BCS Rankings Week 15: Who Is Too High, Who Is Too Low?

The BCS rankings for Week 15 are the last ones we're going to get.

Indeed, there's something sad about that. It's been a great season of college football and the final BCS rankings somehow make it feel like it's over. But that is just for a short while, of course.

In any case, there weren't too many games this weekend, nor was there much movement in the rankings. As such, there's really not that much we can bitch about.

But bitch we must. And we're going to start by pointing out five teams that are too high and five that are too low.

Too High: No. 25 UCF Knights

Anybody else think it's hilarious that UConn, your Big East champion and Fiesta Bowl participant, got passed up for the No. 25 spot by the UCF Knights, the class of Conference USA?

I do.

But oh well. I guess the Knights are deserving. They have a pretty tough defense, allowing an average of just 18 points and 318 yards per game this season. And they did win eight of their last nine games. And they have been in the bottom five in the USA Today Poll each of the last two weeks.

But come on, are they really better than UConn?

Too High: No. 19 Utah Utes

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SAN DIEGO - NOVEMBER 20: The Utah Utes get ready to take the field for the game with the San Diego State Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium on November 20, 2010 in San Diego, California. Utah won 38-34. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

While I realize the No. 19 spot makes sense to the computers, who has Utah at an average ranking of No. 19? I for one have a problem with a team like Utah being ranked ahead of two teams that just played in conference championship games.

In other words, the Utes have no business being in front of either Florida State or South Carolina. It makes sense that they are, but I just don't like it.

After all, this is a team that barely beat San Diego State and BYU (which took a little good fortune), and that has not a single trophy win that can be considered with any measure of seriousness.

Too High: No. 15 Nevada Wolf Pack

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LAS VEGAS - OCTOBER 02: Nevada Reno Wolf Pack head coach Chris Ault watches his players take on the UNLV Rebels at Sam Boyd Stadium October 2, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nevada Reno won 44-26. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

I'm as big a fan of Nevada as anybody, which feels a little weird considering they pounded my beloved Cal Bears into dust.

But I don't get why the Wolf Pack is good enough to be No. 15 this week when they were only good enough to be moved up two spots to No. 17 two days after they beat then-No. 4 Boise State. All they did this week was beat Louisiana Tech.

The math, of course, does work out. They got a .110 boost in their BCS average after beating Boise State and a mere .029 boost from beating Louisiana Tech.

They benefited, it would seem, from Nebraska's loss and the fact that Alabama's regular season was already over.

Let's be real, they're not better than either of those teams.

Too High: No. 12 Missouri Tigers

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KANSAS CITY, MO - NOVEMBER 27: Quarterback Blaine Gabbert #11 of the Missouri Tigers passes during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks on November 27, 2010 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Missouri is a good team, but I'll be damned if any poll is going to convince me that the Tigers are the 12th best team in the country.

As it usually is, this is the fault of the computers, which have given the Tigers an average ranking of No. 10. That's a far cry from where they rank in the human polls, as both the writers and coaches have the Tigers safely at No. 14.

Given the fact that Missouri really stumbled down the stretch after upsetting Oklahoma, I'd say that's fair. But seeing the Tigers ahead of a team like the Virginia Tech Hokies, which, by the way, is the ACC champion, just gives me brain cramps.

Too High: No. 10 LSU Tigers

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BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 20: Patrick Peterson #7 of the Louisiana State University Tigers reacts after their 43-36 win over the Ole Miss Rebels at Tiger Stadium on November 20, 2010 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

LSU dropped from No. 5 to No. 10 in the Week 14 rankings after it lost to Arkansas, a defeat that dropped it to 10-2 and ended hopes for a possible Sugar Bowl berth.

At the time, I really didn't have a problem with it. And since there's really nothing at stake concerning the No. 10 spot, I really don't have much of a problem with it this week.

But since I have to complain, I suppose I may as well admit that I thought Boise State Broncos would jump up to No. 10 after they beat Utah State 50-14, running their record to 11-1. But they got just a boost of just 0.0299 with that win, which leaves them just short of the Tigers.

To be sure, this is not really a shot at LSU. I guess it's more of an indictment of the BCS, something that it more or less always deserves.

Too Low: No. 18 Nebraska Cornhuskers

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ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 04: Head coach Bo Pelini of the Nebraska Cornhuskers leads his team against the Oklahoma Sooners at Cowboys Stadium on December 4, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. The Sooners beat the Cornhuskers 23-20. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty

Nebraska was No. 13 heading into the Big 12 championship and ended up losing by a field goal after pretty much falling flat in the second half against Oklahoma.

So should such a close loss in a conference championship game really precipitate a five-spot plunge in the BCS rankings?

I don't think so. In fact, I'm not really sure why the Cornhuskers are No. 18 in the first place. The USA Today Poll has them at No. 16, the computers have them at No. 17, so where does the No. 18 spot come from?

Oh well. The Holiday Bowl doesn't care what rank they are anyway.

Too Low: No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide

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KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 23: Greg McElroy #12 and Nick Saban the Head Coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide are pictured during a timeout in the SEC game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo b

So if Nevada is indeed too high, then it follows that there is another team that is more befitting of the No. 15 spot.

I suppose that would have to fall to Alabama by default. The Tide may be the highest three-loss team in the rankings, but they are also, perhaps, the poster boy for teams that are better than their record indicates.

Indeed, of their three losses, two of them could have been avoided if they'd made a key play or two. As such, I think the Tide represents the one-and-only case of the computers being right. Alabama is No. 14 as far as they're concerned, which seems fair to me.

Nevertheless, I must admit this is a very minor gripe.

Too Low: No. 13 Virginia Tech Hokies

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CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 04: Tyrod Taylor #5 of the Virginia Tech Hokies celebrates after defeating the Florida State Seminoles on their way to winning the ACC Championship 44-33 at Bank of America Stadium on December 4, 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina

The ACC champions got a small boost in terms of their BCS respect, as they jumped from No. 15 to No. 13 with their win over Florida State.

Considering that they didn't budge from their No. 11 spot on the USA Today Poll, this is actually quite impressive. I suppose their rise is largely due more to Nebraska's loss than anything else.

Nevertheless, if you want to find the team that has been regularly screwed by the computers more than any other, I give you Virginia Tech. Those blasted computing machines had the Hokies at No. 20 last week, and they have them at No. 18 this week.

I think we can take this as proof positive that even a conference championship is not good enough to erase a loss to James Madison.

Too Low: No. 11 Boise State Broncos

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BOISE, ID - NOVEMBER 19: Kellen Moore #11 of the Boise State Broncos calls the play against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Bronco Stadium on November 19, 2010 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Otto Kitsinger III/Getty Images)

I already made my case for Boise State back on the LSU slide, so it would be foolish to keep them off the too-low list.

While I do feel bad for Boise State, the fact of the matter is that the Broncos were getting screwed by the computers even before their debacle in Reno. While just about every human in the country had them as the No. 3 team in the country, the computers perpetually insisted that they were No. 5 or No. 6.

Now, when just about every human in the country is insisting that they're No. 10 (go check your AP and USA Today polls), the computers are insisting that they're No. 12.

Haters...

Too Low: No. 5 Wisconsin

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ANN ARBOR, MI - NOVEMBER 20: J.J. Watt #99 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates a fourth quarter interception with Patrick Butrym #95 while playing the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on November 20, 2010 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Wisconson won the

Not that it matters at this point, of course, but I'm of the opinion that Wisconsin should be higher than No. 5. I'm in agreement with the human polls, which both have the Badgers at No. 4.

Why? Well, because Wisconsin just looks like a better team than Stanford and the Badgers are going to get a chance to prove that they might even be better than TCU as well.

Indeed, find me a team that's been more dominant than they have over the last two months of the season. They won each of their final seven games, scoring an average of 48 points in the process. All of those were conference wins against opponents from a very strong Big Ten crop this year.