Oklahoma State proved Saturday night that it, not Alabama, should be playing for the BCS national title against LSU.

The Cowboys thoroughly dominated their rival Oklahoma, which just so happened to be a top 10 team. Offense, defense, you name it, OSU dominated it. The win was the kind of performance we needed to see from a team in the one-loss pack, as someone needed to distance themselves from the others.

Well, it should be that way, anyway. I’m doubtful it will, however.

It was decided when Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State that Alabama and LSU would be playing each other again in the BCS title game, and nothing was going to change the voters minds to change that. Not even this blowout victory. It was well before the Iowa State/OSU game, however, that folks decided Alabama and LSU were the two best teams in the country, and many said it wasn’t even close.

That very well may be true. LSU’s schedule, which includes a neutral site win against Oregon and a road win against West Virginia, helps prove that it is undoubtedly the top team in the country this year. The Tigers are also the country’s only unbeaten team, which helps make things easy.

But Alabama’s best win is an overtime loss to LSU. Seriously. The Tide beat Arkansas, and did so handily, which was also a big win. Outside of that, the Tide have two wins against teams with winning records (Auburn and Penn State). Oklahoma State, meanwhile, has six wins against teams with winning records. Sure the Iowa State loss was bad, but it also came on the road and the day after Oklahoma State lost two women’s basketball coaches in a plane crash. It’s awful to use that as an excuse, but it’s certainly something to think about.

Beyond that, however, there’s also the fact that the BCS’ goal is to crown a national champion. They say the goal is to find the top two teams, but in reality, it’s to find the top one, and we already know that’s not Alabama. The Tide had their chance to knock off LSU, and had it at home, but couldn’t do it. In a college football world where big-time nonconference games are a rarity, we’ll never know who the best team is if we allow divisional rematches in the BCS title game. Especially when there are deserving teams, capable of beating other top 10 teams by more than 30, sitting out there, waiting for their opportunity.

Yes, Texas is young. Yes, the Longhorns were overrated at No. 11 in the country. But the beating Oklahoma put on Texas today was one normally reserved for early-season patsies and not top-15 rivalry opponents.

I figured the Texas offense would struggle, and it did, managing just 10 points (one score came on a kick return) and turning the ball over five times. Freshman quarterback Case McCoy and David Ash combined to go 20-of-36 for 223 yards a touchdown and two interceptions. They had zero help from the run game, as it gained just 36 yards.

I did expect a bit more from the Texas defense, however, which was used and abused to the tune of 453 yards, most of it coming on the arm of Landry Jones (367 yards). All of these yards, and this game was well in hand at halftime.

As impressive as Oklahoma was, the one worry could be the run game, which gained just 86 yards. Texas’ run defense is certainly not as good as what the Sooners will see in a possible national title game against LSU or Alabama. They only had 19 carries, however, and averaged 4.5 yards per carry. Starting running back Dominique Whaley had 83 of those yards on 13 carries (6.4 ypc), so maybe I’m just looking for negatives in a game filled with positives.

This win, combined with the Florida State victory and a preseason No. 1 ranking, is normally good enough to be the consensus No. 1 team in the country. Not this year, however.

No team has a more impressive resume at this point of the season than LSU. Yes, you can argue that Alabama and Oklahoma have looked just as good, but neither can match up with the quality wins LSU has.

The Tigers added another today, destroying Florida 41-11. The LSU defense was its stout self, holding Florida to 213 yards. This was fully expected playing against a first-time starting quarterback. But the balance in the LSU offense was impressive. The Tigers had 238 yards on the ground and 215 through the air. They averaged 7.2 yards a play. The one worry I had about LSU was the offense, but if the run game can keep this up and Jarrett Lee can continue to make positive plays and not turn the ball over, that will be plenty.

Elsewhere …

- Oklahoma State’s offense is beyond amazing. Brandon Weeden might be 60 years old, but he can toss a football and he has a ton of weapons at his disposal. There are still serious questions about the Cowboys’ defense, and I think they might have to score in the 50s to beat Oklahoma, but that offense will keep them in any Big 12 game this season.

- Um, excuse me, Florida State? The Seminoles lost their third straight game today, falling to Wake Forest (!) 35-30. The worst part, the Seminoles needed a touchdown in the final minute to even get to that score. Losing to Oklahoma and Clemson is understandable, especially when you figure in the injury to E.J. Manuel. But Wake Forest shouldn’t be on the same field as the Seminoles. Also, I think we’ve found the one team that is perennially overrated more than Notre Dame.

- This isn’t a top 25 game, but Georgia had a third and 57 today.

After Friday’s games, today might be a little anti-climactic, but there’s still plenty to be determined on college football’s more traditional day.

The Big Ten title is still up for grabs, with three teams — Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State — all tied at the top with one loss. If all three win, the BCS standings will decide who goes to the Rose Bowl. That will likely be Wisconsin, which has that edge going into today. If Wisconsin loses and the other two win, the BCS will again decide who goes to the Rose Bowl, as Ohio State and Michigan State did not play each other. It’s a problem the Big Ten will have solved next year when there’s a title game (two title contenders not playing each other, that is. As the Big 12 showed us two years ago, the BCS can still decide a divisional race if all hell breaks loose).

If Wisconsin wins, however, and either Ohio State or Michigan State lose, it will be a lot more clear cut. The Spartans get the bid with an Ohio State loss as they have the head-to-head edge over Wisconsin. The Badgers get it if Michigan State loses, because they hold that same edge over Ohio State.

So those are your scenarios (sure, there’s the “all three lose” scenario, as well, where Iowa is back in the mix, but I don’t want to force that upon you before noon). Here’s how it will play out.

I went 1-2 Friday, which is awful when picking straight up. But I don’t think I’m alone after the shocking results from one of the more impactful days of college football I can ever remember.

Michigan at No. 8 Ohio State, noon: Just four years ago, people were arguing whether or not this was the biggest rivalry in all of sports. But after six straight Buckeye wins in the series, it’s lost a lot of its luster outside of the Midwest. Ohio State should have its way with Michigan, as scoring shouldn’t be an issue, and it has the athletes up front to contain Denard Robinson. The big question here is how much Michigan can lose by and save Rich Rodriguez’s job. If they’re blown out, there are a lot of people in the state that think he’ll be gone within the week. If it’s close, some still think he’s gone. If he wins, there’s no way he goes. But he’s not winning. Pick: Ohio State 34-21.

No. 10 Michigan State at Penn State, noon: Had this game been played in Week 6, I would have called it a no-brainer. The Spartans were rolling and Penn State was reeling. Now, with a banged up Kirk Cousins and suddenly struggling run game, the Spartans don’t look nearly as powerful as they did when they defeated Wisconsin and Michigan in consecutive weeks. Penn State, meanwhile, doesn’t look near as bad as it did early in the season. Have they come all the way to meet in the middle? Yes, but I don’t think they’ve overlapped. Pick: MSU 21-20.

Northwestern at No. 7 Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m.: The Wildcats have proven to be pesky at times this season, but if you watched the one-way madness at Wrigley last week, you saw that they can be run on. If Mikel Leshoure can run for 300-plus yards against Northwestern, what can Wisconsin do at home with a Big Ten title on the line? Probably quite a bit. Enjoy Pasadena, Badgers. Pick: Wisconsin 48-20.

No. 5 LSU at No. 12 Arkansas, 3:30 p.m.: This game could very well be for the second SEC BCS berth. The Tigers would certainly head to the Sugar Bowl — assuming Auburn wins next week in the SEC title game — with a win, and there’s a decent chance that the Sugar would opt for Arkansas with a win, as well. I’ve had serious doubts about LSU all season, as it plays way too close to its competition way too often. But when the Tigers need to turn it up, they do. That should be the case today. Pick: LSU 27-24.

No. 13 Oklahoma at No. 9 Oklahoma State, 8 p.m.: A win sends the Cowboys to the Big 12 championship, while a loss causes some Big-Ten-like confusion at the top of the Big 12 South. I don’t really know what to think of this Jekyll and Hyde Oklahoma team, other than I know it’s more than capable of pulling this off today. But I have a real tough time going against that Oklahoma State offense and Justin Blackmon. Kid’s a creature, and I mean that as compliment. Pick: Oklahoma State 35-31.

One of the beauties of getting XM radio is that I get to listen to the Paul Finebaum show on a daily basis. For those that don’t know, Finebaum’s show is technically now a national college football radio show, but it can’t get away from its southeastern roots.

Every four out of five callers is from Alabama or Mississippi, and they’re crazy. The conspiracies they come up with on the officiating and play-calling from week to week would make Glenn Beck proud.

But the Cam Newton scandal has sent these folks into overdrive, and forced me to spend more time inside my car while it was sitting still in my driveway than one person should. People are blaming the press, Mississippi State, the press, Florida, the press, Nike, the press, Florida and the press. One caller, minutes after ESPN’s Joe Schad hung up with Finebaum, basically threatened to beat him up. It was amazing.

I don’t have a conspiracy theory on this, which is sad. But it will be really interesting to see how Auburn and Newton play today after having to listen to all of this over the last week.

I’m not picking the game because I have no idea who’s taking the field, but if Newton doesn’t play, expect the Bulldogs to win. A.J. Green has made them a legit SEC team. If Newton plays, however, the Tigers will roll on.

It’s a fairly light week in college football, meaning we’re probably going to see something crazy happen. So let’s look at what should be the biggest games.

No. 24 Kansas State at No. 17 Missouri, 12:30 p.m.: These teams are going in opposite directions, which could have a big impact on this game. Missouri has lost two straight games after making it deep into the top 10. Kansas State, meanwhile, is coming off a beating of Texas. I know the Longhorns are awful this year, but that’s still a confidence booster for the Wildcats. It’s kind of like beating up the school bully while he has a broken leg. It’s obviously not as cool as it should be, but it’s still helps your confidence. But I do think that Missouri is the better team, and the home-field advantage will help, too. Pick: Missouri 31-28.

Penn State at No. 9 Ohio State, 3:30 p.m.: Detroit News columnist Terry Foster threw out a random “Joe Paterno is retiring” tweet this afternoon. Now, before you take that to heart, you should realize that Foster uses his Twitter feed for verbal diarrhea as opposed to actually breaking news. Either way, Ohio State is way too strong for the Nittany Lions, no matter how good they’re playing right now. And of course, how good they’re playing right now is relative, considering they just played Michigan and Northwestern. The Buckeyes are severely overrated, considering the schedule they’ve played, but they’ll win this one without a lot of trouble. Pick: Ohio State 24-10.

No. 19 Mississippi State at No. 12 Alabama, 7:15 p.m.: Mississippi State is probably better than you think it is. The Bulldogs lost to Auburn and LSU, and the Auburn loss was very close. Alabama is struggling a little bit with defending its title, but it’s also struggling with calling plays, lately. The Crimson Tide have ridiculous playmakers in Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and Julio Jones, but are somehow finding ways to not put them in the best ways to succeed. Moving halfway toward to finding that will be enough this weekend, because as good as the Bulldogs are, Alabama is that much better. Pick: Alabama 31-14.

No. 23 South Carolina at No. 22 Florida, 7:15 p.m.: Florida’s offense was a lot of fun to laugh at early in the season, and that’s not totally gone. But the Gators are improving as the season goes on, and Steve Adazzio completely succumbs to Urban Meyer’s commands starts to use his playmakers. I’m hearing that Marcus Lattimore is completely healthy for this one, which will help the Gamecocks, but I don’t think even he and Alshon Jeffery will overcome a Florida team that’s at home and finally moving in the right direction. Pick: Florida 21-17.

No. 10 Oklahoma State at Texas, 8 p.m.: I keep thinking that the Longhorns are going to come up with a Texas-type effort and win a game they shouldn’t. The problem is, nothing I’ve seen from them so far has shown me they’re in any position to do that. Texas is obviously in flux, and struggling with its young players. This is not a good week to be in that situation, as Oklahoma State looks to be firing on all cylinders. Justin Blackmon is the real deal, and I don’t think Texas, or anyone for that matter, can stop him. Pick: Oklahoma State 34-24.

Today is a big day for TCU and Utah, as they get to prove themselves to a national audience in a huge game between top five teams.

Oh. Wait. This game is somehow not on any kind of normal television. I keep hearing CBS College Sports Network, which does nothing for me because I have a digital basic package. I figured Versus was going to bail me out, but nope. Versus is showing us the very important and very sought after Princeton vs. Penn game. I’d rather watch those two schools square off in quiz bowl. OK, that’s a lie. I don’t want to see that either.

Luckily for TCU and Utah, there’s a lot of hype around the game, meaning the winner will get some preferential treatment in the polls just by the final score. Not to mention the fact that TCU is being listed at No. 3 (its BCS ranking) and Boise at No. 4, while the Broncos are actually No. 3 in the coaches poll and TCU is No. 4. A win by the Horned Frogs just may push them past Boise, if for no other reason than the coaches might have just figured they already were. Don’t you love the BCS?

I went 3-2 last week, because I didn’t believe in Baylor, and I believed too much in USC. Oh well, I feel a 5-0 day coming up.

No. 21 Baylor at No. 17 Oklahoma State, 12:30 p.m.: I covered a high school game Friday night that finished 49-48. It was insane. That’s what this game will be like, although instead of me standing outside in 30-degree temperatures, I’ll be inside my warm house, watching a game played in a fairly warm climate. What I’m saying is both of these teams have super explosive offenses, but lack very good defenses, meaning we’re in for a track meet. It could be a “whoever has the ball last” kind of thing, in which case I just go with the home team. Pick: Oklahoma State 45-42.

No. 3 TCU at No. 5 Utah, 3:30 p.m.: Utah is carrying a 21-game home win streak into this one, which is pretty impressive. The Utes are also somewhat under the radar, if you can say that about an unbeaten team ranked in the top five. But with all the attention being paid to TCU and Boise State this year, people seem to have forgotten that Utah — the original BCS buster — has just as good a shot as being the team that completely breaks the mold this year. But … TCU is better. The Horned Frogs have an incredible defense, and have a more impressive resume to this point than Utah. They pounded Baylor, and for that matter, everyone they’ve played since beating Oregon State by nine in the opener. Utah could keep it close being at home — and the Utes are damn good team, too — but I don’t think it can win it. Pick: TCU 28-24.

No. 6 Alabama at No. 10 LSU, 3:30 p.m.: The breakdown in this game is simple — Alabama is a well-rounded team and shouldn’t have a ton of trouble with an LSU team that can’t score — so let’s look for other things to write about. Um, well, both teams are coming off a bye. That means the Tide had an extra week with Nick Saban and LSU had one with Les Miles. So the advantage in this one just went from “Alabama” to “are you kidding me? Alabama.” Pick: Alabama 23-12.

No. 18 Arkansas at No. 19 South Carolina, 7 p.m.: This game could be a shootout, considering Arkansas is still in search of a good defense, and South Carolina has a rough pass defense. I have a lot more faith in the South Carolina defense, however, than I do Arkansas’ to come up with a stop or two when it matters. Not too mention South Carolina has Alshon Jeffery, who’s awesome. Pick: South Carolina 34-31.

No. 15 Arizona at No. 13 Stanford, 8 p.m.: This should be a big test for Andrew Luck and the Stanford offense as Arizona is No. 7 in the country in scoring defense. Arizona, though, has had one and a half tough games, and it lost the half (which actually counts as a whole … but I digress). Stanford has kind of fallen off the radar after losing to Oregon, and I think some people forget that the Cardinal had the Ducks on the ropes for a while. That’s about as good as you can get against the Ducks this year. Pick: Stanford 28-20.

After losing to Nebraska last Saturday, No. 20 Oklahoma State could have used a stress-free week as they prepare to face Kansas State this weekend.

So much for that.

Justin Blackmon, the Cowboys’ leading receiver, was arrested for driving under the influence in Texas early Tuesday morning after attending the New York-Dallas NFL game Monday night. Of course, that’s not the only problem though. The other issue is that he isn’t 21 yet.

From ESPN.com:

Blackmon, who is not 21 years old, and three friends were returning to Oklahoma after attending the Dallas Cowboys game in Arlington, Texas, when they were pulled over for going 92 mph in a 60 mph zone, the newspaper reported. Former Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant plays for Dallas.

“There were field sobriety tests given on the side of the road,” Dustin Bartram, the public information officer for the Carrollton Police Department, said, according to the Tulsa World. “The officer determined that there was a detectable amount [of alcohol] on [Blackmon].”

In Texas, if authorities deem that a minor has been drinking any alcohol and driving, that person is considered to be driving under the influence.

Blackmon posted a $375 bond and was released at 8:06 a.m. CT, according to the newspaper. The passengers in the car were not arrested.

No word on whether or not Blackmon will face K-State this Saturday but chances are he won’t. How could head coach Mike Riley allow one of his under-aged players drove home drunk on a school night? Blackmon is having a monster year (62 receptions, 1,112 yards, 14 TDs) for Riley, but the head coach will certainly be criticized if he didn’t discipline the sophomore wideout.

More to come.