BCS Rankings 2011: Boise State Is No Less Proven Than Most Other Top 10 Teams

I can almost hear the arguments now that will come from the big-conference defenders when the BCS rankings come out tomorrow and Boise State is ranked lower than their supporters feel they should be.

"Boise State hasn't played anyone" is the big argument that people use when justifying the Broncos' low ranking. It is true that the Mountain West Conference isn't doing Boise State any favors this year. There really isn't a great win left on the schedule.

The closest thing that Boise State has left to a quality opponent is TCU, but even that's not a huge deal. TCU already has two losses, and that game is going to be in Boise, where the Broncos are nearly unbeatable.

Still, are we forgetting that Boise State has already beaten Georgia by two touchdowns? Don't let the neutral site label of that game fool you. It wasn't at Georgia's home stadium, but it was in Atlanta. Georgia had the overwhelming majority of the game's fans and didn't have to travel far at all.

Still, the Broncos beat a Bulldogs team that looks pretty good.

But let's take a look at a couple of teams that are likely to be higher than Boise State when the first BCS polls come out on Sunday.

Stanford

I feel weird making this point, because I am a big fan of Andrew Luck, Stanford's style of play, and the Pac-12 in general. But at this point, who exactly has Stanford beaten?

The Cardinal will get a chance to prove themselves, but we're not looking down the line beyond tomorrow evening.

Boise State's win against Georgia is no less impressive than Stanford's wins against San Jose State, Duke, Arizona, UCLA, Colorado or likely win against Washington State (game is still going as of this writing).

Even without beating Georgia, the Broncos' other wins aren't significantly less impressive than Stanford's wins.

Wisconsin

Here's another one that I just feel weird adding. I have been really impressed by Wisconsin this year, but why is there group of blowout wins any more impressive than Boise State's?

Each team has one quality win, but let's take a look at those.

I already pointed out that the Broncos beat Georgia in what was essentially a road game.

Wisconsin's best win was in front of a rabid home crowd against a Nebraska team that's still largely unproven.

The Cornhuskers might be a little better than Georgia, but I can't say that that win is any more impressive than what Boise State did against Georgia.

Still, when the rankings come out tomorrow, I will be quite surprised if Boise State is looking down on Wisconsin.