Alabama Football: The Crimson Tide Wins 4 Times in One Weekend

Four games and four wins, but Alabama only had to actually play one of them.

Iowa State, USC and Baylor played the other three, but cleared any obstacles left in Alabama's way that were not in the Tide's control.

The suspense of whether there would be a LSU-Alabama rematch has been weathered. That is, of course, if the Crimson Tide takes care of business against Auburn next weekend.

Despite all the excitement erupting around the country, Alabama had their hands full with Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern.

The Eagles, running the flexbone triple option, gave the Crimson Tide fits.

Like the spread offense, the option can be the great equalizer if a team can run it effectively, and Georgia Southern is a well-oiled machine in that regard.

Coming into this game, Alabama had played four top-25 teams that rushed for a total of 287 yards on the Tide. The Eagles ran the ball for an eye-popping 302 yards on the nation's best defense.

The game of college football defies logic at times. To put those stats in perspective: Georgia Southern's only loss of the season prior to the Tide was against Appalachian State, who held the Eagles to 135 yards on the ground.

Georgia Southern also played with a nothing-to-lose attitude. Having already won their conference title and earning a spot in the FCS playoffs, the Eagles went for it on 4th down twice inside their own 35-yard line.

That can be a dangerous combination, but ultimately Georgia Southern was just not on the same level talent- and depth-wise against Alabama.

Despite the toughness and fight of their opponent, you never really got the sense that Alabama was ever in any real danger of losing this game.

Offensively, Alabama was able to run the ball at will with Trent Richardson, who finished the day with 32 carries for 184 yards and three total touchdowns.

Alabama was sharp moving the ball on the ground or in the air, and they'll need to be so next week as well in the Iron Bowl.

For the fourth straight year, Alabama and Auburn will square off with national title implications on the line, along with possible SEC West ramifications.

Speaking of the SEC West, there's no need to adjust your eyes on Sunday evening when the BCS rankings are revealed—they will mirror the standings of college football's toughest division as far as the top three teams are concerned.

If you hate the SEC, then it's only going to get worse for you as it appears the nation's best conference is nearly guaranteed a sixth straight national championship at this point.

Alabama and LSU part II?

Game on.