Don't sweat the rankings: OU, Florida best in college football

I know what the polls say. I know what the win-loss records say. I know what the BCS and the TV people say.

Forget all that -- because I know what my eyeballs say, and my eyeballs say the best two teams in college football aren't Alabama or Texas Tech. The best two teams are Oklahoma and Florida.

Sam Bradford and OU get Texas Tech at home Nov. 22. (Getty Images)

This is a problem, what with Alabama ranked No. 1 and Texas Tech at No. 2, but this isn't a problem forever. It's not even a problem for long. Truth is, the BCS isn't nearly as messed up as its intellectually lazy critics like to say. This has been one of the most convoluted seasons in a long time, with six truly terrific teams, but by the end of the regular season, as usual, the best two will be matched up in the BCS title game.

And those are Florida and Oklahoma.

That's why I'm not concerned that at this exact moment the polls and the computers and the BCS have it wrong. For one thing, I'm used to it. I'm used to the polls and the computers and the BCS having it wrong in November. It's like being concerned about cold weather in November. Hey, idiot, put on a jacket. Turn up the heat. It gets cold every November, so get over it.

For another, the college football season does a fantastic job of weeding out the pretenders, of weeding out the occasional Alabama that threatens to make a mockery of its national championship. It's not a legitimate threat, of course. Alabama isn't really going to win the national championship. Alabama won't even play for the national championship, not with its mediocre quarterback and mediocre special teams.

I'm less opposed to Texas Tech, which has beaten No. 1 Texas and beaten the absolute hell out of some of the other very good teams on its schedule. Texas Tech isn't threatening to make a mockery of anything. I'm not sold on Texas Tech's kicking game or its discipline, but the defense is decent enough -- and that offense is so good -- that the Red Raiders are a fine candidate for the No. 1 ranking. Truth be told, since voters are so hung up on win-loss records, they should at least acknowledge the obvious and make Texas Tech No. 1 right now.

In the end it won't matter, because this college football season is voter-proof.

Alabama can be ranked No. 1 for the next few weeks if it must, but to get to the BCS title game the Crimson Tide will have to get past Florida in the SEC championship. And that ain't happening. Florida is playing at a ferociously high level, crushing decent teams like Georgia and LSU. I can't explain the Gators' loss to Ole Miss. I simply can't do it. But other than that loss to Ole Miss, they've played one of the most difficult schedules in the country, and they are winning those games by an average score of 44-9. Florida is going to beat Alabama on Dec. 6 in Atlanta, and Florida is going to beat Alabama badly.

(Yes, I'm a Florida graduate. No, I'm not a Florida fan. Yes, you think I'm lying. No, I don't care.)

Oklahoma could be even better. I'm aware of the Texas game, people. Texas beat Oklahoma 45-35 on Oct. 11 in a game, frankly, worthy of a national championship. Texas is that good. But Oklahoma was in control until its best linebacker, Ryan Reynolds, went down with a torn ACL. Injuries are part of the game, but so is depth, and since giving up 25 points to Texas in the final 20 minutes, Oklahoma has figured out how to play without Reynolds. And the scores have been embarrassing. Oklahoma has averaged 62 points in its last three games, against Kansas State, Nebraska and Texas A&M, with two of them on the road.

Texas Tech can be ranked No. 2 for the next 10 days, but to get to the BCS title game, the Red Raiders will have to beat Oklahoma on Nov. 22 in Norman. And that ain't happening.

Oklahoma won't do to Texas Tech what Florida will do to Alabama, but my eyeballs tell me Oklahoma is the better team. At home, the better team wins. That's what will happen, and then Oklahoma will be off and running toward the BCS title game, and the dreamiest college football game since Texas beat Southern California for the 2005 national title.

Speaking of Texas and USC, those teams will have their feelings hurt this time around. USC will claim that its one-loss season is no worse than Oklahoma's or Florida's, but the truth of the matter is this: USC didn't have to navigate the Big 12 or the SEC, much less the Big 12 or the SEC title game, to finish with just one loss. So USC is out.

And the Longhorns? Texas will insist that its win over Oklahoma means Texas should go to the BCS title game ahead of the Sooners. Using that logic, though, Texas Tech would deserve a spot in the BCS title game more than Texas. And of course in this scenario Oklahoma has beaten Texas Tech, so you have a perfect love triangle that can only be solved by our eyeballs.

And if you're like me, your eyeballs are clear on this fact: The best two teams in college football are Oklahoma and Florida.