The stage is set... right?

With a Florida-Alabama themed SEC-Championship showdown imminent, the question now being asked around the nation is, who will be next?

Texas is now 9-0 and in the drivers seat to finish the season undefeated. The Horns will finish with three very winneable games against Baylor, Kansas, and Kansas State. Unless the boys in orange trip up, it is assumed they'll finish second to the winner of the aforementioned SEC championship, thus earning a berth in the national title game.

The next challenger, incidentally, is mighty Mountain West power TCU. The Horned Frogs have soared to #4 in the latest BCS poll. On the wings of an undefeated season TCU's offense is racking up over 458 yards per game to along with a 37.4 point-per game average.

The defense, led by All-American Larry Hughes, is giving up just a measly 240 yards per game, behind, wouldn't you know, Texas and Florida. If Head Coach Gary Patterson isn't considered for more prominent coaching jobs in the coming off-season, then consider me very suspect of many of the AD's out there. The man can coach with the best of them.

Cincinnati is sitting pretty at the top of the Big East right now, and at #5 in the polls. They'll have to get through Pittsburgh, who has turned many heads this year, as well as West Virginia, who is always a dangerous offensive team, to get to a BCS bowl game. The good news is, backup QB Zach Collaros, who has blown-up opponents since taking over for Tony Pike, will get the nod against the Mountaineers. But Head Coach Brian Kelly said Pike will definitely see his way onto the field at some point during the game. Two quarterbacks are better than no quarterbacks, right?

Boise State is the next team on the list at #6, and most likely to gain a berth in the BCS as well. They'll have to take down a potentially dangerous Nevada team (who is 5-0 in conference play, but so far no team in the WAC has proven that they can even hang with the Broncos. A season-opening win against Oregon, (who is ranked 13th in the BCS) is making the Broncos look a little better each week. Still, there are many doubters out there who believe Boise is too weak to compete in the BCS. Only time will tell.

It's shaping up to be an interesting race, as it always has in recent seasons. If a few things go wrong for a certain school from the SEC or Big XII, then we may just see a purple-clad team in the BCS Title game. Dare I even think it...