BCS Rankings Week 14: Who Got Screwed in the Seventh BCS Poll?
The BCS rankings for Week 14 are the penultimate BCS rankings for the 2010 college football season. And this Top 25 might just house more controversy than any of the editions that preceded it.
And after a weekend as crazy as the one we just saw, who can honestly say they're surprised? Auburn pulled off an incredible comeback, Boise State crashed and burned, LSU finally ran out of luck, and Oklahoma upset the 'Pokes in the Bedlam game.
It was a foregone conclusion that there were some teams that were going to end up getting the short end of the stick.
In order of just how badly they got screwed, here are the top 10 teams that got no respect in the seventh BCS rankings.
10. No. 18 Texas A&M
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I think it's high time we all raised our glasses in a mass salute to Mike Sherman and the Texas A&M Aggies.
They finished the season with six wins in a row, including victories over No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 13 Nebraska, the very teams that will be squaring off for the Big 12 championship. They also hammered home the final nail on Texas' miserable season on Thanksgiving.
But like South Carolina, they also dropped a spot. And the reason for this seems be simply so Nevada could move on up to higher ground.
A small outrage maybe, but an outrage nonetheless.
9. No. 19 South Carolina
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Steve Spurrier's club got a bump to No. 17 after it wrapped up the SEC East with a beatdown of the Florida Gators, and it has won its last two games in convincing fashion as well.
And despite the reality that it doesn't really matter, the fact is that they Gamecocks have dropped a spot in each of the last two weeks.
I don't have much love for Spurrier or anything that he's in control of at any given time, but even I think that's lame.
But it's OK, Steve. Us humans dig what you're doing. The writers have your team at No. 18 and the coaches have you at No. 16.
Take it up with the computers, which have you at No. 19.
8. Unranked Hawaii
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First of all, the Arizona Wildcats have absolutely no business being in the Top 25. I explain why in full detail here.
But in short, it's mainly because they're not in the Top 25 in either of the human polls.
Of the many teams that would be a good fit for the Top 25, Hawaii is easily the best. For one, the Warriors have the best trophy win, as they took down Nevada in mid-October.
This would be the same Nevada team that just dispatched Boise State.
This is not to mention, of course, that the Warriors have the best passing attack in the nation behind junior quarterback Bryant Moniz. He leads all FBS quarterbacks with 4,249 passing yards.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Unranked Connecticut
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For the first time since West Virginia was bounced from the BCS Top 25 after in Week 9, we finally have a Big East team back in the mix.
And surprise, it's West Virginia once again.
But it is also, significantly, not the team sitting atop the Big East, and the only team of the bunch that controls its own destiny.
That would be UConn.
While you can't say the Mountaineers, and their 8-3 record, don't deserve the Top 25, there's no denying that there's just something uncomfortably backwards about the whole thing.
The team that wins the Big East goes to a BCS bowl and, right now, it looks like it's going to be a team that's not even going to be in the Top 25.
See the dilemma here?
6. No. 15 Virginia Tech
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The Hokies have been repeatedly shafted by the BCS just about every week since they debuted at No. 25 in the first rankings way back in Week 8.
Not that it matters, of course, as the Hokies have already secured a spot in the ACC championship game. But as with all things, the essential principle of the matter should not be ignored.
So how did Virginia Tech get screwed exactly?
Well, in two ways. If you'll take a look at the human polls, you will find the Hokies at No. 12 in the AP Poll and No. 11 in the USA Today Poll.
But those blasted BCS computers at the Skynet headquarters have them at No. 20, which is altogether absurd.
The Hokies also got shafted by Boise State. But then again, I suppose that's neither here nor there at this point.
5. No. 21 Florida State
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The Seminoles beat the Gators for the first time since 2003 on Saturday and the win gave them a sweep over their in-state rivals (they also beat Miami this year).
It also ended up giving them the ACC Atlantic title after North Carolina State lost to Maryland.
Their reward was a one-spot boost in the standings from No. 22 to No. 21.
Meanwhile, they're No. 20 in both the human polls, which have them safely ahead of a Utah team that barely beat BYU on Saturday.
Sense? I see none.
4. No. 2 Oregon Ducks
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Don't get me wrong, I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of Auburn being No. 1 after that comeback that it pulled off in the Iron Bowl.
But look at this from Oregon's perspective. The Ducks also beat a ranked team and they beat them by 19 points. A lesser team maybe, but still a ranked team.
Indeed, getting knocked down a peg after a big win like that just seems like a raw deal.
But, oh well. If things hold out, it won't matter anyway.
By the way, the margin between the two teams is all of .0002 points.
3. No. 16 Alabama
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It was apparent that this just wasn't going to be 'Bama's year after it lost to LSU. Something about the team just seemed lacking, and it was obvious that this team is a shell of the team that won the BCS national championship last year.
Nonetheless, the vibes felt right for the Tide in the days leading up to the Iron Bowl. They had the kind of offense that would give Auburn and its soft secondary fits, and just the right amount of talent on defense to give Cam Newton a hard time.
And that's exactly how it played out in the first 25 minutes or so of the game. But then the Tide got outscored 28-3 throughout the final two-and-a-half quarters and lost 28-27.
But despite the fact they could definitely could have beaten the new No. 1 team in the country, they were knocked back five spots in the rankings, from No. 11 to No. 16.
The odd part is that the computers still support the Tide, as they have them at an average rank of No. 12. But the writers and coaches have them at No. 17 and No. 19. Have they no respect?
2. No. 11 Boise State
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It was obvious from the moment that Anthony Martinez's overtime kick split the uprights that Boise State's BCS national championship hopes were over.
And because of the conference the Broncos play in, it was also likely that their BCS hopes as a whole were kaput.
But a seven-spot drop in the rankings as punishment? That's too much, especially when you consider that they should have won that game.
The fact of the matter is that Boise is still a top-10 team. And that's the way the humans see them. They're No. 9 in the AP Poll and No. 10 in the USA Today Poll, safely ahead of two-loss teams like LSU and Virginia Tech.
I, for one, think that's the proper amount of dignity to salvage on their behalf.
1. No. 17 Nevada
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If Boise got screwed, than Nevada got doubly screwed.
The Wolf Pack was No. 19 last week and it looked like that was as high as they were going to get with the No. 4 Boise State Broncos rolling into Reno looking to slay another opponent on their way to a grand destiny.
But it was not to be. The Wolf Pack gutted out a win in what was one of the most insane college football games ever played. Seriously, if any of you East Coasters went to bed, you missed out.
In any case, as your humble narrator has already argued, the fact that the Wolf Pack got just a two-spot boost for their efforts is an absolute travesty.
True, Boise lost that game more than Nevada won it, but surely they deserve better than No. 17. Right?
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
