Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low
The only unbeaten team in the SEC also has the cleanest path to the BCS National Championship Game.
It's pretty simple for the Crimson Tide, who checked in at No. 2 Sunday when the first BCS standings were announced. They're far enough ahead of No. 3 Penn State that if they keep winning, they're going to be in Miami playing for college football's top prize at the end of the season.
There's a lot of time between now and then, and nobody knows that better than Alabama coach Nick Saban, who scoffs at the mere mention of where somebody is in the BCS standings at this point.
Can't you see Saban now, standing at the chalkboard in the team room and going over all the different components in the BCS standings?
Well, maybe not.
Of the one-loss SEC teams, Florida (10th) and LSU (13th) have the most ground to make up. Both the Gators and Tigers were hurt by lower computer numbers, but they both have big games upcoming that should help their computer ranking. Florida has Georgia, Florida State and potentially the SEC Championship Game, while LSU has Georgia, Alabama and potentially the SEC Championship Game.
Nineteen of the 20 teams to reach the BCS National Championship Game were ranked in the top 6 of the initial BCS standings. But LSU won the 2003 national title after being ranked 12th in the first standings.
Georgia (seventh in the first standings) remains in excellent position to move up into one of the top two spots if the Bulldogs can win out.
At this point, the Bulldogs would appear to be in the best shape of the one-loss SEC teams. Should they go on to finish 12-1 and win the SEC title, they would get a lot of mileage with the voters for having navigated a schedule that was among the toughest in the country.
