BCS Rankings 2011: Boise State and 5 Teams That Won't Get Love from BCS Rankings

With the first BCS rankings coming out tomorrow, it's time to do a little speculating. Assuming LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma all win games in which they area heavily favored, it's a completely fair assumption that they will be the Top Three.

The order of that can fluctuate depending on who you ask, but it doesn't really matter. LSU and Alabama play each other next month. So, if the winner of that game and Oklahoma both run the table, they will be in the national championship game.

Given the talent on those teams and who they have already beaten, I can't really object to that.

But looking at the next level, who steps in if one of those teams loses? Who belongs in the other BCS bowls?

That remains to be seen. Still, if history is any indicator, these teams (in no particular order) will be left unfairly fighting uphill to get where they want to be, and deserve to be.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Chances are that the Yellow Jackets will be 7-0 after today's game against Virginia. But the BCS traditionally loves big wins over top opponents, and Georgia Tech just doesn't have that.

Don't fret, Yellow Jackets' fans. Games against Miami, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Georgia will give Georgia Tech plenty of chances to prove their worth. What's good about that is that of those games, only Miami is on the road.

But for now, we're looking at a distinct possibility of having an undefeated team from a BCS conference that's not ranked as high as some one-loss squads.

Stanford Cardinal

I can't say that I don't understand this. Stanford's schedule is back loaded. Part of that is that the better  conference opponents just got scheduled towards the end of the year—Stanford can't do anything about that.

The other reason is that Stanford's pre-league schedule was nonexistent. I know that games are scheduled years in advance, but San Jose State and Duke aren't exactly feared opponents.

Now, Stanford does play Notre Dame in their last regular-season game.

Like Georgia Tech, they will get a chance to prove themselves. But given what they accomplished last season, and what they had coming back this year, Stanford deserves more initial respect than they will likely get.

West Virginia Mountaineers

The BCS does not traditionally favor the Big East. Now, it doesn't really matter, as it is an automatic qualifier conference, but their teams don't tend to show too high in the rankings.

The fact of the matter is that West Virginia's only loss came to LSU. There is a very good chance that it will remain that way for the balance of the season.

Now, am I saying that they belong in the national championship picture? No, not at all. They don't play a very tough schedule, although it's not terrible. Losing that badly to LSU at home pretty much took the Mountaineers out of that discussion, which it should have.

But LSU is an undeniable Top Three team. If they are your only loss, you're doing something pretty well. Still, I don't see that attitude being reflected in the BCS now, or for the rest of the season.

Kansas State Wildcats

I'll admit that I am making a relatively large assumption here. For the sake of argument, I am assuming that Kansas State will win on the road tonight against Texas Tech.

But let's assume that happens. Judging by the human polls, it looks like an undefeated Kansas State team will be grossly underrated in the Big 12. What's worse is that they have actually beaten some quality teams this year.

Kansas State will get its chance this year. After tonight's game against Texas Tech and next week's game against Kansas, check out this four-game stretch (rankings reflect current AP rankings):

October 29	vs. No. 3 Oklahoma
November 5	at No. 6 Oklahoma State
November 12	vs. No. 21 Texas A&M
November 19	at. No 22 Texas

If the Wildcats can get through that stretch undefeated, they are a certain national championship threat.

But given what they have accomplished thus far, they will likely have to settle for being underrated.

Boise State Broncos

With the exception of their opening-night win against Georgia, Boise State has not beaten a single good team.

In their first year in the Mountain West Conference, the Broncos even got a raw deal against TCU. They are a normal power that's not having a year anywhere near their normal standard.

But given what Boise State has consistently done in the past, they deserve more BCS recognition than they have received in the past, and will likely receive in the future.

Now, they have done enough to earn a BCS berth, but this team deserves better. These guys deserve to be the team to step right in if Oklahoma and/or the LSU vs. Alabama winner loses.

At the very least, the Broncos deserve to be scheduled in a bowl against one of the best non-national championship game qualifiers. Yet, if history is any indicator, that won't happen.