Bowl Schedule 2010: Where Will Most-Screwed Teams End Up Playing Bowls?
Every week we look at the new rankings and decide who got screwed.
With this week being the last week teams can improve their standing before a bowl game, getting screwed this week hurts more than any other week during the season.
Did your team get screwed this week? Let us know what you think about these rankings.
10. UCF Golden Knights
1 of 10
AP Rank: NR
Coaches Rank: 23
UCF got screwed this week by the AP voters. They are a 10-win team that, although they haven't beaten a really good opponent, still has 10 wins—and that is tough for any team to do.
They also have a Conference USA title under their belt.
Bowl Projection: Liberty Bowl vs. Georgia, Dec. 31
9. UConn Huskies
2 of 10
AP Rank: 25
Coaches Rank: NR
Connecticut got screwed this week by both the AP voters and the Coaches. UConn is representing the Big East in the BCS, yet is ranked behind West Virginia, who the Huskies beat.
Granted, West Virginia does have one win more than the Huskies, but UConn also played a more difficult non-conference schedule than the Mountaineers.
Bowl Projection: Fiesta Bowl vs. Oklahoma, Jan. 1
8. Alabama Crimson Tide
3 of 10
AP Rank: 15
Coaches Rank: 18
Alabama got screwed this week by both the AP voters and the Coaches. I understand the Crimson Tide has three losses, but those losses are by 18 total points against three ranked opponents.
Alabama's last two losses have been by just four points, and they were to LSU, which was ranked 10th, and Auburn, which is the best team in the country.
I know it is a stretch to say that the Tide got screwed this week, but they are much better than 15, let alone 18.
Bowl Projection: Capital One Bowl vs. Michigan State, Jan. 1
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7. Utah Utes
4 of 10
AP Rank: 20
Coaches Rank: 19
Utah got screwed this week by AP voters and the Coaches. Utah was ranked sixth in both polls just five weeks ago. Then back-to-back losses to No. 3 TCU and a bowl-bound Notre Dame team drop Utah this much?
After those two losses, Utah bounced back with wins over a good SDSU team and a young but feisty BYU team. They are better than their ranking and they will get a chance to show that in the Pac-12 next year.
Bowl Projection: Maaco Bowl vs. Boise State, Dec. 22
6. LSU Tigers
5 of 10
AP Rank: 11
Coaches Rank: 12
LSU got screwed this week by the AP voters and the Coaches. LSU is another team that has just two losses, both of which came against ranked SEC teams.
First LSU lost to No. 4 Auburn in the fourth quarter on a 70-yard touchdown run with just over five minutes left.
Then LSU lost to Arkansas by eight after leading in the fourth quarter.
LSU is a Top 10 team.
Bowl Projection: Cotton Bowl vs. Texas A&M, Jan. 7
5. Nevada Wolf Pack
6 of 10
AP Rank: 13
Coaches Rank: 15
Nevada got screwed by the Coaches this week. Their AP ranking is pretty dang close. I just have to ask one thing: If you have a team that has 12 wins, including one over the No. 4 team in the country with just one loss to a team that has 10 wins, don't you think they are closer to a Top 10 team than a No. 15 team?
One side note: I love watching Colin Kaepernick play quarterback. He has become one of the historically great dual-threat quarterbacks in NCAA history. He also seems to just have a ton of fun playing football, and that is always something I appreciate.
Bowl Projection: Fight Hunger Bowl vs. Temple, Jan. 9
4. Virginia Tech Hokies
7 of 10
AP Rank: 12
Coaches Rank: 11
Virginia Tech got screwed this week by the AP voters and the Coaches. The Hokies have won 11 in a row and are headed to a BCS bowl game after winning the ACC Championship on Saturday.
One of the losses VA Tech suffered was a three-point loss to the third-ranked team in the country in the last minutes of the game.
The loss the following week to FCS James Madison really destroyed the Hokies' rankings. Since that loss, the Hokies are undefeated.
Bowl Projection: Orange Bowl vs. Ohio State, Jan. 3
3. Stanford Cardinal
8 of 10
AP Rank: 5
Coaches Rank: 5
Stanford got screwed this week by the AP voters and the Coaches. The only thing holding Stanford back from a possible BCS bid is if they fall out of the No. 4 spot in the BCS, but if the AP and Coaches voted Stanford No. 4, it could possibly be enough to move the Cardinal past TCU and into a Rose Bowl bid.
But, nope, voters for some reason think that Wisconsin is better, probably because they have scored big in a few games this year.
Whatever the reason, Stanford got screwed.
Bowl Projection: Sugar Bowl vs. Arkansas, Jan. 4
2. TCU Horned Frogs
9 of 10
AP Rank: 3
Coaches Rank: 3
TCU got screwed by the AP and Coaches this week. Only one person feels that TCU is the best team in the country in each poll, and I can assume who that coach is.
Either way, you have to feel bad for a team that has done nothing but win every game on its schedule, yet still has no chance of playing for a championship.
Bowl Projection: The Rose Bowl vs. Wisconsin, Jan. 1
1. Michigan State Spartans
10 of 10
AP Rank: 7
Coaches Rank: 7
Michigan State got screwed this week by the AP voters and the coaches. Actually, Michigan State has been getting screwed all year. The Spartans have just one loss (to a ranked team), they beat the vaunted Wisconsin Badgers and they won a share of the Big 10 Championship.
Yet, the Badgers (and Buckeyes) are going to BCS bowls and the Spartans are left to go to a second-tier bowl game.
Sorry Spartans fans, you got screwed this week and I really feel for you.
Bowl Projection: Capital One Bowl vs. Alabama, Jan. 1
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