BCS Rankings: South Carolina and Teams That Deserve More Respect

As BCS hopefuls around the nation await their fate, several teams are going to be left to ponder what could have been. Here are three teams that will likely finish outside the BCS picture which deserved more respect from voters.

Kansas State Wildcats

If the rankings were purely based on computers, Kansas State would be firmly in a BCS position. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that's not how it works. So even though they still have an outside chance to claim a spot, they'll probably fall just short.

Collin Klein hasn't received much national hype, but the dual-threat quarterback put together an amazing season. He totaled 38 touchdowns and was the driving force behind several marquee wins. Without him, Kansas State struggles to finish inside the top 25.

It's hard to accept that a team as good as the Wildcats will be relegated to a lower bowl, while the Big East champion gets an automatic bid.

Projected Ranking: No. 8

South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina's ability to keep winning after losing both Stephen Garcia (dismissed) and Marcus Lattimore (injury) has been a sight to behold. The Gamecocks picked up an impressive win over Clemson, which went on to win the ACC, in the season finale.

If it weren't for Lattimore's season-ending injury, South Carolina would have probably received a longer look from voters. Instead, they will be one of the best teams on the outside looking in despite proving they belong among the country's elite squads.

Steve Spurrier did a masterful coaching job to tailor the offense around Connor Shaw's strengths, allowing him to complete nearly two-thirds of his passes. The defense did the rest.

Projected Ranking: No. 9

Baylor Bears

Baylor lost three games, so most analysts will say the Bears can only blame themselves for their BCS exclusion. However, all three losses came on the road against very good teams, and they did beat TCU, Oklahoma and Texas.

Two computers had them ranked seventh heading into their win over Texas, which is probably a good representation of their ability, but both polls had them 18th. That low ranking doomed any hopes of a large charge into a marquee bowl.

The Bears are a perfect example of when the eye test doesn't do a team justice. Computers had a much better read on their overall level of play than the voters.

Projected Ranking: No. 14