Oklahoma, Oregon Fall: Alabama Has Clear Path to National Championship

Oregon kicker Alejandro Maldonado missed a last-second field goal against USC.  Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III led a touchdown drive with 51 seconds left in the game against Oklahoma.  And just like that, Alabama fell into the BCS National Championship Game.

Yes, the dominoes fell, the stars aligned.  Alabama lost to LSU, and needed not just one miracle, but five, and Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide got a high-five from teams around the nation.  Five fingers, five losses.    

Oregon beat Stanford.  TCU beat Boise State.  Iowa State beat Oklahoma State.  USC beat Oregon. And RG3 and the Baylor Bears beat Oklahoma.  

There is now, officially, no one left to contend with Alabama for the No. 2 spot in the nation.  Anyone who had any sort of argument is now on the outside looking in.  

Alabama, once again, controls their own destiny.  Win out and go to New Orleans.  It's as simple as that, with or without the SEC Championship Game.  

Oregon, Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma have all lost to unranked teams.  Oregon and Oklahoma are two-loss teams, and Oklahoma State got upset against Iowa State when the Cowboys were heavily favored.  They will all drop in the polls by a great margin.

Who is left as Alabama's biggest contender?  Arkansas, that's who.  The same team Alabama beat 38-14.

The only team in the nation with a loss and any significance (sorry, undefeated Houston) is now, firmly, Alabama.  

I predicted that Alabama's shaky performance against Georgia Southern would doom them, but due to the losses by other teams, it has not.  That performance will now simply be regarded as a "WIN".  

One of two speed bumps Alabama could face is a three-way tie in the SEC.  If Arkansas beats LSU, it will come down to that.  Alabama lost to No. 1 LSU in overtime, and beat Arkansas in convincing fashion.

The second of those speed bumps is the Auburn Tigers.  The woes that have faced Auburn this year are dreadful, but not quite as bad as many predicted.  

The Tigers are a four-loss team, but hardly look capable of beating the Tide.  While lightning may strike twice, it won't likely strike seven or eight times, and the Tide will not be yet another team to be upset by heavy underdogs.  

And just like that, the top three teams in the country will all be from the SEC West, and Alabama will be No. 2 Sunday night.  

Just beat the Auburn Tigers, Crimson Tide.  That's all you need to do.  Everyone is behind you.  There was even a Baylor fan wearing a bona fide houndstooth fedora in tonight's game against Oklahoma.  

Rammer Jammer, Yellow Hammer, give 'em hell, Alabama!