BCS Championship Game: LSU vs. Alabama, There Is No Debate

Ultimately, the national championship should be decided with the top two teams in the country playing each other. Whether there is a playoff system like in professional sports, a Cinderella team in March Madness or a convoluted system like in college football, we want to see the two best teams play against each other for a shot at being national champs.

So, why the argument?

LSU and Alabama are the two best teams in the country. The only other team that earns the right to be in this conversation is Oklahoma State, but after looking at their wins and season statistics, it is clear that LSU and Bama are in a league of their own.

Here are the wins each has had this season against top-25 teams:

-- LSU: against No. 3 Oregon, No. 25 Mississippi State, No. 16 West Virginia, No. 17 Florida, No. 20 Auburn, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Arkansas and No. 14 Georgia.

-- Alabama: No. 23 Penn State, No. 14 Arkansas, No. 12 Florida and No. 24 Auburn.

-- Okie State: No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 22 Texas, No. 14 Kansas State and No. 10 Oklahoma.

It is a no-brainer that undefeated LSU is playing in the championship game. Regarding Bama and Okie State, the deciding factor in my mind comes down to the quality of wins against ranked teams. Equally important is dissecting the single loss that each team had.

Alabama

Quality wins over ranked teams: In the four games they won, they won by an average of 24 points. This team consistently brought their best performance to beat their best competition. It is a credit to the team that they play their best against the steepest competition. Not to mention, all of these wins (except Penn State) came against teams in the best and most talented conference in the country.

Solo loss: The Tide lost a home game to No. 1 LSU 9-6 in overtime. It was a foolish, mistake-filled loss from a well-coached team. There is no excuse to lose a game, but if you are going to lose, losing to the No. 1 team in the country is the way to go.

Oklahoma State

Quality wins over ranked teams: In the first three games they won, they won by an average of seven points. The season-ending blowout in Bedlam against Oklahoma capped a great season for Okie State. Even if you factor that fourth game into the equation, they won by an average of 14 points per game against ranked teams. This is a far cry from the 24-point margin of victory that Bama put up.

Solo loss: There is little room for justification here. Against a lowly Iowa State team that finished 6-6 overall (and 3-6 in the Big 12), the No. 2-ranked Cowboys lost. This loss was inexplicable. There was little positive to glean from this game, and it ultimately doomed the Cowboys from a spot in the National Championship game.

It is clear that LSU and Alabama are the two best teams in the nation and regardless of their previous snooze-worthy battle, they have earned the right to play in the BCS championship game come January.