BCS Standings Week 3: Notre Dame leaps into the top 3
The SEC is the best conference in the country — that's evident with five teams ranked in the top 10 of the latest BCS standings — but another all-SEC national championship game does not appear to be in the cards.
Florida's 17-9 loss to Georgia dropped the Gators from No. 2 to No. 7 and cleared the path for Kansas State to move up to No. 2.
But the Wildcats' ascension takes a back seat to the duel between Notre Dame and Oregon at No. 3 and 4 respectively. Oregon has a .9136 average while Notre Dame has a .9147 average. Despite continually being jumped, Oregon holds its fate in its own hands. Oregon is in the No. 2 spot in both the coaches and Harris polls, but has yet to see a boost in its computer ratings so far. That's about to change. The Ducks play No. 17 USC this week and have games against two other ranked opponents before the end of the regular season. All of Oregon's remaining ranked opponents are ranked higher than Kansas State's, and Notre Dame's only remaining ranked opponent is USC, which will take a major hit in the polls if it loses to the Ducks.
But while we're all focused on the jockeying for position at the top, teams such as LSU and Georgia still have opportunities to throw major wrenches into the BCS standings. LSU plays Alabama, and an upset win could knock the SEC out of the BCS altogether. Similarly, if Georgia wins its final SEC games, it could play Alabama in the SEC title game.
So, as we note every week, the quest for the crystal football is far from solved. Oregon is ready to make its power surge in the final third of the season, but needs to handle its final four opponents in the same punishing manner it's handled the other teams it's played.
The computers need a reason to push the Ducks past Kansas State, which is No. 1 in the computer rankings. That's the real race to watch down the stretch.
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