BCS Rankings: BCS Top 25 Teams That'll Surprise Us Most in Bowl Season

Fans always tend to simply focus and dial in on the Top 10 of the BCS standings every week, and for good reason, but that doesn't mean that there aren't teams ranked a little lower that are just as capable of doing some serious damage this postseason, even if it isn't in a BCS bowl game.

Here's a look at four dangerous BCS Top 25 teams to watch out for during bowl season.

No. 11 Kansas State Wildcats

Earlier in the season, we were asking whether or not Kansas State was worthy of a Top-10 ranking, after the Wildcats got off to a hot 8-0 start, but a lopsided loss to Oklahoma in Week 9 quickly cooled that thought, and the Wildcats fell back to the pack in the BCS standings.

Kansas State went 10-2 for a reason this year, though, and that’s because the Wildcats are well-coached, they play strong defense and they’re led by one of college football’s budding stars, QB Collin Klein.

If Klein and Kansas State make it into the Cotton Bowl, it will be interesting to see what the Wildcats can do against a quality SEC opponent.

No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers

After consecutive heartbreaking losses to Michigan State and Ohio State, everyone quickly forgot about Wisconsin, which was at one point considered to be a legitimate national title contender earlier in the season.

The Badgers battled their way back, though, and they’re now just one step away from winning the Big Ten championship game and heading back out to Pasadena.

If QB Russell Wilson, RB Montee Ball and the rest of the powerful Wisconsin offense can avenge their loss to Michigan State this weekend, they could be a handful for Oregon to try to stop in the Rose Bowl.

No. 23 West Virginia Mountaineers

The Big East’s reputation went from bad to abysmal this season, and there’s a good chance the conference’s football days may soon be coming to an end, but before that happens, the Big East will have a chance to prove its worth in a BCS bowl game once again, even though it’s hard to say the league actually deserves the opportunity.

West Virginia seems to be the conference’s best hope of picking up a win in the Orange Bowl this year, but the Mountaineers still need some help from Cincinnati to earn the bid.

If West Virginia makes it to Miami, QB Geno Smith, WR Tavon Austin and the rest of the potentially explosive West Virginia offensive attack could give the ACC champion quite a test.

No. 25 Missouri Tigers

It’s not often you see a 7-5 team make it into the BCS standings, but it’s also not often that you see a team play the kind of schedule that Missouri was saddled with this year.

The Tigers played eight teams that were ranked in the BCS Top 25 at some point this season. And four of their five losses are to teams that are currently ranked in the Top 20—Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Kansas State and Baylor.

Missouri, by all accounts, had a pretty strong team this year, but when you’re going up against that kind of schedule, it’s almost impossible to really make a lot of headway in your conference.

Watch out for the Tigers in the postseason, though, as they're likely going to explode on whatever mediocre team has the misfortune of matching up with them in a bowl game.