Yes, Legion Field is not what it used to be. The upper deck was removed because the Birmingham city government couldn’t be moved to pay for upkeep and make needed repairs. The SEC Championship Game moved to Atlanta after two years in the stadium that bore the title, “Football Capital of the South.” The neighborhood around the structure has gone to shit. Yet, Carolina still managed to top all that by almost getting shut out by a middle-of-the-road Big East team. From Connecticut. Damn.

In one of Alabama’s Rose Bowl games, the Tide didn’t have a good first half. The coach came in at halftime and said something to the effect of, “They told me Southern boys would fight.” The second half, needless to say, was a much different affair. But, it seems like if you have a chicken on your helmet, that’s a “no.” The fact is, the Gamecocks put on a completely horrible display in the PapaJohns.com Bowl, to the level of shaming the entire conference and the aging relic they were playing in.

Granted, the last time Carolina was in Birmingham was a game that our father went to — the 1979 Hall of Fame Classic against Missouri. USC lost that contest 24-14. The last time Carolina won a game in the Magic City? That would be 1933, a 16-14 win over Auburn.

The way the 2009 vintage Gamecocks played was just atrocious, however. And The Post & Courier concurs.

It was cold and miserable and a rout, similar to a cold night in Memphis when the 1988 Gamecocks folded in a 34-10 loss to Indiana.

At least the sun was out this time.

But South Carolina lost yardage on a completed flea-flicker pass.

One of Stephen Garcia’s few successful plays ended up with the sophomore quarterback losing a fumble.

The Gamecocks dropped three passes — during a single possession.

One Connecticut drive was extended twice by penalties (roughing the punter and roughing the quarterback).

“We couldn’t even catch the snap on a field goal attempt,” head coach Steve Spurrier said.

At some point, USC has to figure out a way not to lose by 13 points to a team more than half of the teams in the SEC would have taken to the woodshed. But it isn’t this year.

There are 34 bowl games this year, and we’re picking every damn one of them (probably with 60-70 percent success). You can follow the progress or join up and do battle with us through ESPN College Bowl Mania. We’re in “The League” and “The War Against Tebow.” TWAT (jokes!) is the brainchild of decamped S.C. blogger and good time Johnny, Micah Snead, so go there. But beware — Snead’s dad is a total ringer and will probably take the title by 20 points.

Dec. 19, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Fresno State v. Wyoming

Dec. 19, 8 p.m., ESPN
Central Florida v. Rutgers

Dec. 20, 8:30 a.m., ESPN
Southern Miss v. Middle Tennessee State

Dec. 22, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 18 Oregon State v. No. 14 BYU

Dec. 23, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 23 Utah v. California

Dec. 24, 8 p.m., ESPN
Nevada v. Southern Methodist

Dec. 26, 1 p.m., ESPN
Marshall v. Ohio

Dec. 26, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 17 Pitt v. North Carolina

Dec. 26, 8 p.m., ESPN
Boston College v. No. 24 Southern Cal

Dec. 27, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Kentucky v. Clemson

Dec. 28, 5 p.m., ESPN2
Texas A&M v. Georgia

Dec. 29, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
UCLA v. Temple

Dec. 29, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 15 Miami v. No. 25 Wisconsin

Dec. 30, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Bowling Green v. Idaho

Dec. 30, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 20 Arizona v. No. 22 Nebraska

Dec. 31, Noon, ESPN
Houston v. Air Force

Dec. 31, 2 p.m., CBS
Oklahoma v. No. 21 Stanford

Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Navy v. Missouri

Dec. 31, 6 p.m., NFL Network
Minnesota v. Iowa State

Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 11 Virginia Tech v. Tennessee

Jan. 1, 11 a.m., ESPN
Northwestern v. Auburn

Jan. 1, 1 p.m., CBS
No. 16 West Virginia v. Florida State

Jan. 1, 1 p.m., ESPN
No. 13 Penn State v. No. 12 LSU

Jan. 1, 4:30 p.m., ABC
No. 8 Ohio State v. No. 7 Oregon

Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m., Fox
No. 5 Florida v. No. 3 Cincinnati

Jan. 2, Noon, ESPN2
South Florida v. Northern Illinois

Jan. 2, 2 p.m., ESPN
South Carolina v. Connecticut

Jan. 2, 2 p.m., Fox
No. 19 Oklahoma State v. Ole Miss

Jan. 2, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Arkansas v. East Carolina

Jan. 2, 9 p.m., ESPN
Michigan State v. Texas Tech

Jan. 4, 8 p.m., Fox
No. 6 Boise State v. No. 4 TCU

Jan. 5, 8 p.m., Fox
No. 10 Iowa v. No. 9 Georgia Tech

Jan. 6, 7 p.m., Fox
No. 25 Central Michigan v. Troy

Jan. 7, 8 p.m., ABC
No. 2 Texas v. No. 1 Alabama

Here we go. With the conference championship games over, and only Army-Navy left on Dec. 12, bowl bids are going out hot and heavy. There are some things that were expected, some surprises and — oh man — Clemson totally got jobbed.

BCS National Championship Game
No. 1 Alabama v. No. 2 Texas
Sugar Bowl
No. 5 Florida v. No. 3 Cincinnati
Capital One Bowl
No. 12 LSU v. No. 13 Penn State
Cotton Bowl
Ole Miss v. No. 19 Oklahoma State
Outback Bowl
Auburn v. Northwestern
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Tennessee v. No. 11 Virginia Tech
Music City Bowl
Kentucky v. Clemson
Liberty Bowl
Arkansas v. East Carolina
Independence Bowl
Georgia v. Texas A&M
Papajohns.com Bowl
South Carolina v. Connecticut

Definitely some interesting matchups — Georgia and Texas A&M are a couple big name teams for a small bowl, so that should be good. In other bowls, the Gator Bowl gave a big, wet, sloppy kiss to Bobby Bowden by inviting Florida State and West Virginia. Travesty. Though it was technically OK, Miami and Boston College were higher up in the selection order in the ACC. Southern Cal, the over-hyped 8-4 team, is going to play the Eagles in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.

Ooh! There are other BCS games?

Fiesta Bowl
No. 6 Boise State v. No. 4 TCU
Rose Bowl
No. 7 Oregon v. No. 8 Ohio State
Orange Bowl
No. 9 Georgia Tech v. No. 10 Iowa

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.

Going into Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, UConn was a middling Big East team with a 4-5 record. Notre Dame was 6-4 with a chance to salvage the season with a Gator Bowl bid versus Miami. Irish head coach Charlie Weis needed a win to save his job. Sixty playing minutes later, the Huskies are a win away from being bowl eligible, Notre Dame is looking down the barrel of a .500 regular season and Weis is as good as gone.

It could just as easily be the other way around. Because the BCS has an out for the Irish, it was possible Weis could pull the turnaround and get the team in a major bowl this year. A few bounces of the ball, and it still might be possible. Notre Dame has gone 2-4 in its last six games. In those four losses, Weis’ ballclub has lost by an average of 4.25 points. Versus UConn it was three points, against Navy it was two. Score one more touchdown, give up one less turnover, and the Irish could be 9-2 with a chance to go 10-2 and slide in to a BCS bowl (or 11-1, if you think Southern Cal could have been taken out). But, the old saying is that football is a game of inches, and Notre Dame has been losing those inches in the second half of the season.

Wha’ happen’? Your guess is as good as ours. Weis started out strong, in this season and at the helm in South Bend.

2005: 9-3 (Fiesta Bowl v. Ohio State, L, 34-20)
2006: 10-3 (Sugar Bowl v. LSU, L, 41-14)
2007: 3-9
2008: 7-6 (Hawai’i Bowl v. Hawai’i, W, 49-21)
2009: 6-5

That’s 35-26 through Saturday’s game, a winning percentage of 57.3. That just isn’t good enough, particularly in the light of this season and a supposed Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback and one of the best wide receivers in the country in Golden Tate. Frankly, it’s not just Weis’ fault, though. There’s something institutionally wrong at the university.

Notre Dame, like Alabama, lost its last coach to win a national championship in 1996. Unlike Alabama, Notre Dame did not face two rounds of debilitating major sanctions from the NCAA. It’s all the more reason to wonder why the troika of Bob Davie, Ty Willingham and Charlie Weis haven’t been able to develop a consistent winner. Between 1997 and 2008, the Irish have seen four losing seasons and one 6-6 year. Each of the three post-Lou Holtz coaches has posted a losing season. Davie had two.

Some people point at academic standards. That hasn’t hurt Notre Dame in the past. It isn’t hurting Stanford this year, as coach Jim Harbaugh is developing a winning program. The high-level potentates of Irish athletics need to circle the wagons and look beyond at whom to which to throw a few million. They need to figure out what the program needs, and where the problems have been in over a decade. Because, three men struggling to return a big-name program to the top isn’t an aberration, it’s a trend.

Alabama running back Mark Ingram is moving even closer to becoming the Crimson Tide’s first Heisman Trophy winner, after his performance against Mississippi State during the past weekend. He had 19 rushes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Without a doubt, the totals won’t look as good this Saturday versus UT-Chattanooga. In the other patsy games, Ingram put up 56 and 91 yards, respectively. Also, head coach Nick Saban will want to save his starters for the Auburn game the day after Thanksgiving.

Season totals, through 10 games
Rushing: 194 attempts, 1,297 yards, 10 touchdowns
Receiving: 25 receptions, 225 yards, 3 touchdowns

Both HesimanPundit.com and the ESPN Heisman Watch are giving Ingram more points, but what was a one running back, two quarterback race is more of a mixed affair.

HeismanPundit.com
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama, 59 (10)
2. Colt McCoy, Texas, 35 (1)
3. Toby Gerhart, Stanford, 33 (1)
4. C.J. Spiller, Clemson, 23
5. Tim Tebow, Florida, 16

ESPN.com Heisman Watch
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama, 72 (12)
2. Toby Gerhart, Stanford, 42 (1)
3. C.J. Spiller, Clemson, 37
4. Tim Tebow, Florida, 24
5. Colt McCoy, Texas, 23

CBS Sports Heisman Watch
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama, 47 (4)
2. Toby Gerhart, Stanford, 34 (1)
3. Kellen Moore, Boise State, 21
4. Dion Lewis, Pitt, 12
5. C.J. Spiller, Clemson, 9

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

We’ve already conceded Carolina to the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, where the Gamecocks will take a six-win record to the Magic City in which to play a bad Big East team for the chance to finish the season with a winning record. We thought it would be ironic fun to make a family run down to Birmingham to watch the game.

I just saw a bowl projection that has Carolina in the Papajohns.com Bowl, which is on Jan. 2 at Legion Field. Sounds like a road trip to me! Y’all can swing down, pick me up, and we can enjoy being in the freezing cold in a half-empty, ancient stadium and see USC lose to a low-level Big East team. Fun for the whole family.

Our family, however, was not impressed.

I have forwarded your request for consideration.

Quickly followed by:

Unfortunately, the response to your suggestion is fast and downright negative. [Name redacted]’s comment was “Gamecocks, Woo Hoo!” However, I know he was being facetious. We are attempting to plan a New Year’s with [couple redacted] (with [gentlemen redacted] wearing their kilts). The guys were OK with the football, but those metal benches are just way too cold.

And, yet another thinly-veiled attempt to go to the UAB-area Dreamland is shot down.