The 10 undefeated teams that could play Alabama in January

Let's go off of two theories:

One, Alabama is going to run the table. The Crimson Tide will go 13-0, capping the SEC season with a win in the conference championship game, and earn a shot at winning the program's third national title in four years.

Two, Alabama will face another undefeated team in the BCS National Championship Game. No SEC-only title game, in other words. And after one-loss Alabama earned a spot against LSU last winter, this would mark the third time in four years that two undefeated teams have met for the national championship.

Get it? Ralph Russo of the Associated Press puts it best:

"At this point in the season, it looks as if the rest of the country is competing to be the team that plays No. 1 Alabama for the BCS championship in January."

There were 23 undefeated teams in the FBS heading into last weekend; that total dropped to 16 after Saturday. We can erase the following seven teams from the title hunt, for the purpose of this exercise: Florida State, Texas, TCU, Texas Tech, Northwestern, Georgia and LSU.

That leaves 16 undefeated teams. We can take out another three: Alabama, since we've agreed that the Tide are earning one of the two spots in the BCS Championship Game; Ohio State, because the Buckeyes, 6-0, are ineligible for the postseason; and 5-0 Texas-San Antonio, which is likewise ineligible while reclassifying up to FBS status after spending the 2011 season on the Football Championship Subdivision level.

Now we're down to 13 potential matchups for Alabama on Jan. 7. You can take out another three teams in South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi State. According to the second theory listed above, each will lose at least once prior to the start of bowl play.

South Carolina will beat Florida, or vice versa. If Alabama goes undefeated, it will beat Mississippi State on Oct. 27 and the winner of the SEC East, whether the Gamecocks or Gators, during the conference championship game.

That leaves 10 teams: Kansas State, West Virginia, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Louisville, Notre Dame, Ohio, Oregon, Oregon State and Louisiana Tech.

If we go off of the theories that Alabama will run the table and meet another undefeated team in the BCS title game, you're looking at a very small crop of potential opponents for the Crimson Tide in early January.

What about Ohio? While the schedule plays out nicely, Ohio has struggled in its last two games, against Massachusetts and Buffalo. A loss might be coming fast for the Bobcats.

What about Louisiana Tech? Even if the Bulldogs run the table, it's difficult to imagine this team gaining enough national support to reach the No. 2 in the BCS rankings. Louisiana Tech's Sonny Dykes knows the score:

"It is just the way it is. That is not a big deal. The BCS is certainly not based on any kind of fairness. Basically, you have a national championship that excludes half the football teams, so it not necessarily built on quality and fairness."

"I do not even know how to spell BCS," said Dykes on Monday. "That is like miles and miles away from our thoughts. Our thoughts are just about trying to win football games and have a program that people think is significant."

Removing Ohio and Louisiana Tech leaves eight undefeated teams. If Alabama meets another unbeaten in January, it will be one of four potential opponents: the Big 12 winner (Kansas State or West Virginia), the Big East winner (Rutgers, Cincinnati or Louisville), the Pac-12 winner (Oregon or Oregon State) or Notre Dame.

Who's it going to be? Can Oregon get past USC twice, on Nov. 3 and again in the Pac-12 title game, and beat Oregon State is this year's installment of the Civil War? Can West Virginia run the table in the Big 12? Is Notre Dame's offense good enough to beat teams like Oklahoma and USC? I think it's safe to say that no Big East team is running the table.

And based off of how difficult it might be for teams to remain unblemished in the Pac-12 and Big 12, should we at least consider the idea that a one-loss team will play for the national championship on Jan. 7? If so, does that open up the door for another SEC-only BCS National Championship Game?