Alabama vs. Nebraska: Will the BCS Title Game Be a Battle of One-Loss Teams?

Trying to wrap your mind around all the different BCS scenarios that could play out over the next month can sort of feel like trying to figure out a Rubik’s Cube while bungee jumping.

Right now we’ve got about 10 to 15 different teams that can still say they are technically alive for a shot at the national championship even though the number is realistically hovering around 10 or so.

College Football’s five remaining unbeaten teams—Oregon, Auburn, TCU, Boise State and Utah—are ranked one through five in the current BCS rankings. And sitting right behind them are two one-loss teams—Alabama and Nebraska who, after tough October losses, look like they’re both starting to really put things together for a big late season run.

TCU and Utah will play this Saturday and the loser will be relatively knocked out of contention. Let’s say for argument’s sake that Utah defeats TCU at home this weekend, but then goes on to lose one of their three remaining games to either Notre Dame, BYU, or San Diego State.

Poof, they’re both out of the picture.

OK, so that leaves Oregon, Auburn and Boise State ahead of Alabama and Nebraska.

Oregon, the No. 1 ranked team in the country, has been steamrolling through opponents so far this season, but you can make the argument that the real meat of their schedule still sits in front of them with tests against Cal, Arizona and the annual Civil War with Oregon State still remaining.

It’s conceivable that the Ducks could get picked off down the stretch and with their lack of quality wins, they might fall some in the polls if that were to happen.

As we’ve seen in the past, it’s better to lose earlier in the season and work your way back up than to lose late in the year and have the defeat fresh in the minds of voters.

Alabama will have the chance to take care of Cameron Newton and the No. 2-ranked Auburn Tigers at the end of the year in the annual Iron Bowl, which happens to be taking place in Tuscaloosa this year. The game is shaping up to be a classic and if Auburn were to come in undefeated and ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the polls, Alabama would gain a huge boost by beating them. It would likely be enough to leapfrog them in front of an undefeated Boise State squad.

There’s no doubt that if Nebraska and Alabama win out, there’s nobody behind them that can make a case to move ahead of them, so all they would need is for the five teams standing in their way to conveniently fall out of the picture, which I'll admit is easier said than done.

Yes, I know that’s a lot of “let’s say this happens” but at this point all we can really do is speculate.

We’ve still got a month’s worth of regular season football along with some key conference championship games to play in early December. There's still a lot of curveballs that could potentially be thrown into the mix between now and the end of the season.

Both Alabama and Nebraska still have some tough tests remaining on their schedule and it won't be easy for either to get through the latter portion of the season unscathed.

Remember the winner of the SEC and the winner of the Big 12 have met in the last two BCS National Championship games with the SEC coming away victorious in both meetings. Keep in mind that the powers that be like these two conferences a whole lot and would love to see representatives from both play in the big game and bring in those coveted TV dollars.

If that means taking two one loss teams from both conferences instead of taking an undefeated Boise State team, they'll probably say so be it.

While I don’t want to see Boise State get left out in the cold again, the Alabama-Nebraska matchup is my favorite possible title game with Oregon-Boise State finishing a close second.

It would be great clash, but a lot still has to play out for it to happen.

We’ll have to wait and see. But the thought of seeing two of the most prestigious schools in the sport meet on the big stage should whet a true college football fan's appetite.