College Football 2011: And Now There Are Three Unbeatens

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The college football world has its inevitable clarity, with only three unbeaten majors remaining.

They are Nos. 1 and 2, LSU and Oklahoma State, and No. 11 Houston -- all 10-0. (Stanford and Boise State both lost for the first time last week.)

The Cougars, though, don't play the schedule that is the tacit requirement for a ticket through the BCS championship game turnstiles.

Then two other teams -- No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Oregon, both 9-1 and capable of beating anyone on "any given Saturday" -- are ready to pounce should the Bayou Bengals and Cowboys falter.

Consider how good LSU's credentials are. LSU has beaten both Oregon and Alabama (on the road), which leans to another BCS scenario. Oklahoma (9-1) will play Oklahoma State Dec. 3.

If we were to end up with LSU unbeaten and three great teams with one loss, who gets the nod?

It could be the Sooners (if they win the Big 12 championship), for a couple of reasons. One, the sentiment of the public seems to be "we saw that game already," which would weigh against the Ducks and Crimson Tide getting a ticket.

Oh, OK, Alabama lost to LSU 9-6 and had bad luck. So there will be a clamor, particularly from the Southeastern region of the U.S., for a rematch of these two SEC heavyweights.

But Oregon (Pac-12) and Oklahoma (Big 12) could come in with conference champion credentials. Alabama will not, unless LSU were to lose to Ole Miss this weekend and Arkansas the next.

Anyway, "that's why they play the games," and who's to say Georgia couldn't spring an upset in the SEC title game?

So where are we? Well, if LSU and Oklahoma State "win out," that's most likely your BCS game. (Keep in mind there still is a human and computer element to the rankings, but two undefeated teams from major conferences really can't be denied. If the BCS is under pressure now, try snubbing an unbeaten team from a major conference.)

That raises another question. With all these largely geographically absurd, television-revenue generated conference realignments taking place, will the definition of a major conference, i.e., BCS conference, change?

Probably not, as long as you have a powerhouse SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12. Those four conferences will continue to hold all the cards. Now, let's look at some games, staring with Oklahoma State and Iowa State tonight.

The Corner's season picks record stands at 30-22.