Where Do We Go From Here?

By Brett Samuels

Bob Dylan once wrote “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” On Saturday, Texas A&M took those lyrics to heart by defeating No. 1 Alabama on the road, a result that could cause major change in college football, the likes of which we haven’t seen in seven years.

(US Presswire/John Mercer)

With the Crimson Tide suffering their first loss of the season, the SEC no longer has an undefeated team. With Oregon, Notre Dame, and Kansas State all owning perfect records at this point, it is difficult to see a one-loss squad climbing its way into the championship game.

For the short term, the Alabama loss means there are still three teams fighting for two spots in the title game. In the long term, it means for the first time since 2005 a team not from the SEC will likely capture the crystal football.

In a way it seems fitting that the SEC would be doomed by its own hand, but Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin told the media after the game that his team shouldn’t be cast as the bad guy.

“You trying to make me the villain?” Sumlin asked a reporter. “Well, there’s 120 other teams that are happy.”

So with the college football crown up for grabs, the question becomes, what now?

Let’s take a look at each of the three teams who have yet to lose to determine the most likely side to make a title run, starting with Oregon.

The Ducks have a fairly tough schedule down the stretch. They still must host No. 14 Stanford, and travel to play in state rival No. 11 Oregon State. Not to mention that the team would then have to beat the Pac-12 South winner in the conference championship game. If they run the table the rest of the way nobody will be questioning if they deserve a shot at the BCS title.

Moving on to Notre Dame, I said last week that they didn’t belong in the championship if there were two other undefeated teams. The least they can do is take care of business and hope for a break. The Fighting Irish play Wake Forest next weekend before visiting USC to close out their regular season. With the Trojans underachieving this season, it will be a big time atmosphere as they try to salvage their season against Notre Dame. If the Irish do manage to have a perfect record at the end of the year, they would present a great defensive challenge for highflying Oregon. But to set up that matchup the Irish will likely need Kansas State to lose.

Speaking of which, the Wildcats go on the road to face a decent Baylor team next week, and then finish the year hosting No. 17 Texas.

What can we make of all this?

Well, frankly it is very possible that two, or even all three current unbeaten squads could suffer a loss down the stretch, potentially re-opening the door for Alabama. Oregon clearly has the toughest schedule left, but the Ducks have been here before, and Chip Kelly knows how to keep his team focused. Kansas State still must play Texas, but it’s a home game and quarterback Colin Klein is putting up Heisman worthy numbers. Then there’s Notre Dame, who could make a strong title case, but their season ending date with USC has upset written all over it. Matt Barkley and friends will essentially treat their matchup with the Irish in the coliseum as a bowl game, and if the Irish are coming in undefeated, the Trojans won’t need to look any farther for motivation.

So that presents Kansas State vs. Oregon as the most likely championship scenario at this point. Is it the glorious matchup fans are hoping for? Probably not. But fortunately for those people, a lot can change between now and January 7.