BCS Rankings: LSU vs. Alabama Rematch and Strangest Bowl Game Scenarios

The college football bowl season has always been a quirky phenomenon, to say the least, but with the way the BCS rankings are shaking out, we could be in store for some rather unusual outcomes from top to bottom.

LSU vs. Alabama

We've seen two teams from the same conference duke it out for a National Championship in college basketball before (Georgetown vs. Villanova in 1985), but never in college football.

That could all change this season, depending on how things shake out across the country. If LSU and Alabama run the table from here on out and Oklahoma State stumbles against either Iowa State or Oklahoma, we could very well end up with two teams from the SEC battling for the throne for the second time in two months.

Of course, a lot has to go right for the Tigers and the Crimson Tide between now and the first weekend of December for that to happen.

LSU still has tough games against Arkansas and (most likely) Georgia before Les Miles can start booking bus tickets from Baton Rouge to New Orleans for his team.

'Bama has a less daunting road ahead, with only Georgia Southern and Auburn standing in the way.

The real impediment, though, will be OK State's competence in the Bedlam Game against the arch-rival Sooners. As such, you can bet Nick Saban and the folks down in Tuscaloosa will be pulling for Bob Stoops' boys come December 3rd.

South Carolina in a Better Bowl Game Than Georgia

On the surface, it would seem all too reasonable to slot South Carolina into a more lucrative bowl game than Georgia. After all, the Gamecocks earned a three-point victory over the Bulldogs in Athens on the second Saturday of the season and currently sport the same win-loss record overall.

But dig a little deeper, and you'll see that UGA is far more deserving of a big-time bowl, maybe even a BCS bowl, than USC is.

For one, the 'Dawgs, not the 'Cocks, are on track to represent the SEC East in the conference championship game. In fact, Georgia need only defeat Kentucky (1-5 in league play) to secure a spot on the field at the Georgia Dome on December 3rd.

As far as the actual teams are concerned, Mark Richt's squad has gotten better and better as the season has gone on, with a talented defense that's finally caught up to what Aaron Murray and Isaiah Crowell have been doing offensively.

Steve Spurrier, on the other hand, has seen his team decline since September 10th, first dismissing quarterback Stephen Garcia from the team and then losing star running back Marcus Lattimore to a season-ending knee injury.

Yet, if South Carolina defeats The Citadel and Palmetto State rival Clemson, and Georgia loses in the SEC Championship Game, we could see the Gamecocks, not the Bulldogs, playing in the Cotton Bowl or, perhaps, even the Sugar Bowl.

UCLA Left Out

When it comes to likely conference championship game losers, no team would have as much riding on a single game as might UCLA.

Yes, those mighty Bruins, losers to such struggling Pac-12 teams as Arizona and Utah, still control their own destiny in the South division. Of course, they need to beat Colorado and USC over the next two weeks to secure a spot in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game, most likely against Oregon.

Or, Rick Neuheisel's lamentable bunch can do what it did this past weekend—lose a game and anticipate that Arizona State, the other team mired in the Pac-12's mess, does the same.

Considering the frequency with which Dennis Erickson's squad has shot itself in the foot this season, it's entirely possible, if not downright probable, that UCLA could play for the league title with an overall record of 6-6 and a conference mark of 5-4.

What a beautiful train wreck USC's postseason ban has begotten.

But wait, there's more! Should the Bruins end up in Eugene or Palo Alto on December 3rd in that situation, they would be playing for not only their first conference title since 1998, but also their bowl lives in general.

Because, in that case, a loss would put UCLA at 6-7 which, according to NCAA rules regarding bowl game participation, would bar the Bruins from going bowling.

Never would the term "Rose Bowl or Bust" have been a more apt description.