BCS standings: No surprises with Notre Dame awaiting SEC winner
Some years the football season comes down to the final weekend with several teams still in the championship mix.
In 2006, it wasn’t known until the final Bowl Championship Series standings release whether Michigan or Florida would earn the right to play Ohio State for the title -- it was Florida.
Who can forget 2007, when two-loss Louisiana State jumped from No. 7 to No. 2 on a final frenetic weekend?
This isn’t one of those years. The only remaining drama at the top is determining which team, Alabama or Georgia, will play Notre Dame for the national title.
The Irish’s 22-13 victory over USC on Saturday effectively ended this year’s BCS argument.
Sunday’s next-to-last release only confirmed the obvious.
Notre Dame, the only undefeated team eligible for this year’s title game, clinched the top spot in the BCS standings only a week after the Irish’s first-ever appearance at No. 1.
The Irish’s BCS average, for what it’s worth, is .9979.
Alabama is second at .9236 and Georgia is third at .8911, a matter that will be solved next Saturday in Atlanta when the teams meet for the Southeastern Conference championship.
Notre Dame awaits the winner in hopes of capturing its first national championship since 1988, when Coach Lou Holtz last led the Irish to the top in the pre-BCS era.
Alabama, if it prevails next week, will be in search of its third BCS title since 2009. A Georgia win in the SEC title game puts the Bulldogs in position to win its first national crown since 1980.
The only suspense at the back end of the BCS is whether Kent State can snatch an automatic bid to a BCS bowl game. The Golden Flashes are No. 17 this week and play BCS No. 21 Northern Illinois on Friday for the Mid-American title.
Kent State will earn an automatic bid if it finishes in the top 16 ahead of a major conference champion. The Big East took itself out of the BCS top 25 this weekend when Rutgers and Louisville both lost.
ALSO:
Notre Dame, Alabama on top of latest polls
Alabama, Georgia are similar SEC strangers
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