One down, one to go for Oregon.
The Ducks moved up a spot and
passed Notre Dame in the BCS standings on Sunday, moving into third
place behind Alabama and Kansas State.
Oregon is coming off its biggest
victory of the season, winning 62-51 at Southern California on Saturday
night. That result, combined with Notre Dame's overtime victory against a
middling Pittsburgh team, helped nudge the Ducks past the Irish this
week.
Alabama (.9957) is a rock solid
No. 1 in both the polls and the BCS computer ratings this week. The Tide
needs only to win out to reach the BCS title game for the third time in
four seasons.
Kansas State (.9318) is third in the polls and in the computers, but second overall.
The Ducks (.9166) are a solid No. 2 in both polls, but still fifth in the computers.
But the Ducks have a stronger
schedule than Kansas State from this point forward, making Oregon a
strong bet to pass the Wildcats if it keeps winning and earn a spot in
the BCS title game in Miami on Jan. 7.
The Ducks play at California on
Saturday before finishing their regular season against two teams in the
BCS top 15, Stanford and Oregon State. If they get to the Pac-12 title
game, UCLA or USC would be the likely opponent. Both are in the BCS top
20.
Kansas State is at TCU and Baylor
the next two weeks, before finishing with Texas on Dec. 1. The
Longhorns are 17th in the BCS standings.
Notre Dame (.9050) is in fourth
place with only one opponent with a winning record left on its schedule.
The Fighting Irish are at Boston College on Saturday, then come home to
face Wake Forest before a finale at USC.
Behind the Irish in the standings are four Southeastern Conference teams — Georgia, Florida, LSU, South Carolina.