BCS Rankings 2011: 5 Teams BCS Failed in Week 8 Rankings

The initial BCS rankings of the 2011 college football season were unveiled on Sunday and, as expected, they left something to be desired. Truth be told, the first meaningful Top 25 was pretty reasonable from top to bottom, though there were certainly some teams that were under-served while others garnered spots that were undeserved.

It's tough to expect a system as imperfect as the BCS to turn out a perfect set of rankings, especially from the get-go, though that doesn't leave these teams with anything less to gripe/be happy about.

And, let's not forget, there's still half a season left to be played, so these rankings figure to change dramatically before all is said and done.

Stanford

Seeing Stanford start out at No. 8 in the BCS rankings is hardly a shock, though it does put the Cardinal in a precarious position. The Cardinal have garnered plenty of love in the human polls (seventh in the Harris Poll, fifth in the USA Today Poll) but were downgraded by the computers on account of a weak schedule. In fact, none of the six computers had Stanford ranked higher than eighth, with some placing Andrew Luck and company as low as 20th.

Anyone who's seen Stanford play this season will tell you that this team deserves better. The Cardinal have won each of their six games this season by at least 26 points and sport the longest winning streak in all of college football.

Of course, last season's accomplishments hardly count, but the computers clearly don't account for the sort of physicality and precision on the field that make Stanford a worthy BCS National Championship contender.

Washington

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Washington snuck its way into the BCS rankings at No. 25, though there's some question as to whether or not the Huskies should be higher. After all, their only loss of the season came on the road to a Nebraska squad that checked in at No. 13.

Once again, one need look no further than the computer rankings to understand why. Only three out of the BCS' six computers placed U-Dub in the Top 25, most likely on account of a close win over Eastern Washington to start the season, a fairly weak slate of opponents since and no real marquee victory.

Then again, Keith Price is probably the most underrated quarterback in all of college football, putting Jake Locker to shame in just half a season's worth of work. A win at Stanford on Saturday would go a long way toward solidifying the Huskies' place in the BCS.

Penn State

Joe Paterno's team falls into a similar trap—a loss to a high-caliber team (Alabama) and a good record overall but no big wins to necessarily write home about.

That being said, do the Nittany Lions really deserve to be ranked below Big Ten foe Michigan? After all, the Wolverines haven't really beaten anyone of note (unless a victory over Notre Dame actually matters) and lost more recently to a Michigan State team that, mind you, got the stuffing beaten out of it by Alabama in the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day.

Unfortunately, we'll probably never know, since Penn State and Michigan aren't scheduled to play each other this season.

Kansas State

If you're among those who put significant stock in the computer rankings, then you can't help but be incensed by Kansas State's exclusion from the Top 10.

The Wildcats were ranked no lower than 10th by the machines, with half of them putting Bill Snyder's squad at No. 7 and another at No. 6.

In an usual, if not wholly expected, twist of fate, it was the coaches who gave K-State the shaft, with a spot at No. 16 in the USA Today Poll.

Few would argue that K-State shouldn't have the lowest ranking among the undefeated teams from BCS conferences, but is a spot in the Top 10 too much to ask?

South Carolina

Now, if there's any team that's sporting a sheepish grin after seeing the BCS rankings, it's South Carolina. The Gamecocks' lone loss, at home against Auburn, isn't so bad, but it's not as though they sport the sort of sparkling wins that should put them ahead of other one-loss teams like West Virginia and Michigan State. Closer-than-expected victories over East Carolina, Navy and Vanderbilt point to significant vulnerability among the team in Columbia.

Of greater concern with Steve Spurrier's squad, though, are its prospects for winning from here on out. The Gamecocks were already in bad shape at the quarterback position, with Stephen Garcia dismissed from the team and Connor Shaw taking his place. Now, they'll have to finish up their schedule without sensational sophomore running back Marcus Lattimore, who suffered a knee injury against Mississippi State.

Granted, the human polls don't reflect that reality, since the news of Lattimore's injury wasn't confirmed until after the latest edition had been submitted. As such, expect to see quite a bit of correction when the rankings are re-released next week.