Oregon moves up to No. 2 behind Alabama in latest BCS standings

Order has been restored in the Bowl Championship Series, at least it has in Eugene, Ore.

One week after debuting at No. 3 in the first standings despite being No. 2 in all the major polls, Oregon moved to No. 2 ahead of Florida State in Sunday’s second standings release.

Alabama remained at No. 1 with a BCS average of .994, followed by Oregon at .952 and Florida State at .921.

Ohio State remained No. 4 at .884.

The top four BCS teams all had dominating wins over the weekend.

Stanford survived a late scare at Oregon State on Saturday night to improve to 6-1 and move up one spot to No. 5. The Cardinal is the highest-ranked one-loss team. Baylor is No. 6, followed by Miami, Clemson, Missouri and Oklahoma.

UCLA’s 42-14 loss at Oregon knocked the Bruins from No. 12 to 20 in the BCS.

There are three huge games involving the BCS top 10 in the next two weeks. Miami plays at Florida State next Saturday, while Nov. 7 (Thursday) features Oregon at Stanford and Oklahoma at Baylor.

In the battle for the non-automatic qualifier BCS spot, Fresno State is No. 16, one spot ahead of No. 17 Northern Illinois.

A champion from the non-major conference earns a bid if it finishes in the top 12, or top 16 ahead of a champion from a automatic qualifier league.

If the season ended today, Fresno State would qualify because it is No. 16 and ahead of both Louisville and Central Florida in the automatic-qualifying American Athletic Conference.

The top two teams in the final BCS standings will play for the BCS national title Jan. 6 at the Rose Bowl.

Next year, a selection committee will replace the BCS and pick the top four teams for a playoff. The committee will also choose the other major bowl participants.

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