College FB: Finding a Champ in the Year of the Upset

Remember when all the talk was about how many undefeated teams would be left at the end of the 2007 college football season?

There was USC, LSU, West Virginia, and Michigan.

Then there was Stanford and South Florida and Appalachian State.

Now there's just LSU.

The theme of the year: Expect the unexpected. Nothing makes sense, and nothing is as it should be—at least according to the "on-paper" speculation that plays out during the week.

Home field advantage doesn't even mean anything this season. USC, Michigan, and Florida are just a few examples of teams upset on their own turf by unranked opponents.

LSU almost got bitten by the upset bug when Florida beat them in Baton Rouge for 58 minutes. Being ahead for the final second is the only thing that matters, though.

With the Cal Bears (one of the few remaining unbeatens) having the upper hand in the Pac-10, the "other" California team may be heading to New Orleans.

Of course, they have to beat USC first.

Ohio State, meanwhile, has a chance to go to their second-straight BCS Championship Game if they can win out. And who's going to stop them?

While the Buckeyes' remaining schedule may look intimidating, all of their opponents have shown major signs of weakness—except for the Ron Zook-led Illinois Illini. 

Does South Florida have a shot at the championship game? Only if they can survive Rutgers and Louisville—while hoping that Cal and Ohio State pick up losses somewhere along the way.

Then again, I'm still not sure an undefeated Big East team would jump a one-loss Pac-10 or SEC team.

In this season of upsets, the central question concerns how many teams will have one loss come December. As it stands, it's unlikely that there will be any more than two undefeated teams. The drama will come when the handful of one-loss teams all begin to make their cases for an invite to the title game.

My take: Cross USC off the list, no matter how they finish out. Losing to Stanford at home isn't something a National Champion does.

As for the fans of LSU, Cal, Ohio State, and even South Florida—prepare to be upset. Prepare to watch your perfect seasons go down the drains. Most importantly, prepare to make the case for why you deserve to go to New Orleans with one loss.

In the Year of the Upset, that may be the last best chance you've got.