Notre Dame No. 1, Alabama No. 2 in BCS standings
Much of the drama has been removed from the release of the BCS standings this year, as things are fairly clear.
To no one's surprise, Notre Dame, the nation's only unbeaten, bowl-eligible FBS team, is atop the latest BCS standings released Sunday evening.
Alabama is No. 2 and Georgia is No. 3, and those two will meet in the Southeastern Conference championship game next Saturday.
The winner of that SEC game will no doubt be No. 2 when the final BCS standings are released next weekend and will play Notre Dame in the national championship game in Miami on Jan. 7.
Notre Dame played its final regular-season game on Saturday when it beat USC 22-13, and it is virtually assured of retaining the No. 1 spot through next weekend's games.
The Irish are No. 1 in all three major polls - including the two used in the BCS ranking formula (the USA Today coaches poll and the Harris poll) - and they are No. 1 according to all six computer rankings used in the BCS formula.
Florida is No. 2 according to the computers, but is only No. 4 in the BCS standings and has no chance to play for the national championship because it will not be in the SEC title game.
The Gators may pass the loser of the SEC title game and end up No. 3 in the final BCS standings, though, which would guarantee them a berth in a BCS game, probably the Sugar Bowl.
Oregon is No. 5 in the BCS standings, followed by Kansas State, which needs to beat Texas in its final game Saturday to win the Big 12 title and earn a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.
LSU is No. 7, Stanford No. 8, Texas A&M No. 9 and South Carolina No. 10, giving the SEC six teams in the top 10.
Ohio State is the only other unbeaten FBS team besides Notre Dame, but since the Buckeyes are ineligible for postseason play, they are not included in the BCS standings.
