BCS Rankings: Teams That Deserved More Respect from Voters

More often than not, the BCS rankings don't make any sense. 

This is what happens when you take the subjective interpretations of man and machine, put them in a blender, and then present the result as a legitimate and inarguable fact.

The truth is that it's very easy to argue with the BCS. Depending on how you see things, you can either choose to argue with the human voters or the machines.

While I have no love lost for the BCS computers, the voters tend to screw up just as often. Concerning the final BCS rankings, there are a couple of teams that didn't get nearly enough respect from the voters, and I aim to call them on it.

Complaining about the rankings at this point will solve nothing, to be sure. But hey, if we keep complaining, changes will have to be made sooner or later, right?

Georgia Bulldogs (No. 16 overall)

Because all three of Georgia's losses were to teams that ended the season in the BCS Top 10, the Bulldogs deserve to be the highest ranked three-loss team in the country.

But they're not, and the key reason they're not is because they're No. 18 in both the Harris Poll and the Coaches' Poll (see ESPN).

The BCS computers, on the other hand, have Georgia at No. 12—a spot much more befitting a team of Georgia's quality.

So why don't the voters have respect for Georgia?

Probably because many of the voters made up their minds about Georgia after they lost two straight to open the season. When these same voters tuned in to watch the SEC Championship Game, they saw Georgia get destroyed by LSU, and thus felt their opinions were validated.

Admittedly, I'm guessing. But given how badly the voters disrespected Georgia, I don't think this is far from the truth.

Baylor Bears (No. 12 overall)

Georgia should be the highest ranked three-loss team in the country, but Baylor is the highest ranked three-loss team in the country.

That's cool, but the Bears didn't earn this honor because the voters gave it to them. They got it because the computers gave it to them.

In the final BCS poll, the computers had Baylor at no. 11 overall, whereas both polls had the team at No. 16 overall. Ahead of Baylor in the human polls are teams like Clemson and Michigan State. 

The Bears deserve better than this. They had one bad loss to Texas A&M this season, but losses at Kansas State and at Oklahoma State can be forgiven. 

If I had to speculate, I would say that the voters overlooked Baylor because Baylor is not a traditional powerhouse school. Prejudices die hard in college football. 

Unfortunately, they also determine important things.

Kansas State (No. 8 overall)

I'll be the first to tell you that Kansas State has been slightly overrated all season, but No. 8 is a good spot for the Wildcats, considering the circumstances.

The Wildcats would be even higher if the computers were running things. The BCS computers have the Wildcats at No. 4. The polls have them at No. 10.

I would be fine with the voters having Kansas State at No. 10, but I don't like that the voters think that both South Carolina and Wisconsin are better teams. 

Considering the schedule Kansas State had to play—and considering how the Wildcats nearly beat Oklahoma State—I don't think either of those teams are better than Kansas State.

Arkansas Razorbacks (No. 6 overall)

Arkansas should be the highest ranked two-loss team in the country. Instead, that honor went to Oregon.

That's not a huge outrage. What is slightly more outrageous is that the voters had Boise State ranked ahead of Arkansas in their final polls.

Listen, we all want to love Boise State, but the Broncos just weren't as strong this year as they have been in years past. They were strong enough to go undefeated, and they didn't.

By comparison, the only two teams Arkansas lost to this year are going to be playing in the BCS National Championship Game. The Hogs may not be the best team in the country, but they had it much tougher than Boise State. 

The computers noticed. The voters should have noticed too.

Week 15 BCS Rankings

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	LSU	1.000
2	Alabama	.9419
3	Oklahoma State	.9333
4	Stanford	.8476
5	Oregon	.7901
6	Arkansas	.7687
7	Boise State	.7408
8	Kansas State	.6827
9	South Carolina	.6553
10	Wisconsin	.6374
11	Virginia Tech	.5190
12	Baylor	.4977
13	Michigan	.4794
14	Oklahoma	.5603
15	Clemson	.4218
16	Georgia	.4119
17	Michigan State	.3883
18	TCU	.3869
19	Houston	.3504
20	Nebraska	.2606
21	Southern Miss	.1918
22	Penn State	.1305
23	West Virginia	.1233
24	Texas	.0876
25	Auburn	.0584