Are the Gamecocks a National Title Contender?

If the NCAA college football national championship were held today, it is projected the South Carolina Gamecocks would be playing the Alabama Crimson Tide for the coveted crystal trophy.

Yes, you read that right.

Using simulations of how the BCS ranking system works, Alabama would be number one, and the Gamecocks number two after week 6, which concluded this weekend. (Clemson is 17th in the BCS simulation).

(Read more and see the week 6 simulations HERE and HERE).

The Gamecocks just came off, arguably, the biggest win in school history, thrashing the fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs 35-7 in Columbia. Coupled with losses by three teams in the top 5 of most polls used in the BCS formulations, the Gamecocks have vaulted in the polls.

But Gamecock fans (such as yours truly, a long-suffering alum) shouldn't get too excited just yet.

The first official BCS ranking — national college football's method of determining who will play in the championship as well as the top tier bowl games — doesn't come out until Oct. 14. That's a day after the Gamecocks play perennial powerhouse LSU. Lose that game, which will be played in unfriendly Baton Rouge, and the Gamecocks could see their BCS fortunes turn sour.

Further, following LSU, the Gamecocks must then play away again against a resurgent Florida Gators team, which has history and a championship pedigree on its side.

There is still a lot of football left to play, and anything can happen of course. But at the moment the Gamecocks are sitting pretty and control their own destiny.

What do you think? Does South Carolina have what it takes to go all the way this year — a prospect once thought unthinkable? Give us your take in the comments section below.