Randall Moore
Sports Columnist

I don’t care what anyone says - Alabama has no business being on the same field as either Southern California or Texas. Granted, this is all a mute point since the Crimson Tide lost in overtime to Louisiana State last Saturday, but anyone who honestly thought that Bama could hang with either USC or Texas was sadly mistaken.

Don’t bring up the 1992 National Championship game when Alabama beat heavily favored Miami either. That Alabama team had three times the talent that this year’s team has. The defense has been spectacular this year, and that has helped Bama more than anything, but the futility on the offensive side of the football was finally realized Saturday when they couldn’t protect a 10-0 lead at home. Bama fans have no worries; they are officially back on the national radar, something that seemed very unlikely just three years ago when Alabama was on probation.

With Alabama out of the picture, it all comes down to Southern California and Texas in the Rose Bowl, the site of this year’s National Championship game. These two teams are head and shoulders above the rest, with the possible exception of Notre Dame and Ohio State, the two teams that barely lost to USC and Texas earlier in the season. The Rose Bowl looks pretty solid now with USC and Texas.

The rest of the Bowl Championship Series picture is murky. Penn State shares the Big Ten lead with Ohio State, and, based on their 17-10 victory over the Buckeyes earlier in the season, a victory over Michigan State gives the Nittany Lions the conference’s automatic BCS berth. And this is just one year after going 4-7.

Ohio State needs help - they need to defeat Michigan on Saturday and have Penn State lose. Likewise, Michigan can win the Big Ten’s automatic BCS berth by beating Ohio State and having Penn State lose.

In the Atlantic Coast Conference it’s all cut and dried as Florida State and Miami look to be setting up for a rematch from earlier in the season and their first ever ACC title game. In the first game of the year, Florida State handed Miami their only loss, 10-7.

The Big East - or should I say the Big Least - looks like it’s West Virginia’s to lose. As long as they win their remaining games, they get the BCS berth. However, if South Florida wins out, including a road game at Morgantown, W. Va., to play the Mountaineers, then South Florida, yes, South Florida, would be in the BCS. If that doesn’t scream playoff, nothing will.

The final BCS conference, the SEC, looks like it will be having Georgia and LSU in the SEC title game, with the winner likely to face the ACC champion in the Sugar Bowl. The Big East champion will face the Big Ten champion in the Orange Bowl. I look for Ohio State and Notre Dame to get the two at-large BCS berths and face each other in the Fiesta Bowl.