BCS Rankings 2011: Texas and 5 Teams That Prove the Computers Aren't Perfect

At times, I almost feel like the Terminator movies are a metaphor for the BCS rankings. It's a struggle between man and machine, and the machines are the bad guys.

Admit it, you're imagining Arnold Schwarzenegger talking about college football right now, aren't you?

Even if you're not, machines are what we're hear to discuss. We've known for years now that the computers that help calculate the BCS standings are not perfect, and they probably never will be. For all their logic, it's clear that they have no wisdom.

For example, there are five teams in the initial BCS rankings that can prove just how imperfect the computers really are.

Texas (No. 24)

Texas is not ranked in the Harris Poll and it is not ranked in the USA Today poll, which are otherwise known as the two human polls the BCS rankings take into consideration. For what it's worth, Texas is also unranked in the AP poll.

However, a glimpse at the rankings on ESPN reveals that the computers have Texas ranked as the No. 19 team in the country. The Kenneth Massey system has the Longhorns ranked as high as No. 11.

Basically, the computers aren't able to see what the rest of us are able to see about Texas. Namely, that the Longhorns just are not a very good team.

It's probably the Longhorn Network's fault. Most things are.

Penn State (No. 21)

We tend to help ourselves to a chuckle every time Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions show up in the rankings, but they're actually pretty decent this year. The only team to beat them so far was Alabama, and Penn State has been playing some great defense this year.

But the computers think Penn State is the No. 16 team in the country. That deserves an entirely different sort of chuckle.

It's not a "haha that's cute" chuckle. It's an "are they (bleep)ing serious?" chuckle.

Evidently so. To illustrate how silly this is, Penn State would be ranked ahead of Texas A&M if the computers had their druthers.

Thankfully, they don't.

Houston (No. 19)

You have to respect any team that's 6-0, and Houston is no exception. This being said, I think the computers are guilty of respecting Houston a little too much.

I say this because the computers have the Cougars at an average ranking of No. 16, with one system having them as high as No. 11.

This is odd. It would be one thing if the BCS computers considered margin of victory, a stat that Houston has dominated this season, but they don't. Exactly the dominance of each team is not a concern to the BCS computers.

Strength of schedule matters to the computers, and that's the mystifying part. The computers seem to think that the Cougars have played a pretty tough schedule this season.

Here's a hint: they haven't.

Wisconsin (No. 6)

It's no secret that the Big Ten is just OK this year. In fact, Wisconsin is probably the only team in the conference that might be elite.

I say "might be" because we really don't know how good the Badgers are quite yet. We won't really know that until they negotiate the tough stretch of road games they have coming up.

However, the computers are guilty of underrating the Badgers with an average rank of No. 11. This is one instance in which you can make the argument that the computers should take domination into consideration.

How dominant are the Badgers? How about first in the country in points scored and third in the country in points allowed?

Yeah, that dominant.

Oklahoma State (No. 4)

Because their BCS averages are separated by a mere 0.0003 points, it's basically a toss-up whether or not LSU or Alabama is the No. 1 team in the country.

Unless you ask the computers. They'll tell you that Oklahoma State is the No. 1 team in the country.

I can actually see where the computers are coming from here. They love strength of schedule, and they think the Big 12 is the toughest conference in the country. The computers also like road victories, and Oklahoma State boasts road wins over Texas A&M and Texas, two teams that the BCS computers think are pretty good.

The humans know better. The Pokes are No. 6 on both the Harris Poll and the USA Today poll, and that does seem to be a fair ranking for them.

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	LSU	.9522
2	Alabama	.9519
3	Oklahoma	.930
4	Oklahoma State	.857
5	Boise State	.803
6	Wisconsin	.771
7	Clemson	.758
8	Stanford	.748
9	Arkansas	.626
10	Oregon	.619
11	Kansas State	.569
12	Virginia Tech	.505
13	Nebraska	.497
14	South Carolina	.491
15	West Virginia	.373
16	Michigan State	.329
17	Texas A&M	.308
18	Michigan	.300
19	Houston	.286
20	Auburn	.265
21	Penn State	.231
22	Georgia Tech	.197
23	Illinois	.152
24	Texas	.135
25	Washington	.087