It’s doubtful that anytime in the modern era of college football there have been six undefeated teams, ranked Nos. 1-6, going into the final week season (not counting Army-Navy on Dec. 12). As such, not much changed, even after a run of upsets. There remains the distinct possibility of four undefeated teams topping the polls when all is said and done. That would require the winner of the SEC Championship to win the national title game, Cincinnati to beat the loser of the SECCG, and TCU and Boise State to be victorious in their games. If such a thing happens, the issue will probably dominate ESPN for a solid week.

BCS Standings
1. Florida (.9868)
2. Alabama (.9513)
3. Texas (.9282)
4. TCU (.8689)
5. Cincinnati (.8547)

USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida (53)
2. Texas (3)
3. Alabama (3)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Harris Poll
1. Florida (82)
2. Texas (15)
3. Alabama (12)
4. TCU (4)
5. Cincinnati

AP Poll
1. Florida (46)
2. Alabama (7)
3. Texas (7)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

The only real changes came in the first place votes. In each one of the polls, Texas and Alabama lost votes to Florida, while TCU collected one more in the Harris Poll. The computers like Florida and Alabama equally, as the two are tied at No. 1. More or less, the computers and the human polls are looking pretty similar at the top, though the ones and zeroes types have Cincinnati in the No. 3 spot with Texas at No. 4 and TCU at No. 5.

Hey, look — mainframes! It’s hard not to think of these behemoths, and their sleeker ’90s counterparts, when thinking of the bank of computer polls being used as a third of the BCS formula. This week, for whatever reason, the computers were near-unanimous in picking Alabama as No. 1. Only the Anderson & Hester index didn’t, but since the top and the bottom polls are thrown out, Bama rolled to a perfect 1.000 average among the silicon set.

The human polls see it differently, so the Top Five looks the same.

BCS Standings
1. Florida (.9664)
2. Alabama (.9614)
3. Texas (.9263)
4. TCU (.8699)
5. Cincinnati (.8591)

USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida (47)
2. Texas (4)
3. Alabama (8)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Harris Poll
1. Florida (78)
2. Texas (18)
3. Alabama (15)
4. TCU (3)
5. Cincinnati

AP Poll
1. Florida (36)
2. Alabama (13)
3. Texas (11)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Yeah, that’s the same as last week, with some first-place votes moving around. TCU took one each from Texas and Alabama in the Harris Poll, while the Tide took one from Florida in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Frankly, with most of the major races in the country already decided, the only think that can flip the script is a spectacular upset. Of course, Alabama and Florida will play in the de facto national championship play-in game, Texas and Nebraska meet in the Big XII Championship Game, Georgia Tech and Clemson will play in the ACC title tilt, Oregon and Oregon State play for the Pac-10 championship, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh go for all the marbles in the Big East and Ohio State has already locked up the Big Ten.

Certainly, the next two weeks will decide conference winners, BCS bids and where everyone else goes in the major bowls. All you can pull for now, beyond those planned eventualities, is straight-up chaos. Texas, Alabama and Florida all lose to lesser rivals. Pitt beats Cincinnati, but TCU and Boise State advance to the national championship game. The Fiesta gets Texas, the Sugar gets the Florida/Bama winner and — surprise! — the SEC runs out of bowl spots and Carolina gets to shop for an at-large bid.

The Mountain West-WAC smackdown in Pasadena gets a decent amount of viewers. For five minutes. It then becomes the lowest-rated national championship game in years. Gnashing of teeth. People shooting their televisions. A parody of parity. Texas versus Iowa in the Fiesta and Alabama/Florida against Pitt don’t get many eyes, either. People swear off college football.

Floods.

Droughts.

Locusts.

Before you throw yourself out the window, we’re still probably going to see two hyper-talented, powerful teams meet for the national title. And that’s a good thing.

Barring some very bizarre events in the next three weeks, we’ve got your Top Six and guarantees for the major bowl games. Alabama, Florida, Texas, TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State will all likely head into the first week of December undefeated. Either the Crimson Tide or Gators will play Texas for it all, and the “BCS busters” will also make BCS games with unblemished records.

BCS Standings
1. Florida (.984)
2. Alabama (.952)
3. Texas (.923)
4. TCU (.862)
5. Cincinnati (.858)

USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida (48)
2. Texas (4)
3. Alabama (7)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Harris Poll
1. Florida (78)
2. Texas (19)
3. Alabama (16)
4. TCU (1)
5. Cincinnati

AP Poll
1. Florida (36)
2. Alabama (14)
3. Texas (10)
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Because it’s unlikely that TCU, Boise State or Cincinnati will play each other, that means we could well end up with three undefeated teams after it’s all over. One title will go to the BCS champ. The AP could run with another team, but since Florida, Alabama and Texas have topped the rankings for so long, the winner of the title game will probably get the AP behind it, too.

Bowl’d
So, here’s how it stacks up.

BCS National Championship Game
Alabama or Florida v. Texas
Fiesta Bowl
Iowa v. Boise State
Sugar Bowl
Alabama or Florida v. Cincinnati
Orange Bowl
Georgia Tech v. TCU
Rose Bowl
Oregon v. Ohio State

The SEC now has nine teams that are bowl-eligible, including five of six teams in the SEC West. If Tennessee beats Vanderbilt or Kentucky, the Vols will make it 10. And, with two BCS teams, everybody moves up a slot.

Capital One Bowl
LSU v. Penn State
Outback Bowl
Ole Miss v. Wisconsin
Cotton Bowl
Arkansas v. Oklahoma State
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Georgia v. Clemson
Music City Bowl
Tennessee v. North Carolina
Liberty Bowl
Auburn v. SMU
Independence Bowl
Kentucky v. Iowa State
Papajohns.com Bowl
South Carolina v. West Virginia

Prominent Northwestern grad, Washington Post writer and ESPN commentator Michael Wilbon had a pretty good day on Saturday, watching his purple-clad Wildcats kill Iowa’s national championship hopes. The Hawkeyes dropped from No. 4 to No. 10 in the BCS standings, No. 9 to No. 11 in the Harris Poll, No. 9 to No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and (though it doesn’t matter), No. 8 to No. 15 in the AP Poll. Gah, you’re probably going to hear about this all during “PTI” on Monday.

In other news, Alabama moved back to No. 2, displacing Texas. What’s bizarre is that last week, when Bama had a bye, the sportswriters, coaches and “Harris Poll voters” slid the Crimson Tide to No. 3. After Bama beat a Top 10 team in LSU, the Tide is supposed to still be No. 3? That’s asinine. Three computer polls have Alabama at No. 1, one at No. 2 and two at No. 3.

BCS Standings
1. Florida (.9842)
2. Alabama (.9516)
3. Texas (.9234)
4. TCU (.8620)
5. Cincinnati (.8580)

USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Harris Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

AP Poll
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati

Yes, it all looks the same. That’s good, for what it’s worth. Barring a playoff, it’s nice to see that all the polls are shaping up the same. As well, we’re getting excited about the possibility of Alabama returning to postseason action in Pasadena. The Tide haven’t done that since 1945, when Bama beat the hell out of Southern Cal and after that, the West Coast teams and Big Ten claimed the Rose Bowl for themselves.

Alabama in Pasadena
1925: Alabama 20, Washington 19
1926: Alabama 19, Stanford 19
1930: Alabama 24, Washington State 0
1934: Alabama 29, Stanford 13
1937: Alabama 0, California 13
1945: Alabama 34, Southern Cal 14

Ain’t nothing wrong with a 4-1-1 record and a few national championships. The Crimson Tide put Southern football on the map with the win over Washington — before that, it was all about the Ivy League, the service academies, Penn State and Notre Dame. You’re welcome, SEC.

There’s three more games left before the SEC Championship Game of the Century II, but it can’t come quick enough.

We’ve reached the point in the season when the games are tougher, teams are a bit easier to define and the polls more accurately reflect the state of the game, such as it is. It’s interesting that following the Alabama-Carolina tussle, not too much changed. The Tide made the leap to No. 1 in the AP Poll, but the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and the Harris Poll have Bama at No. 2. It really doesn’t matter much — if Florida and Alabama go all the way, one is going to be in the national championship game.

The Gamecocks remained steady, as though the voters knew that what happened Saturday is exactly what was expected. USC went from No. 22 to No. 23 in both the AP and coaches’ polls, but fell out of the Harris poll into “No. 26.”

SEC in the polls
AP Poll
1. Alabama
2. Florida
9. LSU
23. South Carolina

USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida
2. Alabama
10. LSU
23. South Carolina
25. Ole Miss

Harris Poll
1. Florida
2. Alabama
9. LSU

And that brings us to the first BCS standings of the year, which were released Sunday afternoon. As expected, Florida is on top, and Alabama probably owes its second-place status on Virginia Tech getting beat by Georgia Tech. The most interesting news is Boise State coming in at No. 4. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Broncos could be in the national championship game.

BCS Standings
1. Florida (.989)
2. Alabama (.953)
3. Texas (.891)
4. Boise State (.808)
5. Cincinnati (.787)
6. Iowa (.787)
7. Southern Cal (.770)
8. TCU (.714)
9. LSU (.708)
10. Miami (.627)

Carolina pops up at No. 24 (.104). Taking all that into account, here’s how the BCS bowls stack up right now.

BCS National Championship Game
Florida or Alabama v. Texas

Fiesta Bowl
Boise State v. TCU

Sugar Bowl
Florida or Alabama v. Cincinnati

Orange Bowl
Miami v. Oregon

Rose Bowl
Southern Cal v. Iowa

The team that gets jobbed here is LSU, which by the numbers is good enough for a BCS bowl but can’t go because three teams from one conference can’t make the BCS. Instead, the Tigers get a trip to the Capital One Bowl and a date with Penn State.

As well, if you extrapolate out, the following is what looks probable as of Week Seven for SEC teams.

Capital One Bowl: LSU
Cotton Bowl: Auburn
Chick-fil-A Bowl: Georgia
Outback Bowl: South Carolina
Liberty Bowl: Tennessee
Music City Bowl: Ole Miss
Independence Bowl: Arkansas
Papajohns.com Bowl: Kentucky

It’s our opinion that Ole Miss will probably end up the better team and go to the Cotton, and it’s entirely possible for Kentucky and Tennessee to not be bowl-eligible at the end of the year. Arkansas is sitting at 3-3 and also may have trouble.