak, and that the computers are right in appointing Auburn as the No. 1 team.
That's understandable. And Auburn is a great team with a great quarterback, and they're also the best team in college football's strongest conference.
But the writers and coaches both have Oregon at No. 1, and the first place votes aren't close.
Thus, arguing that Oregon is not the best team in the country effectively means that you're supporting the BCS computers.
Nobody does that.
Nobody.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
