Suddenly, the gods of college football are happy again.

After watching on as favourite after favourite won games during the regular season, they shone brightly on 12-0 Utah, who completed an unbeaten season after upending favoured Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

They didn't just beat the Crimson Tide. They outplayed them. They tackled better, they passed better, and they hardly turned the ball over.

They outgained the Tide's offense 349 - 208, and made its vaunted running game look silly, letting it pick up just 31 yards.

Contrast that to Alabama, who, in the first quarter, looked like they were playing in the no contact league and John Parker Wilson, the Tide's quarterback, was playing in the 'no completion' league. The Utes went up 21-0, and never looked back.

As expected, Alabama mounted a furious counterattack, bringing the game from uninteresting to bite-your-nails exciting. But Alabama couldn't find the cutting edge.

Leigh Tiffin, Alabama's kicker, missed two long-range kicks, and only once did Wilson help his team into the end-zone with a short pass to Glenn Coffee.

Now, Utah has created college football a problem. They are 13-0.

Do they not deserve to be in the conversation about a National Championship? After all, the only unbeaten team in the country isn't in Southern California, Oklahoma or Florida. It's in Utah.