BCS standings: Alabama on top, Oregon leaps Notre Dame to No. 3
This was the weekend we almost had major upheaval in the Bowl Championship Series standings.
Dramatic comeback wins by Alabama and Notre Dame, however, left the same four undefeated teams on top with four weeks remaining to sort out another potential BCS mess.
Alabama remained No. 1 in the BCS standings for a fourth consecutive week but did not look like the invincible team that had won eight previous games by at least 19 points.
The Crimson Tide needed a last-minute touchdown against Louisiana State to pull out a 21-17 win in Baton Rouge.
Alabama still comfortably leads the BCS with a .996 average, followed by Kansas State (.932), Oregon (.917) and Notre Dame (.905).
Oregon jumped Notre Dame into the No. 3 spot after the Ducks defeated USC, 62-51, while the Irish needed three overtime periods to stave off unranked Pittsburgh.
Georgia is the highest one-loss team at No. 5, followed by Florida, LSU, South Carolina, Louisville and Florida State.
And, in a Los Angeles-area battle for BCS bragging rights, UCLA is No. 18 this week, one spot ahead of USC.
Losses by Alabama and Notre Dame would have left clear-cut paths for Oregon and Kansas State. Instead, four undefeated schools head into the home stretch with no games scheduled against each other.
Alabama hosts high-scoring Texas A&M; next week in what could be a sneak preview to a possible Alabama-Oregon national title game. Alabama then plays host to hapless Western Carolina and Auburn before the SEC title game.
Kansas State plays at Texas Christian and Baylor before closing at home against Texas. The Big 12 no longer conducts a conference title game.
Oregon plays at California next week and hosts Stanford on Nov. 17 before the Civil War showdown in Corvallis against Oregon State. If Oregon wins the North, it would then play in the Pac 12 title game.
Notre Dame plays at Boston College next week and then hosts Wake Forest before a season-ending trip to USC on Nov. 24.
ALSO:
Polls agree again on top four in college football
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