Alabama's Loss to South Carolina is No Surprise in College Athletics

In basketball, when a No. 1 team loses, they often lose to an inferior team that came out of nowhere. Take Kentucky and South Carolina last season. The Gamecocks upset John Wall and Co. just one week after they claimed the top perch.

Well now, South Carolina has pulled off a similar feat. But this time, it was in football.

As we all know by now the other USC topped No. 1 Alabama last night. Alabama, a team that seemed so invincible, was knocked off by a conference foe. Sound familiar? It should, because that is what Alabama did to Florida last year.

Does this mean that South Carolina is going to win it all? No, absolutely not. Alabama is still probably the better team. But does the loss damage 'Bama's title hopes. Yes, absolutely.

Ohio State, Oregon, and Boise State are now in the drivers seat. Sure, one of them will probably lose a game this season. But one of them will probably play for the National Championship.

So where does this leave Alabama? Well, first off, they look human. And I'm sure they don't like that, so they'll probably throttle their next opponent. But we now know they're beatable. And if Alabama, the team that looked super-human, is beatable, then so is every other team.

No team is perfect, even if their record says so. Any team can lose at any given time.

South Carolina could easily lose next week. Just like in college basketball, the teams at the top will change. Usually college football is different. There's more stability with fewer games. But not this season. 

And that is good for the sport. Who (besides Alabama fans) wants to see Alabama at the top of the polls week after week after week? I certainly don't.

The only positive 'Bama can get out of the loss is the pressure being off of them. Although I'm sure they would gladly trade that in for a win. 

'Bama's not out of the race. But with so many teams looking superior this year, they have a lot of climbing to do.