Alabama, Kansas State 1-2 in BCS, but Oregon No. 3
Alabama and Kansas State are still first and second, respectively, in the BCS standings released on Sunday, but Oregon made some progress, moving past Notre Dame and into the No. 3 slot.
The Southeastern Conference has five teams among the top eight, with Georgia, Florida, LSU and South Carolina, owning spots five through eight.
It means there is still chance for two SEC teams to meet in the national championship game, as they did a year ago.
However, they all have at least one loss, and most of the attention is on the four unbeaten teams.
Notre Dame's computer ranking slipped to second this week, which helped Oregon move past the Irish. The Ducks hold firmly to their No. 2 ranking in both the USA Today coaches poll and the Harris poll - the two human polls used in the BCS formula - but the Ducks' No. 5 computer ranking, which is the third component to the BCS formula, keeps the Ducks behind Kansas State.
However, the Ducks figure to make up ground in the computers if they continue to win because Stanford, which is No. 14 in the BCS standings, and Oregon State, which is No. 11, are still on the schedule for Oregon. The Ducks would then also play in the Pac-12 championship game, probably against either No. 18 UCLA or No. 19 USC.
Whether that would be enough to push the Ducks past Kansas State if the Wildcats also remain unbeaten remains to be seen, and it could be close. K-State has Baylor, TCU and Texas remaining, and only No. 17 Texas is in the BCS top 25.
Notre Dame, meanwhile, probably needs two of the unbeaten teams above it to lose to earn a national title berth, because the Irish's remaining schedule is unlikely to improve its computer ranking.
Louisville is also unbeaten, but at No. 9 in this week's BCS standings, a lot of unlikely events would have to occur to put the Cardinals in the title game.
Meanwhile, Alabama is sitting pretty. Not only is it an overwhelming No. 1 in both polls, but it is No. 1 in the BCS computers as well.
