The first BCS Rankings were released Sunday night, and while there were no real surprises at the top, Big Ten fans who have seen the Wisconsin Badgers dismantle anyone and anything that has stood in their way might be a little shocked at the fact that Bret Bielema's crew is ranked sixth in the first polls.
In fact, despite being undefeated and one of the highest scoring teams in the country as well as one of the top defenses in terms of points allowed, Wisconsin is not even close to teams like LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, and frankly even Oklahoma State in the BCS polls.
It looks like the media might not be the only ones who don't think the Big Ten is enough of a powerhouse conference to earn Wisconsin the respect they feel like they deserve at this point, because their ranking is slightly unfair based on what they have done this season.
The Badgers have plenty of time to convince the computers that they are an elite team, and obviously LSU and Alabama have to play each other, as do Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, so perhaps things have been set up perfectly for the Badgers at this point, but only time will tell.
The Big Ten is also represented in the first poll by Nebraska (13), Michigan State (16), Michigan (18), Penn State (21), and Illinois (23). This just goes to show how little the Big Ten is respected, as Michigan was a top 10 team in the country before falling on the road to Michigan State, and Illinois was all the way up in the top 15 before a close loss to Ohio State on Saturday.
There is still ample time for these teams to turn things around, but right now, it's looking like the computers will be harsh on the Big Ten once again.