(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

None of the top three teams in college football looked all that dominating this week, but they all took home the “W”, which is really all that matters.

With the first official BCS rankings coming out this week, we will get a sense of where everyone stands, but the reality is that Florida, Texas and Alabama all have their destiny in their own hands. The rankings will merely give us a better idea of which teams will step forward if any of the front-runners stumble.

A Win Is A Win

I wrote last week about whether substance or style was more important for the top college football teams.

We will find out for sure once the BCS rankings are released, but I generally believe this past weekend illustrates that ultimately substance will be the winner.

The Florida Gators looked sloppy and out of sync in their 23-20 last-second victory over Arkansas. However, they accomplished the most important thing, they got the victory.

Unlike a year ago, Florida does not have the schedule or impressive stats to ensure that they can get to the BCS Championship Game with one loss. With only one win over a top 25 team (LSU) and no more games scheduled against teams in the top 25 (I expect South Carolina will fall out after losing to Alabama), the Gators can’t bank on a victory over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game propelling them back to the BCS title game if they have stumbled down the stretch against an unranked opponent.

Conversely, I generally believe that Alabama, which has three wins over ranked teams and still has games against Tennessee, LSU and Auburn on the schedule, could conceivably lose a game in the regular season and get to the title game if they defeat Florida for the SEC Championship. However, if that does happen, it will put a bunch of other teams back in the mix and likely throw things into the hands of those dreaded computers.

Like Florida, Texas hasn’t been dominating opponents, but they have been winning games. Their 16-13 win over Oklahoma wasn’t a classic, but it was a victory and should keep them in the top three.

They still have regular season games against Missouri, Oklahoma State and Kansas remaining, so the schedule isn’t especially easy. I believe they have enough quality opponents left that they could stay in the BCS discussion with one loss.

However, because they have not been overwhelming so far, someone like USC, Iowa or (Heaven help us) Boise State could sneak past them if they lose a game.

Anyone Want To Win The Heisman Trophy?

Last year Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy both sat in the audience and watched as Sam Bradford accepted the Heisman Trophy. That trio was arguably the most impressive collection of Heisman candidates ever as all three had the kind of season that would have won the trophy in many other seasons.

After being re-injured early in the Sooners' 16-13 loss to Texas, we now know for sure that Bradford will not be back to repeat.

However, while neither McCoy or Tebow have been putting up the kind of numbers they did a year ago, they are at least continuing to win games and stay in the national consciousness.

The general consensus this past week was that if Jimmy Clausen had a huge game against USC and Notre Dame won, he would shoot to the top of the list of candidates. While the Irish didn’t win, Clausen did play well enough to at least stay in the Heisman discussion.

His candidacy could now be a little more of a long-shot, but unless McCoy or Tebow start putting up monster numbers, if Clausen keeps playing well and Notre Dame wins out, he could have a chance for the award.

Jahvid Best of California was a popular early season Heisman pick, but the meltdown by the Bears against Oregon and USC have likely sabotaged his candidacy.

Tony Pike of Cincinnati has started to emerge as a star, but he was injured against USF and his candidacy will not get off the ground if he is unable to play at a top level the next couple weeks.

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