BCS Rankings 2011: Michigan Wolverines and 3 Teams That Blew Their Chances

The first official BCS rankings have finally arrived, but unfortunately, a few teams blew their chance of starting off really strong before the rankings were ever revealed. 

Of course, the elite teams were able to do their part this past weekend, but those teams that had several questions surrounding them failed to deliver, which cost them a great spot in the BCS rankings. 

These teams can surely make a comeback in the BCS, but had they won this past Saturday they'd be in a much better spot.

Here are three teams that fell flat on their faces just before the first BCS rankings were revealed. 

No. 18 Michigan 

New head coach Brady Hoke had the Wolverines team believing they were special, but things were misleading after starting the season 6-0. They may have believed, but when the first five games are at home it's much easier to win. 

The Wolverines were on the road for the second straight week, and just like the last two seasons, the Michigan State Spartans spoiled their undefeated season by winning 28-14. 

The Spartans have beaten the Wolverines four straight years now, and they proved to everyone that the Wolverines were merely benefiting from an easy schedule. Prior to the Spartans' win streak, the Wolverines had beaten Michigan State six years in a row. 

Michigan can certainly rise back up, but the Wolverines will need a little luck to go their way if they want to reach the Big Ten title game. 

No. 22 Georgia Tech 

The Yellow Jackets were absolutely destroying their opponents, and it appeared as though they might sneak into the Top 10 of the BCS rankings because they were 6-0.

That dream came crashing down when they lost 24-21 to the Virginia Cavaliers Saturday. Georgia Tech found itself in an early hole, and while the Yellow Jackets fought back, they were unable to close out the game in the fourth quarter.

Nobody predicted Georgia Tech to start off this well after losing a good deal of talent, but it had fans hoping this season would be special. 

The Yellow Jackets still have to play big-time conference foes in Clemson and Virginia Tech, but they could have been the favorites going into those games had they just won this past weekend.

Now they must fight to climb the rankings, which will be difficult because this team struggles with adversity. 

No. 24 Texas 

The Longhorns had a chance to make everyone forget that Oklahoma embarrassed them, but they failed to beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys for the second year in a row. 

Texas had a 12-game winning streak against the Cowboys before these last two years, but the Longhorns have clearly taken a drop-off since agreeing to the Longhorn Network. Strange, isn't it? 

Mack Brown needed a win to stay strong in the rankings, but his players were no match for the Cowboys, who triumphed 38-26. Texas probably would have been given extra love by the computers because for some reason the Longhorns are loved by all.

However, the Longhorns were dealt their second loss of the season, and now they'll have to win out to reach the best bowl game possible, which isn't likely to be a BCS bowl.

Rank	Team	BCS Points
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