The 2010 BCS National Championship Game pits No. 1 vs. No. 2, as the Alabama Crimson Tide will take on the Texas Longhorns on January 7. To get you primed for the game, here’s a snapshot look at the title match.

2010 BCS National Championship Game Information:
Matchup: Alabama (13-0) vs. Texas (13-0)
Venue: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
Kickoff: 8:00PM ET
TV: ABC
Odds: Alabama –5

Key Stats:
Led by quarterback Colt McCoy and receiver Jordan Shipley, the Longhorns have the third best scoring offense in the nation, the 14th best passing attack and are ranked 19th in total offense. McCoy is 10th in total offense with 296.92 passing yards per game and 26.77 rushing YPG. Defensively, the Longhorns boast the No. 1 rush defense in the country and are ranked No. 3 in total defense. Texas also ranks ninth in turnover margin and fourth in kickoff returns.

Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide have the second best defense in the nation and the second best run defense. Junior linebacker Rolando McClain has been the soul of Alabama’s defense, racking up over 100 tackles (51 solo), 10 tackles for loss and four sacks. Offensively, Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram heads a rushing offense that ranks 12th in the country and is 26th in scoring. Ingram is averaging close to 120 yards per game and has racked up 1,542 total yards of offense and 18 total touchdowns.

The Bottom Line:
After struggling with consistency for much of the season, quarterback Greg McElroy looks to build off a solid performance in the SEC title game and carry it into the national championship. While Ingram remains the backbone of the offense, McElroy might be the key to whether or not ‘Bama is victorious on January 7. He, and the Crimson Tide defense of course. And much like McElroy, fellow signal caller Colt McCoy will have to perform much better than he did against Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship for Texas to be successful. This will be the first time since time since the 2005 thriller between Texas and USC that two unbeaten teams square off in the title game. Who will come out on top?

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Who will win the 2010 National Championship?

• Alabama
• Texas

View Results

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SI.com’s Stewart Mandel recently ranked all 34 bowl games.

Here are his top 5:

1) BCS National Championship Game (Jan. 7): Alabama (13-0) vs. Texas (13-0). It’s the first-ever matchup of two 13-0 teams. Colt McCoy. Mark Ingram. Rolando McClain. Sergio Kindle. Yeah, I’m thinking you might want to tune in.

2) Sugar (Jan. 1): Cincinnati (12-0) vs. Florida (12-1). It’s spread vs. spread, Tim Tebow vs. Tony Pike, Mardy Gilyard vs. Joe Haden. It may be a letdown game for the Gators, but it should still be entertaining.

3) Fiesta (Jan. 4): TCU (12-0) vs. Boise State (13-0). Enough with the outrage, people: You know you’re going to watch. The nation’s No. 1 passer, Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore, goes up against the nation’s top-ranked defense.

4) Rose (Jan. 1): Ohio State (10-2) vs. Oregon (10-2). Dangerous dual-threat star Jeremiah Masoli is what Terrelle Pryor was supposed to be. But the Buckeyes present the toughest defense the Ducks have faced since Boise.

5) Orange (Jan. 5): Georgia Tech (11-2) vs. Iowa (10-2). You remember the Hawkeyes. They love low scores and dramatic finishes. With a month to prepare, can Pat Angerer, Tyler Sash and Co. stifle Josh Nesbitt and the triple-option?

That’s how I would have my top 5, although the Fiesta and Sugar bowls might be interchangeable. I love watching TCU’s defense play and I’m intrigued about how Gary Patterson will game plan to stop Boise’s offense. That said, I’m interested to see how Cincinnati responds after Brian Kelly ditched them for Notre Dame.

I know Georgia Tech’s triple-option is exciting to watch and Iowa does have a solid front seven, but that matchup just doesn’t have the same appeal as the other four. Maybe it’ll wind up being the best BCS game of the season, but the matchup offers little sizzle compared to the other top bowls.

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According to an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a U.S. House subcommittee has approved a legislation that would force college football to switch to a playoff system to determine a national champion.

The bill, which faces long odds of becoming law, would ban the promotion of a postseason NCAA Division I football game as a national championship unless that title contest is the result of a playoff. The measure passed by voice vote in a House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee, with one audible “no,” from Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga.

“With all due respect, I really think we have more important things to spend our time on,” Barrow said before the vote, although he stressed he didn’t like the current Bowl Championship Series, either.

The bill’s sponsor, GOP Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, said the BCS system is unfair and won’t change unless prompted by Congress.
The vote came three days after the BCS selections were announced, including the Jan. 7 national title game between No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Texas.

Something that just occurred to me is what if college football does implement a playoff system and teams like TCU, Boise State, Cincinnati and whomever routinely get knocked out in the first or second round?

I get that the point of a playoff system is to determine a winner on the field as opposed to leaving the decision up to voters and a computer system. But it would be a tad ironic if all this clamoring for a playoff system eventually leads to the same conferences (SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, etc.) being pitted against each other in the national title game – especially if there has to be a law made in order to force college football to figure out a playoff structure.

That said, I’m still all for it. I agree that there are probably better things for the congress to be worried about than college football, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to see it happen.

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Texas almost blew it against Nebraska, but they will get their chance against Alabama. After the bitter disappointment of being left out of the game last season, the Longhorns get their chance to win one under Colt McCoy. Alabama looked very tough against Florida, but you can’t judge these teams just on their last game. I think the game is a toss-up.

By the way, Kirk Herbstreet just smacked down Mark May on ESPN. Herbstreet was making the point that Alabama needs to make sure their players keep their focus, as everyone will be telling them how great they are, while Texas players will have to hear about how they were lucky to get there. Mark May argued that Nick Saban is not the kind of coach to let his players lose focus going into a bowl game, until Herbstreet pointed out how Alabama laid an egg last year against Utah.

Again, the layoff is another unfortunate factor in this crazy BCS system.

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