BCS Rankings 2011: Stanford and 5 Teams That Will Be Ranked Too High

It's that time of the year again, so hang on tight.

The inaugural 2011 BCS standings will be released on Sunday, October 16th, and are bound to feature some underrated teams, as well as some overrated teams.

Every year there are teams who end up being ranked too high, and continue to slide by with easy schedules. They are eventually exposed and fall off the radar.

Even though the Stanford Cardinals have Andrew Luck, who is without a doubt one of the best QBs in the country, the rest of the team is just not that good.

Sit back and enjoy the ride, as we take a look at the five teams who will be ranked too high.

Stanford Cardinals

The Stanford Cardinals are currently the No. 5 team in the country according to the USA Today Poll, but they simply aren't that good. They do have Andrew Luck who has been exceptional again this year, but they haven't faced any team of relevance.

Their closest game of the season came in a 45-19 victory over the 2-3 UCLA Bruins.

The Cardinals are tough to judge at this point in the season, but they shouldn't be considered a legitimate threat to reach the BCS Championship game.

During the season, the Cardinals only play one team that is ranked in the Top 25.

That team is Oregon, and luckily for them, they get to play Oregon at home.

The only other games on the schedule that could potentially worry the Cardinals are matchups at USC and at home against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

It will be interesting to see how Stanford performs in those three games, but at this point they haven't done enough to prove themselves as a Top Five team.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are a one-dimensional football team. They rely strictly on the run, and that really limits their ability to be competitive against elite teams.

Nebraska is currently ranked in the Top 15 in every poll, but they are not that good. They are Top 10 in the country on the ground, but that's not enough to make up for their lack of a passing game.

When they need Taylor Martinez to throw, he cannot make the big play. This team was dismantled by Wisconsin and involved in a close matchup with the disappointing Ohio State Buckeyes.

Their defense is also conceding a lot of points, which is not a recipe for success. They are giving up a total of 27 points per game, which ranks them 65th in the country.

They are giving up over five yards per pass attempt, and over four yards per rush attempt. With a bad passing attack, a soft defense and no quality wins, this team shouldn't be ranked in the Top 15.

South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina has gotten off to a terrible start thus far in the 2011 season, despite their record.

They benched QB Stephen Garcia, who was then removed from the team after their loss to the Auburn Tigers.

Prior to that loss, the Gamecocks nearly dropped games against Navy, East Carolina and Georgia.

Sophomore QB Connor Shaw, who has taken over for Garcia, is relatively inexperienced, and is going through his learning curves.

To make matters worse, the Gamecocks still have two Top 10 teams in Arkansas and Clemson on the schedule.

The Gamecocks defense has also been inconsistent this season. They gave up 42 points to the Georgia Bulldogs and 37 points to East Carolina. 

They have been better as of late, but the offense is sputtering, and with no quality wins under their belt, they don't deserve to be ranked in the Top 15.

Virginia Tech Hokies

The Hokies are constantly overrated every season, and this season is no different. The Hokies are still ranked in the Top 20 despite being blown out by Clemson at home 23-3.

The Virginia Tech offense is far from consistent. They are ranked 72nd in the country in pass yards and 32nd in the country in rush yards.

The only thing Tech has working for them at this point is their defense, but they have really struggled this season against poor teams.

They only beat East Carolina by seven points, and needed a late touchdown to knock off the Miami Hurricanes at home.

Sophomore QB Logan Thomas is completing just 62 percent of his passes and is averaging less than 200 yards per game. If anyone thinks he is the guy that can lead the Hokies back to a BCS game, they are sadly mistaken.

This is an average Virginia Tech team that has no right being ranked in the Top 20.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Despite their undefeated record, it's time to get off the Illinois bandwagon. This is an average team that has been able to coast by with an easy schedule until now.

They did knock off Arizona State at home, but that win was by just three points, and it wasn't overly impressive.

They have only played one road game to this point in the season, and they barely escaped home games against Northwestern and Western Michigan.

This team has no right being ranked No. 16 in the country. With only one quality victory, and only one road victory, the Illini are about to be exposed.

They have upcoming games against the the Michigan Wolverines and the Wisconsin Badgers. Somehow, they managed to be rewarded with those as home games.

Illinois is going to fall off, and they will prove they don't deserve to be ranked in the Top 20.