College Football: Who Is Really No. 1 At the conclusion of each college football season the Bowl Alliance selects the nation’s top football teams to play in select bowls. The way the Bowl Alliance selects who plays in the bowls, and because college football does not have a championship series, like college basketball, a number one vs. number two match-up for the national championship is never guaranteed. With this setup, many fans agree that a true national champion can not always be crowned. In the past, because of the Bowl Alliance, two national champions have been crowned at the conclusion of a single season. Just recently, at the conclusion of the 1997