It's way too early in the season to award the national championship to Miami, but after yesterday's blow-out in the Swamp, I don't see a likely scenario where they won't be playing for the title. The 'Canes play in the weakest major conference, play only Syracuse on the road among the better teams in that conference, and get Florida State at home. Even if they lose one of those games, which isn't likely, a single loss probably will be sufficient for them to get chosen for the Orange Bowl, especially after the way they routed one of the best teams in the country in their crib. In an otherwise indifferent weekend, Oklahoma had to rally at home late to beat surprisingly tenacious Alabama, which, combined with last Friday's struggle against Tulsa, is a good indication that S.I.'s pick is going nowhere (as well as a sign that Franchione has the Tide moving in the right direction); UCLA exploded in the fourth quarter to shake off Colorado State; Stanford blew a ten-point lead late in losing to BC; and CAL won its third straight (!!) over a two-year period--too bad they are on probation).