Bowl Projections: West Virginia and Teams That Will Land Undeserving BCS Berths

Without the benefit of a playoff system, there is no exact science when it comes to selecting BCS bowls. While the automatic qualifiers help sort out the mess to a point, there is still plenty of controversy when it comes to which at-large teams are selected.

As a result, there are often deserving teams left out in the cold while undeserving teams are granted the opportunity to play on the big stage. The 2011 season will likely be no different, as plenty of capable teams are sure to feel snubbed when the BCS matchups are announced.

Deciding which teams are deserving and which aren't is quite subjective, but often times it is quite clear. Here are three undeserving teams that will receive BCS bowl berths this season, despite the fact that plenty of high-quality teams will be left to play in ordinary bowls. 

Wisconsin Badgers

At 10-2 the Wisconsin Badgers are a solid team that will likely make a BCS bowl with a win over Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game. While there have been far more egregious injustices in the BCS era, this comes down to my dislike of automatic qualifying conferences.

Winning a conference championship is great, but who is to say that one conference championship is more valuable than another? The Big Ten is a solid conference, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the winner should be in a BCS game. The Badgers are ranked No. 15, and while they may receive a BCS berth, higher-ranked teams like Boise State, Arkansas, Oklahoma and others won't.

I feel like the best teams, regardless of conference affiliation, should be included in the BCS bowls. While that would include a Big Ten team more often than not, that wouldn't necessarily be the case this season. I won't be up in arms over the Badgers getting a berth, but there are better teams that will unfortunately be victims of circumstance. 

Houston Cougars

With a record of 12-0, the Houston Cougars are in line to receive an at-large BCS berth provided they can defeat Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA Championship Game. It's certainly tough to argue with an undefeated season, but when you look at Houston's body of work and schedule, it isn't overly impressive.

The Cougars have dominated most of their opponents thanks to quarterback Case Keenum and an explosive offense, but most of their competition has been pretty weak. In fact, Houston played just one BCS opponent this season—that being UCLA—whom it defeated by a mere four points. With that said, a game against a real BCS contender could get ugly.

I'm all for giving non-BCS schools a chance, but Houston has benefited from being a solid team with an incredibly easy schedule. I understand that Boise State has a blemish on its record, but it lost by just one point to TCU and played a tougher schedule. The Broncos have proven capable of beating BCS schools in the past, but I'm not sure Houston can do the same. 

West Virginia Mountaineers

The Big East represents everything that is wrong with the automatic qualifying aspect of the BCS. While the Big East was once a burgeoning football conference, it is now a shell of its former self. Although the conference boasts several decent teams, none of them should be anywhere near the BCS bowl picture.

Unfortunately, one Big East team will "earn" the honor of playing in a BCS game, and that seems likely to be the West Virginia Mountaineers. At 8-3, the Mountaineers are ranked No. 23 in the BCS standings. However, with losses to Syracuse and Louisville, I'm not sure they even deserve to be ranked that highly.

It's about time that either the Big East loses its automatic qualifier status or automatic qualifying is done away with entirely. There are probably between 10 and 15 teams that are more deserving of playing in a BCS bowl game, but West Virginia will steal a spot by default. It will simply result in the Mountaineers getting throttled by a vastly superior team and the Big East looking like even more of a joke from a football perspective.