USC is back in the title picture after a wild weekend

	John David Booty and the Trojans are in an enviable position at No. 3 in this week's BCS rankings. Peter Read Miller/SI

On Oct. 28, a mere 16 days ago, the top three in the BCS standings were: Ohio State, Michigan and USC. Today, the top three in the BCS standings are: Ohio State, Michigan and USC.

It's as if the Trojans' game against Oregon State never happened.

USC's return to the national-title driver's seat obviously has a profound effect on the entire bowl forecast. For one, it means if the Trojans win out, the championship game will be a Big Ten-Pac-10 matchup, leaving the Rose Bowl to find two replacement teams.

One of those will obviously be the loser of Saturday's game in Columbus. The other would have been Cal, but after losing to Arizona, the Bears are unlikely to finish in the BCS top 14 if they don't beat the Trojans. That would leave the Rose Bowl scrambling for a non-Big Ten or Pac-10 team with few logical candidates (Notre Dame would be an obvious one, but not with Ohio State or Michigan on the other side). I gave them projected Big East champ West Virginia, creating a potential matchup of two 11-1 teams, but that's purely a guess on my part.

Same goes for giving an at-large berth to Rutgers. I just love the idea of an all-Cinderella Orange Bowl (Rutgers vs. Wake Forest). It would shatter New York college football TV ratings records -- and bomb in literally every other market. More realistically, that spot is eventually going to go to a two-loss team such as Oklahoma, but right now the Sooners aren't high enough in the rankings. LSU would also be a strong possibility if it knocks off Arkansas.