BCS Rankings 2011: Wisconsin Badgers and 3 Teams That Won't Get Respected by BCS

There may not be a more controversial inanimate object in sports than the BCS rankings. Every year people come out of the woodwork to downgrade the rankings and demand a playoff system be put in place. Usually these are fans who believe their favorite team didn't get a fair shake.

Here are three teams that will feel jilted by the BCS when its first rankings are released next weekend.

Wisconsin Badgers

Even though Wisconsin might be the most balanced team in college football, its weak early season schedule will be looked down upon by the computers. A win against Nebraska and strong poll numbers should help the Badgers be within the top five, but they will have a lot of ground to make up on the top three.

Russell Wilson and Nick Toon have been on the same page all season, connecting for six touchdowns and nearly 500 yards through five games. Add in the dynamic rushing duo of Montee Ball and James White and the Badgers offense becomes a defensive coordinator's nightmare.

They ranked third in both points scored and points allowed, illustrating that balance. Unfortunately, they have just two ranked teams left on the schedule (both on road). They'll need to win out and see at least two of the three frontrunners fall to be considered for the BCS National Championship Game.

Boise State Broncos

Stalwarts on these type of lists over the past handful of years, Boise State will find itself on the BCS' bad side again in 2011. The Broncos' only chance for a marquee win came in Week 1 when they defeated Georgia, and the Bulldogs didn't do them any favors by losing the next week, too.

Kellen Moore continues to dominate through the air with a balanced spread attack that has seen him connect with 15 different receivers. Moore and the Broncos should cruise to another undefeated regular season without any ranked teams left on the schedule.

That's the problem, though. Until Boise can create a deeper schedule, the struggle for respect will remain. It's not entirely the Broncos' fault, of course. Power-conference schools don't want to risk a non-conference loss by scheduling them.

Stanford Cardinal

Andrew Luck has lived up to the hype and has received a lot of help from Stepfan Taylor and Tyler Gaffney, who have combined to score nine rushing touchdowns in five games. The Cardinal are outscoring opponents by more than 35 points per game.

However, it's another case of a poor schedule. Stanford has only one ranked team on its slate (Nov. 12 vs. Oregon) and the Cardinal won't get many other chances to prove their worth with just one nationally televised game on ABC scheduled.

Like the other two teams on this list, Stanford will need to run the table and hope for the best. If there are four or five undefeated teams at season's end, the BCS is going to be a mess. Usually things work themselves out, but judging by strong play from the nation's top teams, that might not be the case this year.