Bowl Picture A Little Clearer - Or Is It? Tennessee Win Helps, But Battle For No. 1 May Be Out Of The Hands Of The Alliance

Although still fuzzy, the Bowl Alliance picture is coming more into focus.

No. 6 Tennessee adjusted the horizontal hold Saturday, fending off No. 10 Alabama for a 20-13 victory that - given its cushy schedule the rest of the way - seemingly solidified the Volunteers’ grip on one of the Alliance’s two at-large berths.

To be exact, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl looks like Tennessee’s January landing spot considering the very public presence of Fiesta scouts in Knoxville, Tenn., over the weekend.

Assuming the 5-1 Volunteers cruise through their final five games, their opponent in the Fiesta and the emergence of the Big East champion look to be the only serious question marks in the three-bowl Alliance setup.

No. 1 Florida or No. 3 Florida State - which square off Nov. 30 in Tallahassee - likely will face No. 5 Nebraska on Jan. 2 in the Nokia Sugar Bowl.

That should decide the national title, although a Rose Bowl matchup of unbeaten non-Alliance foes Ohio State and Arizona State could be a championship spoiler.

Meanwhile, the loser of next month’s Florida-Florida State brawl appears set to face the Big East champion - Miami, Syracuse or West Virginia - in the FedEx Orange Bowl, rounding out the Alliance field.

Almost.

The identity of Tennessee’s opponent in the Fiesta probably will provoke much of the interest - and debate - until the Alliance pairings are announced Dec. 8.

Would it be a 10-1 Northwestern, matching Peyton Manning against college football’s darlings? A 10-1 North Carolina, maybe? Or will the Fiesta give into temptation and take a 9-2 - and arguably undeserving - Notre Dame?

Aside from that, the country’s elite are doing a lot to take the thrill out of this year’s race. The top six in the AP poll remained the same again this week, and the order doesn’t figure to change until at least Nov. 23.

Then again, that doesn’t mean the top guns are cruising. Indeed, Florida State was fortunate to survive its ACC tussle with No. 16 Virginia before pulling out a 31-24 victory, and No. 2 Ohio State looked vulnerable for the third straight time during a 38-26 win at No. 25 Iowa.

Then there was Tennessee, which can consider itself lucky - extremely lucky - to be pondering reservations to the Fiesta after holding off Alabama.

A 15-point favorite, the Volunteers had to rally from a 13-0 deficit in the second half and hold off an Alabama drive at their 10-yard line in the final seconds before exhaling.

Tennessee should not be threatened the rest of the regular season and the only danger for Florida and Florida State is when they play each other. Nebraska’s stiffest test - Nov. 29 vs. No. 7 Colorado - is in Lincoln.