We are six games into the season; that means there are six games left. So the fact that Alabama is the second best team in the nation will be reflected in the rankings by the time the season is over.

MITCH BLATT

After the Alabama Crimson Tide lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks in their third straight game against top twenty opponents, the question of the day was, “Where will Alabama be ranked?”

Well, now that question is settled. The new polls are out and Alabama is #8 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. The question is funny, because in fact, neither ranking matters. The question itself is irrelevant.

We know that a lot of the teams ahead of Alabama will lose, and some of those teams (four top 10 teams come from the SEC right now) will face off against each other. There is scientific proof that a number of those teams will lose. Oklahoma (#6, AP) and Nebraska (#5) will face each other in the Big 12 Championship assuming they remain undefeated in regular season play.  Auburn, Alabama, LSU, and South Carolina (spots 7-10 respectively) will continue to face their tough SEC schedules and only one will emerge as the South Eastern Conference champion. Essentially one of those teams–assuming that team has only one loss at the end of the year–will be in the position that Alabama is in now: an SEC team with one loss.

If a team finishes the regular season undefeated in a BCS conference, they essentially earn their right to play for a national championship. Though their have been some omissions. Ohio State and Oregon are in the drivers seat right now after Alabama lost their pole position. An undefeated Pac-10 champ would certainly earn the right ahead of a one-loss SEC champ in Alabama.

But the whole question of Alabama ignores the two remaining undefeated SEC teams: LSU and Auburn. Both undefeated and if either of them finishes the season perfect in the SEC, of course they should (and probably would) make the National Title Game ahead of Oregon.

Non BCS hopefuls Boise State, TCU, and, quite likely, Utah, will end the season undefeated, but a team like Boise State whose best strength-of-schedule match-up (Virginia Tech) lost to James Madison isn’t playing the same game as Alabama, which faced Arkansas, Florida, and South Carolina back-to-back-to-back and still has LSU and Auburn left.

To put the SEC in perspective, whichever team wins the SEC, considering Alabama, LSU, Auburn and South Carolina are the contenders, will have played at least two of each other during the regular season and again in the championship.

Photo: Getty

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