BCS Standings: Big Ten Teams Must Prove Their Worth Moving Forward

It is rather obvious that the Big Ten is being extremely disrespected in the latest version of the BCS standings, but to be fair, they aren't really doing anything to gain respect.

A few weeks ago we watched two Big Ten teams, Michigan State and Wisconsin, square off in what many considered to be one of the best games in a long time.

Wisconsin was ranked No. 6 and was in the BCS Championship talk for many people. Michigan State was trying to prove that they had what it took to be a relevant nationally.

That seemed to be the high point for the conference, as everything has gone down hill since.

Wisconsin went on to lose that game and the next week's game to unranked Ohio State, while Michigan State went into Nebraska and got routed.

Those two teams, plus Penn State, Nebraska, Iowa and even Michigan, are all still in running for the Big Ten championship game, but none are even making a splash in the national scene.

No Big Ten team is ranked. Frankly, none of them deserve it.

Here's a quick breakdown of how the Big Ten fares in the latest rankings.

The Week 11 BCS rankings, hot off the press:

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	LSU	.9931
2	Oklahoma State	.9447
3	Alabama	.8836
4	Stanford	.8749
5	Boise State	.8473
6	Oklahoma	.7978
7	Oregon	.7708
8	Arkansas	.7452
9	Clemson	.6435
10	Virginia Tech	.5913
11	Houston	.551
12	Penn State	.484
13	South Carolina	.453
14	Kansas State	.381
15	Georgia	.370
16	Texas	.366
17	Michigan State	.337
18	Wisconsin	.305
19	Nebraska	.279
20	Auburn	.210
21	Georgia Tech	.209
22	Southern Mississippi	.204
23	Cincinnati	.187
24	Michigan	.177
25	Baylor	.071

No. 12 Penn State

At No. 12, the Nittany Lions are the highest ranked Big Ten team, but now all the focus on them is regarding scandal more than anything else. Nonetheless, they are 8-1 with their only loss coming to Alabama.

Penn State is the class of the Big Ten, which says a lot about the conference right now.

No. 17 Michigan State

The Spartans barely beat a pathetic Minnesota team at home, and after getting routed on the road at Nebraska, it's hard to trust this team.

After beating Wisconsin, many people were wondering how relevant they were nationally, but now we have to wonder if they can even hold their own for the rest of the season.

No. 18 Wisconsin

The wheels fell off Wisconsin's bandwagon when the Spartans beat them with that Hail Mary at the end of regulation.

They lost to Ohio State the very next week, and face Penn State at the end of the year, which looks like it could potentially be loss No. 3.

No. 19 Nebraska

After beating Michigan State at home, many were wondering if Nebraska was the class of the Big Ten. They promptly went on to lose to Northwestern.

No. 24 Michigan

The Wolverines have no business being ranked, especially with Denard Robinson throwing balls 20 feet over his receivers head 50 percent of the time.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a conference that is getting the rankings they deserve right now, and they have a lot of work to do to prove they are more than tradition and I-formation football.