On the same weekend we huddle around the mangled remains of USC and Florida's national ambitions, it's also an occasion to embrace the balance in nature, the circle of life, yin and yang, the energy that can be neither created nor destroyed, etc. Yes, the same catchphrases you learned in chemistry class, your local head shop and various Elton John songs can be applied to the polls, too, where some championship contenders die -- for the time being, anyway -- and new ones rise to assume the glories and burdens of life at the top. Exeunt Southern Cal, Georgia and Florida, entrer Penn State and Alabama. Along with Oklahoma's ascension to No. 1, it's feeling very 1979 up in here.

Forgive the suggestion that the Tide and Lions -- or Sooners, or anyone else -- might be destined for something. Fate is a cruel myth, as the Trojans and Gators can well attest this morning, and as Bama, PSU, Oklahoma, Missouri and LSU have two months still to learn, with freshly-affixed targets on their backs.

If you're looking to anoint the winners of September, though, no other frontrunners look quite so well-adjusted as the surprises, the Tide and Lions. Alabama, especially, has not only dominated two top ten opponents on neutral and hostile turf. but put them away quickly, convincingly, precisely according to the template Nick Saban established for LSU's championship run in 2003: a steady, efficient, veteran quarterback, backed by a run-first philosophy and a committee of strong runners that eat up the clock; and more importantly, a dominant defensive line that takes away the running game immediately.

Against two of the most dynamic backfields in America, the Tide front seven has been virtually perfect. Clemson logged exactly zero yards on the ground on opening night, and Georgia ran up all of 50 on Saturday. All together, James Davis, C.J. Spiller and Knowshon Moreno combined for 56 yards on 17 carries, and because they were rendered so obsolete so quickly, Cullen Harper and Matt Stafford were inevitably pounded into hamburger as the game wore on and comeback lights grew dim. Stafford held up much better Saturday than Harper earlier in the year, but Big Matt, too, was hit, flustered and frustrated into his share of desperate, off-balance, sure-to-end-badly throws. It's by his golden arm alone that not every one ended badly, but Bama won't see another limb even in Stafford's ballpark for the rest of the regular season, if it sustains the same level of pressure.

In fact, this is the template -- steady, senior quarterback making a dramatic leap forward, deep backfield, hellacious front seven -- that's defined all of the SEC's best teams this decade, from LSU in '03 to Auburn in '04 to Florida in '06 and LSU last year. Unlike any of those teams, Bama's already handled its toughest test on the road (albeit with Baton Rouge still to come) apparently has not just an adequate offensive line, but a potentially legendary bunch of maulers at their current pace. The front five are deservedly the stars of the offense.

If borderline teams like Alabama and Penn State have to "pay their dues" before they're allowed into the discussion for No. 1, certainly both teams put down whatever was left on their tab Saturday. Does it matter that the Tide struggled mightily on offense against Tulane? Possibly -- John Parker Wilson will be called on eventually to pull a win back from the edge of a cliff in the fourth quarter, a feat he's pulled off exactly once (last year against Arkansas) in two full years and at least a half dozen game-saving opportunities as a starter. The jury remains largely out on the Lions until they manage trips to Wisconsin and Ohio State. Both teams have long-standing streaks to bust to get anywhere: PSU has been consistently routed in Columbus since joining the Big Ten and hasn't beaten Michigan anywhere in more than a decade; Alabama is 0-10 since 2003 against LSU and Auburn.

We'll look back at Halloween and see if any of this talk still makes any sense; in retrospect, it rarely does. For now, though, revise your expectations accordingly.

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Photo of Matt Stafford being brought down and Evan Royster vs. Illinois via Getty Images.