So it’s a rematch. 

Never mind that Alabama already lost to LSU. 

Never mind that Alabama didn’t win their division.

Never mind that Alabama didn’t play in their conference title game. 

Never mind that only three of Alabama’s wins came against teams that ended the season with a winning record. 

Never mind that Oklahoma State beat seven teams who ended the season with a winning record.

Never mind that there are 119 other teams in the FBS. Some of them even deserving of a shot at the national title, despite not being named Alabama.

Never mind that, in five of the seven computer rankings, Oklahoma State was #2. It was the human voters who found it necessary to keep the ‘Pokes at #3, despite the ass-whipping they handed to #10 Oklahoma. What highly ranked team did Alabama beat this week? Oh yeah, that’s right, they didn’t play anyone. They were eliminated from their own conference title game. Curious…

Despite all of those factors, it’s going to be LSU v. Alabama in New Orleans on January 9th. Oklahoma State is going to have to settle for Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl. Andrew Luck doesn’t have the horses to outscore the Cowboys and Stanford’s defense isn’t fast enough to stay with Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon and Joseph Randle. 

So, where are we if Alabama beats LSU close in January? They would end the season 1-1 head to head. Do they share the national title? If Okie State blows the doors off Stanford, do they have a claim at the title? Is there any way I can talk myself into not hating this matchup? Probably not. Let’s stop talking about it.

Giving a cursory look at the remainder of the bowl schedule, here are some big questions I have:

1. Arkansas State v. Northern Illinois in the GoDaddy dot com Bowl is going to be a fun matchup. Lots of points and excitement.

2. UCLA v. Illinois in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is the exact opposite of fun and exciting. In fact, it’s the poster child for those who complain that there are too many bowl games. Neither of these teams deserves to play another game and we certainly don’t deserve to suffer through it. 

3. Wisconsin v. Oregon in the Rose Bowl should be a very good game. Two well-rounded teams that are well-coached. Great matchup.

4. Ohio State v. Florida in the Gator Bowl is an abomination. Heaven help the poor souls who attend/watch this one.

5. Texas A&M has no business playing in a bowl. For that matter the following teams should not have received bowl bids at all, in my opinion - Texas A&M, UCLA, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi State.

6. TCU and Boise State are going to make mincemeat of their opponents, Louisiana Tech and Arizona State, respectively. 

7. Washington v. Baylor in the Alamo Bowl could be a very interesting undercard bowl game. If Keith Price and Chris Polk can keep up with RGIII and the Baylor offense, that is.

8. Not bowl-related, but Robert Griffin III deserves the Heisman. If I had a ballot, it would read - RGIII, Tyrann Matheiu, Montee Ball, Andrew Luck, Trent Richardson. Mathieu was a game-changer like none other, despite not playing offense. Montee Ball had a slightly better season in total yards than Trent Richardson and happened to score 12 more TDs than him. Will he be a better NFL back? Who knows, but he was better this year.

Griffin had multiple Heisman moments this season, from the opening game all the way through the thrashing of Texas. The fact that he plays for Baylor doesn’t matter. If he doesn’t win, the Heisman means even less than I previously thought and we should probably start ignoring it.

I’m going to try and keep this quiet, because those brave souls who stayed up to watch the Oklahoma State/Tulsa game are probably still asleep or never went to bed at all. In either case, loud noises might startle them. 

I really can’t remember an odder start to a college football season in my lifetime. From the rain and lightning delays to the conference re-alignment hullaballo to the suspensions and NCAA sanctions, this has been a strange first three weeks for the 2011 season. Now, it appears that Syracuse and Pitt are headed to the ACC, a Texas A&M is headed to the SEC and Texas is…well, no one quite knows what Texas is doing, but I’m betting whatever they decide will cause Baylor to sue them. 

I went 4-1 with my picks for this week, incorrectly thinking that Tennessee was ready for primetime against Florida.

My beloved Fighting Irish started the year 0-2 on the backs of a Top 20 offense, yardage-wise and a Bottom 120 offense, turnover-wise, before finding the magical formula of only three turnovers that led to a blowout win over a Top 15 team. 

Meanwhile, Texas seems to have turned back the clock to 2007, resorting to a McCoy to Shipley connection to rejuvenate their season.

Speaking of inept offenses, Ohio State and Penn State. That is all. 

On the other end of the spectrum- Baylor’s Robert Griffin III has as many incompletions through two games (8) as he has touchdown passes. Also, Kellen Moore and Seth Doege. 

Oregon has bounced back, like a duck popping to the surface of a pond, after losing a stinker to LSU to kick off the season, they have outscored their last two opponents 125- 27, and the games weren’t even that close. On top of that, you could argue that their most dynamic player isn’t LaMichael James, but freshman DeAnthony Thomas. 

Oregon’s week one conqueror, LSU, continues to slowly choke their opponents to death in the most excruciating fashion. Oklahoma appears to be legit after taking down FSU. Boise State still has Kellen Moore. Alabama continues their early-season cakewalk against North Texas, 41-0. 

Outside of the Top 5, Wisconsin continues to steamroll folks. I cringe when I think about how many points they’re going to lay on South Dakota next week. Not to mention what they might do to Nebraska the week after, based on how mediocre the Huskers defense looked against Washington on Saturday. 

All in all, this is shaping up to be quite the interesting season, even if nothing else exciting happens for the next 11 weeks (doubtful).