Tonight's 27-17 victory by Auburn puts the Tigers back into the picture and keeps the Gators there as well. Now some undefeated team must lose somewhere down the line. Here are the teams I am referring to: Ohio State; Michigan; West Virginia; Southern California; and Lousiville. Boise State and Rutgers are also ranked and undefeated, but don't seem to be in the running for the national title.

Michigan and Ohio State will play each other. So will West Virginia and Louisville. But still, the SEC's one-loss teams, and maybe even a couple of two-loss teams, will be feeling this week that they are better than some undefeated members of other conferences.

"That's the reason you've got to have a playoff," Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville said. "It's just so unfair to this conference and a couple others."

He continued: "To go undefeated (in the SEC), it's got to be a miracle. You've got to be lucky."

Tonight, both UF and Auburn showed why the can be considered one of the best teams in the country. UF's defensive line put Brandon Cox on his back regularly, and don't forget, the Gators did not allow a defensive touchdown all game. The Tigers knocked on the door several times, but had to settle for four field goals.

Offensively, the Gators played smart, disciplined football until the final quarter, when Chris Leak threw an interception that iced the game and had another one dropped on a previous possession. But the running game was good. Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow both showed, on back to back plays, why they will one day be considered Heisman Trophy candidates. First it was a 35 yard run by Harvin, during which he bounced off a tackler, reversed fields, and exploded down the sidelines. Then it was a 16 yard touchdown run by Tebow.

As for Auburn, Tuberville said on Thursday that he had to get Brad Lester more involved offensively. Today Lester ran for 94 yards on 17 carries. Kenny Irons wasn't much worse, and remarkably, both backs averaged over 5 yards per carry against a Gators defense that was almost impossible to run against.

Auburn's defense stepped up in the second half. Quentin Groves provided two sacks, David Irons played the role of shut-down cornerback, and Tray Blackmon made his highly anticipated debut by recovering the controversial fumble in the fourth quarter.

By the way, I heard the explanation, and I still think it was an incomplete pass. You could say the Gators were lucky to be driving in the first place since Irons dropped an easy interception a few plays earlier, but there is a big difference between a player's mistake and an official's mistake. To be fair, a few people I've spoken to said it might have been a fumble, but most seemed to think it was incomplete.

Anyway...

Both Auburn and Florida are good. Very good. Both teams can dominate on the ground. Florida has as many offensive playmakers as any team in the country. Auburn has a lot of toughness, and its special teams unit is spectacular. UF's defense can play with any offense. Auburn knows how to win close games.

But neither will have a chance to be the best team in football without some help. The BCS standings will come out. UF and Auburn will be hovering, but neither will be where it wants to be. I'm sure we would all love to see teams from the Pac 10 and Big East play an SEC schedule. But we wont' see that and for some reason we won't see a playoff any time soon either.