BCS Rankings Week 14: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Latest BCS Poll
BCS Rankings Week 14 are here, and they're sure to get under the skin of plenty of college football fans.
But that's the problem with an imperfect system. No one will ever be satisfied.
Even though the BCS did get some stuff right this week, most people will point out everything the system got wrong...including me.
There are some things about this week's rankings that flat-out just don't make sense.
So we'll take a look at the worst and best of this week's standings.
Here it is: the good, the bad and the ugly of the BCS Rankings Week 14.
5. The Good: A Ranked Big East Team
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Look, I'm on board with most other people who think the Big East is terrible this year.
But West Virginia is 8-3, they've won three straight games and they're currently in first place in the conference.
The Mountaineers defense ranks second in the nation in scoring at 12.9 points per game, and it's about time they made their way back into the Top 25.
Now if only we can find a way to keep Connecticut out of the BCS, all will be right in the world.
5. The Bad: Arizona's Still Ranked
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Someone please tell me why on earth Arizona is at No. 24 this week.
The Wildcats now sit at 7-4 on the season and have lost three straight games by about 16 points per contest.
Arizona has never cracked the Top 10 of the BCS standings, but it's managed to fall only about 10 spots even though it's lost three games in a row.
I'm still scratching my head...
5. The Ugly: Boise State Falling to No. 11
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Boise State should have dropped at least five spots in the rankings after losing to Nevada this week, but eight?
That's a little ridiculous.
The voters act like the Broncos got destroyed by some six-win team.
News flash: Nevada is 11-1, and they're pretty good.
I can't agree with dropping Boise State that low when their kicker cost them the game not once but twice.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
4. The Good: LSU Out of BCS Contention
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LSU has made a living out of being way more lucky than good under Les Miles.
The Tigers could have easily lost four or five games this season, but they somehow managed to pull out a few close wins that they probably didn't deserve.
Not anymore.
After Arkansas took down LSU this weekend, the Razorbacks jumped the Tigers in the BCS standings to take them out of any BCS conversation.
Finally, a sign that those BCS guys at least have some idea what they're doing.
4. The Bad: Three Big Ten Teams in the Top Eight
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I'll leave the "best conference in college football" debate up to you guys, but I'm not sold on there being three Big Ten teams in the top eight of the rankings.
I know that the big guns in the conference all played each other and three of them escaped with only one loss, but was it because the teams were that good or because the conference was that mediocre?
There's a boatload of teams ranked behind the Big Ten squads who would probably beat them in one-on-one matchups.
And it's just hard to believe that a team like Michigan State is considered the No. 8 team in the country after the way they've played recently.
4. The Ugly: Texas A&M at No. 18
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Texas A&M didn't exactly set the world on fire with a seven-point win over Texas this weekend, but dropping the Aggies one spot in the rankings just doesn't make any sense.
They've won six straight games, including two Top 10 wins over Nebraska and Oklahoma, yet they fall from No. 17 to No. 18 in the standings?
Throw logic out the window, I guess.
3. The Good: Stanford in the Top Five
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Stanford has been incredibly impressive in recent weeks, reeling off seven straight wins and amazingly allowing less than nine points per game over its last five contests.
The Cardinal's lone blemish on the season came way back in early October against No. 2 Oregon.
Stanford has shown that it deserves to be in the top five at the very least, and it's finally there.
3. The Bad: Teams Ranked Behind Teams They've Beat Who Have the Same Record
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There are examples of this all over the place, but here's one of them:
Missouri beat Oklahoma, Nebraska beat Missouri and all three schools have two losses.
But the Sooners are ranked ahead of both schools, and Missouri is ranked in front of Nebraska.
This is just further proof how the BCS system is far from perfect.
3. The Ugly: Wisconsin at No. 5
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Wisconsin behind Stanford and TCU?
I don't think so.
The Badgers have averaged 67 points over the last three games, pretty much defining the term "finish strong."
Stanford has played well in recent weeks, too, but I don't think anyone in the country wants to play Wisconsin right now.
At No. 5, the Badgers are too low after their recent video-game like performances against decent competition, including two schools who will be headed to bowl games.
2. The Good: Arkansas Ahead of Michigan State
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Arkansas may have two losses, but those came against then-No. 1 Alabama and current No. 1 Auburn.
The Razorbacks have reeled off six straight wins, including big SEC victories over South Carolina, Mississippi State and LSU.
Michigan State, on the other hand, has struggled for the last month or so.
The Spartans barely beat Northwestern, got destroyed by Iowa and just squeaked by Purdue and Penn State.
All in all, Arkansas's recent play merits a spot ahead of Michigan State in the rankings.
2. The Bad: Northern Illinois Cracking the Top 25
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Just look at Northern Illinois' schedule, and you'll see why the school doesn't belong here.
The Huskies lost two of three games against teams from college football's power conferences, and their last five wins came against teams who are a combined 23-37.
I don't care how many points they've put up on the board over the last few weeks.
Please get Northern Illinois out of these rankings immediately.
2. The Ugly: Nevada at No. 17
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Nevada moved from No. 19 to No. 17 after a huge win over Boise State on Friday.
That's right. The Wolf Pack jumped up exactly two spots, while the Broncos fell eight spots.
Um, someone must really hate the WAC.
1. The Good: Auburn at No. 1
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Oregon is obviously one heck of a football team, but the Ducks haven't played the schedule that Auburn has.
The Tigers have four wins over top-12 opponents this season, including victories over two teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the BCS standings.
Oregon is an impressive 3-0 against the Top 25, including a big win over No. 4 Stanford, but Auburn's ability to get through an incredibly tough schedule unscathed can't be overlooked.
1. The Bad: The Big Ten and Big 12 Debacles
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The BCS standings determine who will represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl and what Big 12 South team will face Nebraska for the conference championship.
Really? Is that the best tiebreaker the system can come up with?
I mean, Texas A&M beat Nebraska and Oklahoma, but the Aggies will be watching the Sooners play in the Big 12 Championship Game.
I'm not a fan of that at all.
1. The Ugly: Virginia Tech at No. 15
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I know, I know, Virginia Tech lost to James Madison.
But since that game, the Hokies have won 10 consecutive games—only one of them by less than 11 points—and have dominated their opponents in ACC play.
What is it that prevents such a hot team from moving up? Does that terrible loss hurt their résumé that much, or are the voters simply not impressed?
You got me.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
