2011 BCS Rankings: Why Week One Should Not Matter to Alabama, LSU, or Oklahoma

As we all know, the BCS is on its way out.  Almost every NCAA football coach in the country wants a playoff system.  

Heck, even the President of the United States wants one.  

As all signs point to a playoff, the BCS contract is still in effect until after the 2013-14 season.  So for now, we're stuck with the dreaded BCS.

The first week of the BCS rankings are set to come out on Sunday, October 16.  Sportswriters and columnists as well as every sports anchor who covers NCAA football have their own projected rankings, usually with Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma mixed into top three.

The funny thing is, these three schools shouldn't care about who is ranked at the top.  The average first week ranking of the eventual BCS National Champion is approximately 4.82.  Only once has the eventual BCS National Champion actually been ranked at No. 1.

Since 2000, here are the weekly rankings of the BCS National Champion:

2000: Oklahoma—#2, #1, #1, #1, #1, #1, #1 (only seven weeks of rankings)

2001: Miami—#4, #3, #2, #2, #2, #1, #1, #1

2002: Ohio State—#6, #5, #2, #1, #2, #2, #2, #2

2003: LSU—#12, #7, #7, #4, #4, #3, #3, #2

2004: USC (Vacated)—#1, #1, #1, #1, #1, #1, #1, #1

2005: Texas—#2, #1, #2, #2, #2, #2, #2, #2

2006: Florida—#6, #6, #4, #4, #4, #4, #4, #2

2007: LSU—#4, #3, #3, #2, #1, #1, #7, #2

2008: Florida—#10, #5, #5, #4, #4, #4, #4, #2

2009: Alabama—#2, #2, #3, #2, #2, #2, #2, #1

2010: Auburn—#4, #1, #2, #2, #2, #2, #1, #1

Even the rankings going into the BCS National Championship game are shaky at best.  The No. 1 ranked team in the last week has only won 45 percent of the time.

Here is the accuracy of each week of the poll:

Week 1: 9%
Week 2: 27%
Week 3: 18%
Week 4: 27%
Week 5: 27%
Week 6: 36%
Week 7: 36%
Final Week: 45%

So in conclusion, the BCS rankings aren't even right half of the time.  Three times, the eventual BCS National Champion was never ranked number one.  

If your team isn't ranked number one on Sunday, don't worry; it is probably better that way.