Upheaval in the BCS Not Done Yet

When the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and Alabama Crimson Tide was over last Saturday the college football world was turned upside down. No longer was there an easy pick for No. 1 in the country. In fact, the only easy pick was that No. 1 was no longer Alabama.

Voters were left with a bit of  a quandary. Who deserved to be No. 1 of the three remaining undefeated teams? Oregon is easily the most exciting and dynamic of the three. At the same time, Kansas State is probably the most balanced of the three. Notre Dame's defense has been dominating foes this season.

So who should it be?

The human polls picked Oregon by a pretty convincing margin, but Kansas State and Notre Dame each got votes. However, the one that counts--the BCS--named Kansas State the No. 1 with Oregon and Notre Dame rounding out the top three.

For the first time in years the SEC is on the outside looking in when it comes to the national championship, but the season isn't over yet. With some of the best and toughest games still to come there is no telling who will be No. 1 when the regular season wraps up.

Kansas State is in the driver's seat for a trip to the national championship game, but they have a pretty tough game still to come. They face No. 15 Texas to close the season out on December 1. With the Big 12 only having 10 teams the conference no longer has a title game which will keep the Wildcats from having to face another tough opponent. Baylor will not be a push over either.

Oregon has not had to really prove itself for most of the season. When it finally was against USC a weakness was exposed--the defense. Their defense is No. 46 in the nation (in total defense); not bad, but when you play a relatively weak schedule it is not hard for something to look good when it is not.

Stanford will not be a push over at home. Neither will Oregon State be one when the latest edition of the Civil War is played Thanksgiving weekend. They will also get either UCLA or USC in the Pac-12 title game. Should they get past all three they will definitely have earned a trip to the BCS title game. Lose one and they are out.

Notre Dame should will need to beat USC to end the season and hope that either Kansas State or Oregon lose. The USC game will not be a push over, but Matt Barkley hasn't done well all season when under severe pressure; something that he most certainly will be feeling against Manti Te'o and company.

Then there is No. 4; Alabama is not out of this by no means. They will likely be scrutinized a little harder after their near miss to LSU and the drubbing they took at the hands of Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies. Their last two regular season opponents are pretty weak so just beating them will not do them any favors.

If they are going to make a move it will be in the SEC title game where they will need to destroy whoever it is they face (probably Georgia). It would not be surprising to see Oregon or Kansas State lose. Notre Dame has faced a tougher schedule than Alabama (No. 19 relative to No. 41), but the public perception (and human polls) will  side with the Tide.

Whether that would be enough for them to vault over the Fighting Irish into No. 1 or No. 2 is possible, but remains to be seen. So rest easy SEC fans. You are not out of it yet!