No.1 Alabama's loss is S.E.C.'s pain;South Carolina's victory dims league's hopes for spot in

No.1 Alabama's loss is S.E.C.'s pain;South Carolina's victory dims league's hopes for spot in

Published Oct. 10, 2010 10:05 p.m. ET

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The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a ruling last week in favor of the University of Southern California over the University of South Carolina, which for well over a decade has tried to trademark its own brand of ''S.C.'' merchandise.

An earlier ruling cited U.S. trademark law, which forbids symbols ''likely to cause confusion'' among casual consumers.

South Carolina's football team, long a Southeastern Conference punch line, gave the university an axis-shifting victory on Saturday. The No. 19 Gamecocks topped No. 1 Alabama, 35-21, for the football team's first victory over a top-ranked opponent.

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The confusion in this case will ripple through college football, as Alabama's early-season dominance had convinced many that the Crimson Tide (5-1) would roll to its second consecutive national title. That is still possible, but the Tide's loss assures even more debate than usual in determining the Bowl Championship Series title game participants.

The biggest loser, other than Alabama, could be the Southeastern Conference. The league has won the past four B.C.S. title games but could end up without a team playing for the championship for the first time since Texas defeated U.S.C. - the one with the trademark - in 2005. The commissioner of the S.E.C., Mike Slive, will spend the rest of the autumn nervous about whether the conference can squeeze a team into the game this season.

No. 8 Auburn and No. 12 Louisiana State are the S.E.C.'s only remaining undefeated teams after each won on the road in the final seconds Saturday.

''They didn't like us too much when we're 5-0,'' L.S.U. coach Les Miles said after a fake field goal in the final minute led to a 33-29 victory at No. 14 Florida. ''Now that we're 6-0, I hope they like us more.''

Despite L.S.U.'s theatrics, the day belonged to South Carolina. With Coach Steve Spurrier's play-calling channeling his championship days at Florida, quarterback Stephen Garcia threw three first-half touchdown passes to give the Gamecocks (4-1) a 21-3 lead. He finished the day 17 for 20 for 201 yards, while a freshman, Marcus Lattimore, rushed for 95 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Most improbable was the way South Carolina's defense pushed Alabama around. It held the Tide to 34 rushing yards and sacked Greg McElroy seven times. Alabama had some uncharacteristic traits for a Nick Saban team, especially blunders in the red zone.

The reality this year is that the S.E.C. lacks the depth that was its hallmark for at least the past five seasons. Georgia (2-4) has played poorly, and the Bulldogs blew out Tennessee, 41-14, on Saturday to show that the Volunteers (2-4) have managed to be even worse.

South Carolina put itself in the driver's seat to win the S.E.C. East, clearly the weaker of the conference's two divisions. The Gamecocks still have a pivotal game at Florida on Nov. 13. But the Gators are still searching for an identity after a blowout loss against Alabama and the loss Saturday to L.S.U.

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