BCS Rankings: Virginia Tech and More Overrated Teams Destined to Fall

The latest BCS rankings are out, and there are more than a few surprises to be found. Some of the teams pleasantly surprised by a high ranking tonight, though, will come back down to Earth by season’s end.

Virginia Tech

An idle Hokies squad took advantage of losses above them to climb two spots to No. 10 in this week’s rankings. As nice a gift as that was, it will be taken away in short order.

Virginia Tech plays on Thursday night, traveling to Atlanta to face a No. 21 Georgia Tech team that slaughtered Clemson in their last outing. Even with a bye week to prepare for the fearsome Yellow Jacket option offense, this Hokies team doesn’t have the defensive weapons to win at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Penn State

The Nittany Lions had a terrific weekend for a team that didn’t even play, jumping four spots to No. 12 in the rankings. However, the Nittany Lions won’t have long to enjoy their good fortune.

Next week’s home game with No. 19 Nebraska is winnable, but far from a sure thing, especially if co-QB Rob Bolden makes too many mistakes against the tough Cornhuskers D. After that, Penn State finishes with road games against Ohio State and Wisconsin, and they’ll be lucky to win even one of that pair.

South Carolina

Losing at Arkansas is nothing to be ashamed of, but the Razorbacks exposed problems for the No. 13 Gamecocks that will keep them from winning out even with three straight home games to finish the season. Marcus Lattimore’s injury has left South Carolina with no running game at all, and QB Connor Shaw’s 24 rushing yards led the team on Saturday night.

If the newly one-dimensional Gamecocks sleep on a struggling Florida team next week, they could get a nasty surprise. Either way, though, they no longer have the offensive firepower to beat Clemson in the season finale.