BCS Rankings: Kansas State and 9 Programs Waiting to Be Exposed

The first BCS rankings were released last Sunday and a lot is sure to change between now and the end of the season. 

Some teams have yet to hit the meat and potatoes of their schedule and should enjoy their BCS ranking while they still have it.

Kansas State still has to face Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas in the coming weeks. KSU is unlikely to hold on to their current No. 11 BCS ranking while they still have it.

But the Wildcats are not alone. There are other teams that should not get comfortable.

No. 11 Kansas State Wildcats

The Kansas State Wildcats have been the feel good story of the 2011 college football season so far, but that is all about to change in the coming weeks.

Currently sitting at 6-0, the Wildcats have the meat of their Big-12 schedule ahead of them with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas—a stretch few teams could survive.

What Bill Snyder has done again for the Wildcats has been great, but don't be surprised if they are out of the BCS rankings completely after their brutal four-week stretch.

No. 13 Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are sitting pretty at No. 13 in the BCS rankings without a quality win on their resume. 

Sure, they beat Ohio State last week by a touchdown, but the 2011 Buckeyes are not the Buckeyes you expect to win the Big Ten every year.

The only true test the Cornhuskers have had all season, came Oct. 1 against Wisconsin and that did not go well for them.

When your quarterback has thrown for just as many interceptions as touchdown passes, six each for Taylor Martinez, you are just waiting to be exposed.

It could begin as early as next week at home against Michigan State. 

No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks

The South Carolina Gamecocks are in some trouble with the recent season-ending injury to star running back Marcus Lattimore and the dismissal of Stephen Garcia.

They just skated by with those two. Although Garcia could be argued as addition by subtraction, the future outlook isn't too good without them.

Connor Shaw stepped in and played very well against a terrible Kentucky team.

He came back down to earth in a nail-biting, 14-12 victory over Mississippi State. Shaw threw for just 155 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. 

With games remaining against Arkansas, Florida and Clemson, the Gamecocks can expect to add a couple more losses to their record before season's end. 

No. 19 Houston Cougars

The Houston Cougars have a good chance as anyone in the country to go undefeated this season, but that doesn't make them a top tier team in college football. 

Only one game on the Cougars' 12-game schedule is against a team from an automatic qualifying conference, UCLA.

The rest coming against teams like North Texas, Tulane and SMU.

Despite sitting at 6-0, the Cougars are not for real. Case Keenum, in his sixth year of eligibility, is a nice story, but they just don't match up against the top tier teams in college football.

If they go undefeated, don't expect them to make it to a BCS bowl.

Do expect them to be exposed for the frauds they are in a bowl game against real competition. 

No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini

We got a glimpse of the exposure of Illinois last week against Ohio State. Unfortunately for the Fighting Illini, it only gets worse.

After heading to Purdue today, the Fighting Illini face Penn State, Michigan and Wisconsin, consecutively.

This is a stretch that could prove to be ugly for the team.

It is all fun and games when you are playing teams like Arkansas State and South Dakota State, but once you face the big-boy teams, you get served a piping hot plate of reality.

Ron Zook and the Fighting Illini better enjoy their BCS ranking for now because it could be gone in a matter of weeks. 

No. 20 Auburn Tigers

When you go through a quarterback change midway through the season, it is hard to be one of the nation's top teams.

That is exactly what the defending National Champions are doing this week.

Barrett Trotter has underperformed all season and will be replaced by Clint Moseley tonight when the Tigers face the No. 1 LSU Tigers.

The Tigers have started the season 5-2, but the future doesn't look promising with games against No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama. 

By season's end, Gene Chizik and the defending National Champs could find themselves out of the BCS Top 25 all together. 

No. 18 Michigan Wolverines

After starting the season 6-0, the Michigan Wolverines were dealt their first loss last week at Michigan State, beginning their exposure.

A team can recover from one loss in college football.

Unfortunately for Brady Hoke and the Wolverines, they have some tough games coming up against Nebraska, Illinois and Ohio State.

The defense has looked much improved in the first six games of the season, but they took a couple steps back against the Spartans last week. 

Don't be surprised if the Wolverines lose a couple more games before season's end. 

No. 10 Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks have recovered well after the opening weekend loss to LSU with five straight victories, but they have yet to hit the meat of their Pac-12 schedule.

With games at Washington and Stanford and then at home against USC, the rest of the season is no cake walk for the Ducks.

LaMichael James still is not 100 percent healthy. Darren Thomas is banged up as well, which does not bode well for Oregon.

The Ducks will need to be completely healthy if they want a chance to beat the Cardinal in Palo Alto on Nov. 12.

Either way, the Ducks could lose a couple of their remaining games to knock them out of the top tier of teams in the country.

No. 15 West Virginia Mountaineers

With a Friday game against Syracuse last night, the West Virginia Mountaineers got a head start on the team exposure tour.

A team that looked like a lock to be the Big East representative in the BCS, got blown out by the Orange 49-23 in the Carrier Dome.

The Mountaineers looked like they were for real early on in the season.

They even gave No. 1 LSU a fairly decent game, but now they have proven to just be another Big East team.

The Big East conference will once again prove to be a free for all this season. The Mountaineers could very well lose multiple games on their remaining schedule.

No. 5 Boise State Broncos

Boise State is likely to finish another season undefeated with only one game against a team in an automatic qualifying conference.

Broncos fans will likely be in uproar when they don't get selected for the BCS National Championship game once again, but they don't deserve to be.

Chris Peterson and company need to beef up their schedule or join an automatic qualifying conference in order to have an argument for the BCS National Championship.

Playing a middle-of-the-road SEC team in the first game of the season just does not cut it.

The Broncos will find themselves in a BCS bowl game and will be exposed as the frauds they are.

Yes, I understand the Broncos are 2-0 in BCS games, but one of them was against fellow non-qualifier TCU. 

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