BCS Rankings Week 12: Auburn Tigers and Teams That Shouldn't Be There

When there is another release of the BCS rankings, it will always come with its fair share of controversy.

In this week's rankings, the computers gave out some pretty surprising picks, especially toward the bottom.

We will have to see how these rankings end up when the season finally comes to a close, but in the mean time all we can do is observe and criticize what we are given. With many teams having two or three games remaining this season, the poll positions can change like crazy. If they didn't, it wouldn't fulfill the excitement that this time of the year comes with.

With the fifth iteration of the BCS standings, these are the teams that should not be hanging out in the polls.

Texas Longhorns

BCS Ranking: 23

Record: 6-3

Biggest Win of 2011: 52-20 over Texas Tech

Biggest Loss of 2011: 17-5 at Missouri (unranked)

The Texas Longhorns should not even be considered for a BCS position.

Sure, they are 6-3, but all those wins have come against bottom-feeder schools. Their most credible win came against Texas Tech, but even the Red Raiders are sitting at only 5-5. With games lost against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State (back-to-back on top of it), the Longhorns have been given credit for the difficult schedule they have had. 

Unfortunately for them, that isn't enough to give them praise.

With games against Kansas State and Baylor coming up in the last three weeks of the season, the Longhorns will likely trip up and the rankings will should look more correct.

TCU Horned Frogs

BCS Ranking: 19

Record: 8-2

Biggest Win of 2011: 36-35 over No. 5 Boise State

Biggest Loss of 2011: 40-33 OT Loss to Southern Methodist

All the kudos go out to the TCU Horned Frogs for defeating the Broncos on the road last week, but they didn't deserve this big of a prize. Going from unranked to ranked, the Horned Frogs jumped all the way to No. 19.

While they are standing at an impressive 8-2, a single victory over Boise State—questionable for their own rankings—is not enough merit to put TCU where they are at.

Aside from the Boise State win and the loss to the Baylor Bears and Southern Methodist, the Horned Frogs have defeated teams like Air Force, Wyoming, Louisiana Monroe, Portland State, San Diego State, New Mexico and BYU.

While I was entertained on Saturday, I was not that impressed. TCU fans, you better hope that wins over Colorado State and UNLV will still merit you poll position, because with a schedule like this, it certainly isn't deserved.

Penn State Nittany Lions

BCS Ranking: 21

Record: 8-2

Biggest Win of 2011: 10-7 over Illinois

Biggest Loss of 2011: 17-14 against No. 19 Nebraska

The fact that the Penn State Nittany Lions are on this list has nothing to do with the scandal. That is totally unrelated to this current team. The reason Penn State is here is because they have failed to really prove anything season.

While they have wins over most their Big Ten opponents, their schedules haven't been all that difficult, and for where they have been, Penn State ultimately failed to capitalize.

Going into the season, the Nittany Lions had some tough games set up. As of Week 11, they have dropped two of those games. One being the Alabama Crimson Tide and the other being the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Outside of that, their schedule has been fairly easy and they have managed to capitalize on those opportunities.

With Ohio State and Wisconsin waiting in the wings, the Nittany Lions will likely lose out on the Big Ten championship, and their BCS ranking should fall in the coming weeks.

Auburn Tigers

BCS Ranking: 24

Record: 6-4

Biggest Win of 2011: 16-13 over  No. 10 South Carolina

Biggest Loss of 2011: 38-14 at  No. 10 Arkansas

The Auburn Tigers are getting a lot of love due to their BCS title only a year ago. This season, they haven't fared as well, yet somehow they are still alive in the rankings. With all their losses coming to ranked schools (Clemson wasn't at the time, but we see where they are at now), the Tigers haven't been able to capitalize on big opportunities to prove they are worthy.

They did defeat the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road, but outside of that, no victory has given reason to believe the Tigers deserve this spot.

Yes, they defeated Mississippi State, but they were not as good as many had thought. With a season-closing game against Alabama, the Tigers will likely be ousted from the BCS polls at the end of the season.

Florida State Seminoles

BCS Ranking: 25

Record: 7-3

Biggest Win of 2011: 23-19 over Miami

Biggest Loss of 2011: 35-30 at Wake Forest (un-ranked)

We shouldn't even be discussing the Florida State Seminoles, but since the BCS has given us this opportunity, we shall take advantage of it.

This season, the Seminoles have not defeated anyone recognizable besides the Miami Hurricanes—who have proven to be illegitimate themselves. With losses to Oklahoma, Clemson and Wake Forest, the Seminoles lost two games they should have, and one that they should have easily won,considering where they are ranked.

Every team can have a slip up though, but when you look at the rest of the Seminoles' schedule, they do not have enough backing them to look past the Wake Forest loss. Wins over Louisiana-Monroe, Charleston Southern, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina State and Boston College are not enough to merit this team BCS poll position.

With a big game against the Florida Gators in the final week of the season, we will have to see where the Seminoles end up, which is likely not in the BCS rankings.