Seminoles Leapfrog Into Title Picture

Florida State jumped ahead of Miami into second place in the Bowl Championship Series standings, moving the Seminoles a giant step closer to playing in a national title game in the Orange Bowl.

The Seminoles (11-1), who completed their season with a 30-7 victory over then-No. 4 Florida on Saturday night, have a .51-point lead over Miami (9-1) but were well behind first-place Oklahoma in the standings released Monday.

The Hurricanes (9-1), who defeated Florida State this season, also won convincingly, defeating unranked Syracuse, 26-0. But the eight computer rankings used in the standings to determine who plays in a title game were more impressed with the Seminoles.

If Miami fails to get into the BCS title game, the Hurricanes can still become national champions in the AP poll, in which sports writers and broadcasters vote independently of the BCS. The coaches’ poll would automatically crown the winner of the Orange Bowl.

“We beat the No. 1 and No. 2 teams [at the time] and two or three others who are bowl eligible,” Miami Coach Butch Davis said. “If we end up going 11-1, we’ll have beaten someone very good in a BCS game. And you never know how they [writers] can vote.”