LSU, Oklahoma State top two in BCS standings
LSU and Oklahoma State took control of the race to the BCS championship game -- but don't count out Alabama yet.
The day after the Tigers and Cowboys stayed unbeaten with their most difficult victories of the season, they also took the top two spots in the BCS standings.
First-place LSU beat Alabama, 9-6, in overtime Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala., right about the time second-place Oklahoma State held off Kansas State, 52-45, in Stillwater, Okla. The Crimson Tide only slipped one spot to third.
If the Tigers (9-0) and Cowboys (9-0) remain unbeaten, they should meet in New Orleans on Jan. 9. If either slip up, Alabama or fourth-place Stanford are in position to reach the title game as long as they keep winning.
Unbeaten Boise State was fifth and again seems to be a long shot to reach the BCS championship game, though another perfect regular season should get the Broncos into one of the four other marquee games.
But from this point on the focus will be on LSU and Oklahoma State.
Coach Les Miles' Tigers were No. 1 in both the Harris poll and the coaches' poll, and they were tied with Oklahoma State for the best computer rating.
LSU has a non-conference game against Western Kentucky on Saturday, followed by Mississippi, which is last in the SEC West. The Tigers finish the regular season at home against Arkansas, which is eighth in the BCS standings and not out of the running in the West.
If LSU wins the West, it will face either South Carolina or Georgia in the SEC title game. Win them all and LSU will play for its third BCS title at the Superdome, where it won its first two.
The Cowboys, led by quarterback Brandon Weeden, were second in the Harris poll and third in the coaches' poll, behind Stanford. But playing in the Big 12 has bolstered Oklahoma State's strength of schedule and made the Cowboys virtually impossible to catch -- unless they lose.
Missouri headed to SEC. After weeks of waiting, Missouri's move to the SEC became official Sunday. The SEC released a statement saying the conference's presidents and chancellors acted unanimously, and Missouri will join the league effective July 1, 2012.
