All the national championship controversy is behind No.1 Miami — for a change. A win over No.14 Virginia Tech on Saturday, and the Hurricanes (10-0) clinch a spot in the Rose Bowl with a chance for a fifth national title.

        The opponent may be argued about forever thanks to a pair of mind-boggling results that knocked Nebraska, then Oklahoma out of contention.

        For now, though, it looks as if No.2 Florida (9-1) possesses the strongest resume to outpoint a handful of other one-loss teams and end up in Pasadena.

        How does Miami vs. Florida for the national title sound?

        “That's what the people want to see,” running back Clinton Portis said after Miami's 65-7 win over No.19 Washington Saturday night. “They see that Florida puts up a lot of points and they see that we put up a lot of points. People want a shootout.

        “But we've got to get there. Florida's got to get there. We've got to take care of business.”

        Miami fans don't need reminding how tough that can be. Last season, the one-loss Hurricanes were left out of the national title game in favor of one-loss Florida State. The Seminoles' lone loss? Miami.

        Fans of the HuskerNation, then the SoonerNation got a dose of title turmoil over the weekend.

        Colorado clobbered Nebraska 62-36 and Oklahoma State upset Oklahoma 16-13, eliminating both those teams from the title picture.

        Enter Florida. And Tennessee (9-1), Texas (10-1) and Oregon (9-1).

        Afterthoughts before the weekend, the Gators, Vols, Longhorns and Ducks are back in the race. And it's so close it might come down to a hundredth of a point in the final Bowl Championship Series computer tabulations to separate who plays for the title and who doesn't.

        The announcement is Dec.9.

        In the BCS standings released today, expect Miami to be first, with Florida second.

        The pack is so tightly bunched afterward that four major conference champions could finish with one loss and not play for the title — Maryland (10-1) of the ACC, Illinois (10-1) of the Big Ten, Texas of the Big 12 and Oregon of the Pac-10.

        Nonetheless, here's what it will take for the top contenders to reach the Rose Bowl (odds in parentheses):

        • Miami (1-1). Beat the Hokies in Blacksburg.

        • Florida (3-1). Beat the Vols at home, then beat Saturday's Auburn-LSU winner in the SEC title game Dec. 8.

        • Tennessee (6-1). Beat the Gators in The Swamp for the first time since 1971 (0-7 since), then win the SEC title game and hope for a friendly BCS computer bounce.

        • Texas (10-1). Beat Colorado in the Big 12 title game, then hope for Miami or Florida — or both — to lose. Then, hope for a friendly BCS computer.

        • Oregon (15-1). Beat Oregon State on Saturday, then hope two teams from the Miami-Tennessee-Florida pool lose.

        If Miami loses Saturday?

        Back to the drawing board.

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