No BCS love for 'Bama?

I wouldn't want to be around Bear Bryant right now - he'd have the BCS committee running gassers until they puked. All I watched, heard, read and received (as in SMS messages and e-mail notifications) in college football this past weekend was how the nation's six undefeateds did. All but one.

Virginia Tech took care of business against BC. USC stomped Wazzu. Texas got off to a rough start and then blew Oklahoma State out of the (Still)water. UCLA had arguably the day's best finish, routing Stanford in OT. Georgia, minus fifth-year senior quarterback DJ Shockley, wound up with the short end of the stick in the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. But somewhere, somehow, lost in all the hype and pageantry and glitz and media and tradition and BCS and bullshit, the spotlight forgot to shine on Tuscaloosa.

Have we forgotten how good Alabama is this year?

Sure, the Crimson Tide didn't make it into most sports show's first 10 minutes because they oddly had a non-conference game this late in the season, hanging 35 on Utah State and allowing only a field goal. But lest we forget they play in the SEC, arguably the nation's toughest conference across the board. Any and every conference game is a must-see. And Bama's right at the top, 8-0.

Pride of the Tide Brodie Croyle is having an outstanding year under center, and even after losing junior slot receiver Tyrone Protho to what's one of the more stomach-turning injuries you'll ever see, he's still got weapons. But rare are the national sportswriters who give them their due cred.

They're at Mississippi State next, then play what should be the featured game of the week - pulleeeze, ESPN? - hosting LSU. And then, ah yes, the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium on November 19. And yet they continue to be on the outside looking in within most discussions about a BCS-determined national championship. The relative strength of SEC inter-conference play should give them leverage, vaulting them past the Bruins in the BCS Poll now that the 'Dawgs are out of the #4 spot.

Everyone has pigeonholed Texas-USC as Pasadena locks, and pundits with a decent dialectic can plead a case for Virginia Tech. But 'Bama just isn't mentioned. Had we a proper tournament - need I remind you that NCAA Division I-AA, Division II and Division III all use, to great success, such a format - to determine a national champion, taking the top teams in the Big Ten, Big XII, Pac 10, Big East, ACC, SEC and a pair of at-large berths, Alabama would be right up there, possibly meeting the Hokies or Longhorns in the semis. Wouldn't that be sweet?

Arguably, they haven't had the toughest road to hoe. They beat Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks in Columbia and then demoralized his former team, besting a very confident Florida squad. But that's about it. Still, they've gotten the work done.

My point is that Alabama has proven itself. And they deserve better.