BCS Standings 2011: Where Did ESPN Go Wrong in Week 8 BCS Projections?

College football fans who hate the BCS rankings (i.e. all college football fans) should start coming to grips with the fact that the first rankings are due to be released on Sunday.

Until then, all we can do is wait and hope that the rankings don't screw everything up.

Unless your name is Brad Edwards and you work for ESPN. That means you have to envision what the first BCS rankings might look like.

And Edwards did just that. The results of his BCS wizardry are below.

Brad Edwards' Mock BCS Standings

Rank	Team	Record
1	Alabama	6-0
2	LSU	6-0
3	Oklahoma	5-0
4	Oklahoma State	5-0
5	Boise State	5-0
6	Wisconsin	5-0
7	Clemson	6-0
8	Stanford	5-0
9	Michigan	6-0
10	Georgia Tech	6-0

For the most part, I think Edwards' rankings are solid, but I do have a couple gripes that I want to get out in the open. Let's talk about them one by one.

Michigan Ahead of Georgia Tech?

We can argue all we want about the fact that Michigan and Georgia Tech are in the Top 10 at all, but I for one think they are in the wrong order here.

I have nothing against either team, but my question concerning the Wolverines is just how battle-tested they are. They played their first five games at home against subpar opponents (Notre Dame included) and their only road win came against a subpar Northwestern team.

The Yellow Jackets aren't exactly battle-tested either, but at least they've won two road games and faced a couple non-pushovers along the way. I would put them ahead of Michigan in a heartbeat, though I'll understand if nobody agrees with me.

Boise State Over Wisconsin?

The BCS computers must think Georgia is really good, because there's just no other way to explain why the Broncos would be ahead of the Badgers.

I've got nothing but love for Boise State, but the Broncos have gotten to where they are by beating up on some dreadful competition. Wisconsin has also had a light schedule, but at least it has a win over a Top 10 team (Nebraska) to brag about.

Boise State does not, and will not before the season is over.

Alabama Over LSU?

I've been saying all season that you can't go wrong with LSU or Alabama at No. 1, but I'm going to contradict myself here.

I have to do this because I am unable to comprehend why the BCS computers would put Alabama over LSU. Sure, Alabama is great, but their wins just don't quite stack up against LSU's. The Tigers have beaten Oregon, Mississippi State, West Virginia and Florida, and only one of those wins came at home.

Alabama, on the other hand, has beaten Penn State, Arkansas and Florida. Two of those wins came on the road, but I'm of the opinion that all three wins together don't even come close to one win over Oregon.

Despite these gripes, the good news is that Edwards' rankings are not official. He generally does an eerily accurate job with these things, but he could be wrong.

We'll find out on Sunday.