BCS Standings 2011: Where Did Wisconsin, Nebraska and the Top Big 10 Teams Land?

The SEC has two teams on top of the BCS standings, but the Big Ten is well represented in the initial batch of BCS rankings.

Six Big Ten teams, including Wisconsin, are ranked in the BCS top 25. No other conference has more than five schools listed in the BCS rankings.

The Wisconsin Badgers, fresh off a smashing of Indiana for the second-straight year, are ranked sixth in the BCS and are the only Big Ten team to be ranked in the Top 10. Nebraska is ranked 13th, Michigan State is 16th and Michigan is 18th.

Penn State is ranked 21st and Illinois, after losing their first game of the season (to Ohio State) stays in the top 25 by coming in at 23rd in the rankings.

No conference has sent as many teams to the BCS bowl games than the Big Ten since the system was put into place, but this year features a Big Ten championship game, which could decrease the chances the conference gets two teams in to the BCS, as has been the case for the Big 12 and SEC in past years.

Wisconsin appears to be the favorite in the Big Ten at the moment, and they may be one of the best threats in the BCS with their physical style and talented players like Russell Wilson leading the offense.

The Badgers went 11-1 in the regular season last year but lost in the Rose Bowl to TCU. The Badgers were sent to the Rose Bowl due to a tiebreaker rule in the Big Ten, after splitting the conference championship with Ohio State and Michigan State.

The Buckeyes also went to the BCS (defeated Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl) while Michigan State was left out and went to the Capital One Bowl, where they were soundly defeated by Alabama.

A Big Ten championship game may have knocked either Wisconsin or Ohio State out of the BCS picture, but would have likely increased the chances Michigan State could have played in a big game.

This season the rest of the Big Ten will have some catching up to do before being considered for a BCS bowl, presuming Wisconsin is well on track to be in the picture.