By JOHN TUCKER, New Hampshire Union Leader

From college football's observation tower, the national title picture is coming into focus.No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Texas Tech control their destinies. Yet plenty of pundits believe neither of the unbeatens will play for it, much less win it.

One point, in the wind, on the road ...Heartbroken Penn Staters cried as their dream season faded into a cold, wet Iowa night. Their hopes for perfection and one more national championship for legendary coach Joe Paterno buried on the field in Kinnick Stadium: Iowa 24, Penn State 23.

Try to pin down Jeff Sagarin on which of his three college football rating formulas is the most tried and true, and he'll likely turn the table with an algorithm involving the 1960 World Series.Sagarin, 60, is an MIT grad and one of the early pioneers in the development of a methodology for rating sports teams. He's been providing ratings to USA Today since 1985.

Speculating on who's going to play in the BCS title game is an annual rite of college football. It starts with preseason prognostications and ends with the final BCS standings in December.Everybody -- the polls, pundits, computers and fans -- gets in on the act.At the risk of eating crow, The Unbalanced Line joins in:

When it comes to college football rankings, humans and computers see eye-to-eye about as often as Obama and McCain.

For the college football fan with an insatiable appetite for big-ticket games, Saturday's TV menu offers another full plate of must-see match-ups.So, for those drawn to games like moths to flames, The Unbalanced Line recommends pacing yourselves. It's going to be another long day...

Never, in a hundred years, had there been a college football season as crazy as 2007.And now... here we go again.Oregon State started the shock wave a week ago Thursday, stunning top-ranked USC, 27-21, in Corvallis.

Wow, talk about a hostile takeover. Eight of the top 10 spots in this week's Associated Press college football poll are occupied by teams from the SEC and Big 12.How does that happen? There were supposed to be six Bowl Championship Series so-called "super-conferences" -- not two.

Like Big Oil, Southern Cal is enjoying an embarrassment of riches, a mother lode of talent unparalleled in college football's ranks.It was on full display last Saturday - from sharp-shooting quarterback Mark Sanchez to dazzling tailback Joe McKnight and menacing linebacker Rey Maualuga. All methodically making mincemeat of Ohio State, 35-3.