Alabama Football: Path to Defending National Championship Clear for Crimson Tide

After a chaotic weekend that left only one team undefeated, we all thought this would be how the first two spots in the Week 13 BCS standings played out (h/t ESPN):

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New #BCS Standings: 1. Notre Dame 2. Alabama 3. Georgia 4. Florida 5. Oregon 6. Kansas St 7. LSU 8. Stanford 9. Texas A&M 10. Florida St

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 19, 2012"

Alabama finds itself sitting pretty as the top-ranked one-loss team in the country with a clear path to Miami Gardens in South Florida on January 7.

The Alabama Crimson Tide control their own destiny.

First up for the Crimson Tide is an Auburn Tigers team that has yet to win an SEC game in 2012, and they aren't going to find success against a pumped up Alabama squad in front of a packed house at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

After that, the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs (10-1) await in the SEC Championship Game on December 1.

That won't be an easy game for the Crimson Tide, but it's certainly a winnable one.

While the Dawgs certainly have plenty of talent, the Crimson Tide have answers for everything that Georgia will throw at them—and Alabama has the clear edge when it comes to coaching.

You have to like their chances to win the SEC.

Realistically, there's only one team that can stop the Crimson Tide from reaching their second consecutive BCS National Championship Game—themselves.