AP Poll College Football 2011: 5 teams who got screwed in the rankings

We are well into the thick of the 2011 college football season, and the BCS race is beginning to clear up as the contenders separate from the pretenders.

In the most recent USA Today Top 25, Oklahoma leapfrogged both LSU and Alabama to reclaim its place as college football's top ranked team.

The poll saw Houston, Penn State and Michigan State move into the rankings, as Florida, Florida State and Auburn dropped out.

While it is tough to argue some cases, here are five teams that got screwed this week in the polls.

LSU

LSU and Alabama share similar fates.

While it means little in the short term, the Tigers should be up in arms about Oklahoma jumping them in the rankings, recapturing its No. 1 spot.

Sure, recent performance often takes precedent, but that means the media has made light of the Tigers' convincing wins over four ranked opponents.

LSU will get its hands on more opposition in the Top 25, so its chances at reclaiming the top position in the polls are likely.

But all things considered, given Texas' huge drop and LSU's body of work, the Tigers got hosed.

Alabama

Like LSU ahead of them, Alabama should have reason to chime in, but in the short-run of things, it probably is not such a huge deal.

The Tide have very impressive wins over three ranked opponents, including two in the SEC.

With the top-ranked scoring defense, and a stout unit overall, Alabama has its own case to be No. 1 in the polls.

Their drop is quite marginal, but Nick Saban's team will have additional opportunities to climb in the rankings.

Texas

Fact: Texas was walloped by Oklahoma 55-17.

Fact: Texas was outclassed and outmatched in virtually every facet of the game.

Fact: Oklahoma is the newly ranked No. 1 team in the country.

Fact: Oklahoma is very good.

The Longhorns dropped from No. 11 to No. 21 in the polls, a monumental skid down the ladder after having shown flashes of brilliance before Saturday's debacle in Dallas.

While a significant decline in the rankings was inevitable, 10 spots seems a little harsh.

Perhaps it's the media second-guessing the ability of this Texas team, or perhaps it is all perception.

But the reality is, the Sooners are the top-ranked team, and Texas gave up a huge position in the rankings.

Nebraska

The Cornhuskers almost dropped their Big Ten home opener against Ohio State on Saturday night.

Instead, Nebraska rallied furiously in the second half to the tune of 28-7 to finish off the Buckeyes 34-27.

Understandably, the Buckeyes are bad this season with a worse case of offensive woes.

Nevertheless, the Huskers showed mighty resilience against a program that has always oozed with talent.

Their reward? Zilch.

South Carolina jumped them with a blowout win over SEC-nobodies Kentucky. Surely Nebraska deserves an ounce of credit.

Arizona State

With a relatively compelling 35-14 triumph over Utah, Arizona State bounced up just two spots to No. 20 in the polls.

Now, given the Sun Devils' body of work, that is a reasonable move in the rankings. But what should have Dennis Erickson's team boiling is the fact that Michigan State jumped them.

The Spartans went from being unranked to No. 19 after an idle week.

How does that even make sense?

To make matters worse, ASU has wins over two ranked opponents while MSU has none.

Something is fishy here.