Does anyone want to win a title?

Written by Jason Brubaker | 26 October 2009

Last year at this time, Florida was coming off of a 63-5 pounding of Kentucky, Oklahoma had just hung 58 points on Kansas State to improve to 7-1, Alabama was headed home after a 20-point victory in Knoxville, and Texas was in the middle of a three-game stretch in which they put up 129 points.

Now, fast forward back to the present. There's Florida, surviving an abysmal offensive performance to hold off an average Mississippi State team. Oklahoma, who re-wrote the offensive record books last year, is 4-3. Alabama needed two blocked field goals to hold off Tennessee at home, and Texas is just one week removed from a three-turnover, 16-point performance in a win over an Oklahoma team without its starting QB.

Get the picture? This year hasn't exactly produced the most aesthetically-pleasing performances by some of the naton's top teams. And while Florida, Alabama and Texas are all still undefeated, none of them look unbeatable. Florida's offense is shockingly average and predictable. Alabama's offense is not much better. And then there's Texas, who has seen QB Colt McCoy struggle at times from trying to carry the entire load by himself.

Add to that the surprising undefeated records of Cincinnati and Iowa, as well as the annual "BSC busters" in TCU and Boise State, and we have a bundle of teams still technically in title contention. Granted,  Boise State and TCU would likely need a miracle to climb to the top, but it's not entirely far-fetched to think that in one month, we could be arguing the merits of a one-loss SEC team vs. an undefeated Cincinnati team.

So with a little over a month left in the regular season, here's where we stand.

Florida: Everyone knew the loss of Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy would affect the passing game. But few realized just how much the loss of Dan Mullen would affect the playcalling. The Gators offense, the same one which scored at least 40 points in seven straight games and at least 24 points in each game last year, has already had three games with less than 24 points. With very little confidence in the passing game, they have become surprisingly one-dimensional and easy to defend. Their defense is still arguably the best in the country, but unless their offense finds a spark, this team is susceptible to an upset every week.

Alabama: Speaking of bad offenses.... The Tide have some impressive victories, but like Florida, the offense has sputtered, scoring 20 against South Carolina and only 12 against Tennessee. QB Greg McElroy isn't asked to do much, but when he has been, the results have been a mixed bag. The Tide have a great running game, led by Heisman contender Mark Ingram, but their passing game has been suspect at times. WR Julio Jones is a walking mismatch for any college DB, but they haven't been able to get him the ball like they want. So like Florida, the Tide's defense will have to carry the load if they plan on winning a title. With Terrence Cody and Rolando McClain leading the way, that's not a bad plan though.

Texas: It's easy to say the Horns look like the best team in the country, especially after last weekend. But then you go back, and see that this Horns team isn't exactly flawless. They struggled on the road at Wyoming before coming on late, and then they struggled to put away a mediocre (at best) Colorado team before the turnover-plagued victory over Oklahoma. McCoy has been good, but he appears to be forcing the action at times, and the lack of a consistent running game has hurt them. Their defense is good, but does have some holes, as Texas Tech showed. The Horns also still have games against Oklahoma State and Kansas remaining, as well as a date with rival Texas A&M on the road. They certainly have enough ability to run the table, but a loss somewhere along the way certainly isn't out of the question.

Cincinnati: Yeah, I know how this looks. It feels weird even mentioning the Bearcats so close to teams like Alabama and Texas, but such is life this year. Cincinnati stands a great chance of running the table in the Big East, but will their strength of schedule be enough to lift them to the BCS title game? They have a quality win over Oregon State, but their conference won't do them any favors, even if they knock off West Virginia and Pittsburgh in November. Even without injured QB Tony Pike, the Bearcats have a solid offense, led by playmaker Mardy Gilyard, who has 10 TDs overall. The defense doesn't have the big names like Florida or Alabama, but they've proven to be a stout unit so far. Cincinnati should be able to win out and finish 12-0, but in order to get a shot at the national title, they'll need some help from the teams above them.

Iowa: Smooth's favorite college football coach, Kirk Ferentz, has his Hawkeyes in position for a terrific season. They've struggled at times, needing two blocked field goals to hold off Northern Iowa and then a last-second TD to beat Michigan State, but at the end of the day, this is an undefeated team. QB Ricky Stanzi isn't great, but he always seems to be able to make plays when they need it. The running game has been solid, and the defense is giving up less than 15 points per game. The Hawkeyes still do have to make a trip to Columbus, so an undefeated season is far from a certainty. They also will have to overcome the recent stigma attached to Big Ten teams in big games. But they've shown they have a little magic in them this year, and as unlikely as it seemed in September, Iowa could very well find themselves in the hunt for a national title by the end of the year.

TCU/Boise State: We can argue the merits of the BCS all day, but the reality is that it will take a series of miracles for either of these teams to end up playing for a title. Boise State is almost a lock to go undefeated, and although their win over Oregon continues to look better, the rest of their schedule will likely hold them back. If they end up unbeaten, TCU will have road wins over Clemson and BYU, as well as a win over Utah, but that still likely won't be enough for them to jump into the top two of the BCS. Both teams will be in the BCS conversation, but at the end of the season, it would be a shock to see either of them in the title game.

USC/LSU/Penn State/Oregon/Georgia Tech/Oklahoma State: Of all the one-loss teams, USC and LSU stand the best chance of climbing into title contention. USC still has a showdown with Oregon, and given their reputation for rising to the occasion in big games, they're likely to get the benefit of the doubt if it comes down to it. LSU still has a showdown with Alabama and a possible trip to the SEC Championship Game to make their case. Penn State's ugly home loss to Iowa hurts them, even if they manage to win out. Georgia Tech's loss to Miami isn't bad, and their win over Virginia Tech looks good, but the rest of their schedule (Duke, Vanderbilt) will leave them on the outside looking in. Oklahoma State still has Texas and Oklahoma on the schedule, and the win over Georgia doesn't look as impressive as it did at the time. Voters will be hard-pressed to move Oregon ahead of Boise State after the Broncos dominated the Ducks, but stranger things have happened. Still, if a one-loss team does manage to move up, don't be surprised if its the Trojans or the Tigers.

Miami (Oh): The Redhawks need a strong finish to climb into the BCS conversation. At 0-8, and having been outscored by 182 points, they've gotten off to a rough start. But with the BCS, you never can tell.