Is Jimbo Fisher Right About Florida State Being Underrated?

Florida State is ranked 10^th in the country and are one win away from winning the ACC Atlantic Division, but head coach Jimbo Fisher has something to complain about or at least he think he does. The other day Fisher publicly announced his displeasure with the BCS and feels that his Seminoles are vastly underrated. He also volunteered the information that he has his team ranked fourth in the Coaches’ Poll.

So is FSU really underrated or does Fisher have delusions of grandeur when it comes to his team?

The answer is a little bit of both. I do believe that the Seminoles are underrated in the BCS, but I also don’t believe they deserve to be ranked as high as Fisher has them. The computer rankings that make up a third of the BCS haven’t exactly been kind to the Seminoles. Two of the computer polls don’t even have FSU ranked, and that is just a tragedy.

The other computer polls have the Seminoles ranked between 14^th and 17^th. Jimbo Fisher has every right to be upset with the computer portion of the BCS, because they are flat out incorrect when it comes to assessing the Seminoles.

The computers are really holding back Florida State’s ranking as both the Coaches’ and Harris polls have them ranked sixth. The Seminoles do not deserve to be ranked behind three SEC teams that have two losses (FSU is 10-1), but they also don’t belong ahead of a team like Alabama in order to be ranked in the top four of the rankings.

The BCS isn’t even close to being perfect, and that’s why there are constant complaints about the system. The playoff system that will replace it won’t be perfect and there will be plenty of complaints about that as well but it will be a step in the right direction. Perhaps Fisher’s most outlandish claim was that the Coaches Poll should be the only one that matters when it comes to selecting the BCS.

However, the number of complaints about the Coaches Poll is second only to the computers. The coaches that vote in the poll don’t have time to watch every football game in order to give a complete and accurate ranking. That just isn’t possible.

Jimbo Fisher is right about his team being underrated but he isn’t when it comes to how high he thinks that the team should be ranked. The Seminoles are a very good team but it may be another year before they can actually be considered elite BCS contenders.