BCS Rankings: Underrated Teams Ready To Crush in Bowl Games

There are three teams that aren't ranked high enough to suit their high level of play. This means they face a rough fate as they will not get the recognition they deserve, but it is about to be an even harsher reality for the teams these teams will obliterate in bowl games.

No. 9 Oregon

The fact that Oregon is underrated at No. 9 is not going to alter their bowl placement. Barring a huge upset by UCLA in the Pac-12 Championship Game, the Ducks will be in the Rose Bowl.

It is in that Rose Bowl where this team will prove it is far better than No. 9.

Oregon is being held back in the rankings because they have two losses, but they are being held too far back because of those losses.

Voters realize this. They have Oregon at No. 7 in the AP poll. The bottom line is that Oregon is a missed field goal against USC away from being right in the thick of the conversation for a title game participant.

Instead they, and their third-ranked scoring offense, are barely in the top 10.

The Ducks will likely face Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin will not be able to handle the Ducks.

The Badgers lost to Ohio State team that runs a system similar to Oregon, but with far less effectiveness. The Buckeyes ran for 268 yards in that game at 4.6 yards per carry.

Oregon will go well beyond those numbers, and prove they are easily one of the five best teams in the country.

No. 14 Georgia

Georgia is playing as good as any team in the country right now, but they still aren't near the top 10. That is absurd.

Before this conversation goes further, it must be mentioned that this one comes with a huge caveat. If Georgia upsets LSU in the SEC Championship Game, all bets are off. The Bulldogs will fly up the rankings.

As it is now, they are sitting well outside of any BCS bowl game. That means whoever the Bulldogs do play in their bowl game is in for a long day.

Georgia is as low as they are in the rankings because they limped out of the gates to an 0-2 start. They have not lost since then.

At the heart of their turnaround is suffocating defense. Georgia is 10th in the nation in points allowed, and that is despite the fact that they allowed 80 combined points in their first two games.

Offensively, Georgia  is not a juggernaut. They are 25th in points scored per game. However, they feature a balanced attack that makes them tough for any team to stop.

They are 36th in rushing yards and 47th in passing yards per game. Combine that with their defense, and you have a team ready to smother anyone but the very best teams in the game.

No. 17 Baylor

Baylor is capable of beating any team. They are being held back in the rankings from a rough stretch where they lost three of four games.

Those three losses represent their total for the season. That stretch sealed Baylor's fate to a mid-level bowl game—a bowl game where they will crush their opponent.

Baylor's offense is playing too well. They are sixth in the nation in the scoring and they are getting better by the week. They have put up a combined 111 points in their last two games.

What makes Baylor so hard to defend is their balance on offense. They are fifth in the nation in passing offense, and 17th in rushing yardage.

QB Robert Griffin III is a matchup nightmare for any team. He is a threat to run at any moment, but he often doesn't have to as his constantly searching eyes find open receivers that he almost always drills with pinpoint passes.

Baylor is likely to end up in a bowl with a team ranked below them, and they will crush them.

Here are the full BCS rankings:

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	LSU	1.000
2	Alabama	.955
3	Oklahoma State	.871
4	Stanford	.856
5	Virginia Tech	.781
6	Houston	.740
7	Boise State	.703
8	Arkansas	.700
9	Oregon	.686
10	Oklahoma	.671
11	Kansas State	.570
12	South Carolina	.568
13	Michigan State	.537
14	Georgia	.535
15	Wisconsin	.458
16	Michigan	.431
17	Baylor	.391
18	TCU	.331
19	Nebraska	.258
20	Clemson	.198
21	Penn State	.138
22	Texas	.133
23	West Virginia	.124
24	Southern Miss	.072
25	Missouri	.059