And then there were…five? Three weeks into the college football season, the Bowl Championship Series national title game picture is already pretty clear. Southern Cal, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida and Missouri have already distinguished themselves from the rest of the competition.

Last year, we had no idea who was even in the running for the national title game until the two teams were finally announced since No. 2 seemed to lose every week. That fluke of a season gave us a team with two losses (LSU) beating a foe from a weak conference (Ohio State) that can’t win the big game.

However, 2008 has already proven that there’s no way all six BCS conference have a chance of sending someone to the national title game.

Ohio State’s blowout loss to USC pretty much dooms its hopes. The Big Ten, after the Buckeyes and Wisconsin, is as down as it has ever been.

Clemson losing to Alabama probably ended the ACC’s chances of making the big game since the Tigers were the highest ranked preseason school at No. 9. Wake Forest might very well move up in the polls with a win against Clemson in a couple weeks, but the Demon Deacons won’t rise to elite status beating opponents in that league.

And West Virginia’s upsetting loss to East Carolina means the Mountaineers, who started the season No. 8, won’t be representing the Big East, which doesn’t have another team that looks ready to contend for a national title.

So it comes down to the final three BCS conferences. Obviously Southern Cal is the beast of the Pac-10 and is loaded with more NFL talent than the St. Louis Rams. The Trojans might have to sweat a home game against high-scoring Oregon on Oct. 4, but the rest of the schedule is full of pretenders.

It’s been long predicted that the winner of the Georgia-Florida game on Nov. 1 would be in the BCS championship contest. With that league being the pinnacle of college football, it would be nearly impossible for the system to keep one of those teams out of the big game. Even if neither goes undefeated, the SEC’s spot is almost always held open in this era.

The conference just slightly behind the SEC has to be the Big 12. Only Southern Cal has been more impressive than Oklahoma and Missouri. The Sooners have possibly the best quarterback in the nation in sophomore Sam Bradford and are beating opponents by an average of 40.6 points per game. Missouri’s combination of quarterback Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin look better this year than last, and that’s scary.

It’s just a matter of time. We will have two superpowers meet in Miami at season’s end. So, who will it be? It’s a little too early to tell, but the Trojans against the SEC champion sure would set all things right with the world. Well, except for a playoff.