BCS Rankings: LSU and Alabama Reportedly Set for Title Game

With Oklahoma State scoring a major victory against Oklahoma on Saturday night, the possibility existed that they would move up to No. 2 in the BCS standings, thus earning a spot in the BCS National Championship Game against No. 1 LSU.

Apparently, this is not going to happen. Here's the latest from CBSSports.com BCS guru Jerry Palm:

Translation: When the BCS rankings are updated on Sunday night, nothing is going to change at the top. LSU will be No. 1, Alabama will be No. 2, and they will play each other for the title in January.

Assuming Palm's information is correct, this isn't really that much of a surprise. Alabama came into Week 14 with a healthy lead over Oklahoma State in the BCS standings, and it was doubtful whether or not enough voters would jump ship to cause Alabama to get knocked down a peg.

Besides which, the resumes of the Crimson Tide and the Cowboys don't quite stack up. Alabama's only loss came in overtime to LSU. Oklahoma State's only loss came in double overtime to Iowa State, which finished the year with a 6-6 record.

To be sure, the argument can be made that Alabama doesn't deserve to play for the title because it didn't win the SEC. In fact, Alabama didn't even play in the SEC Championship Game. Oklahoma State, on the other hand, won the Big 12, a conference that the BCS computers really like.

It's a legitimate gripe, but the inconvenient truth is that conference titles don't really matter when it comes to the BCS rankings. The system is devised to put the top two teams in the country in the national championship game, and this year those two teams are LSU and Alabama.

Like it or not, it is what it is.