First BCS Standings of 2012 Released

(ESPN/AP/WCBI) — Two Southeastern Conference teams again hold the top two spots in the BCS standings.

No. 1 Alabama (.9761) and No. 2 Florida (.9092) have the inside track to the Discover BCS National Championship Game in this season’s first version of the standings, announced Sunday.

No. 3 Oregon (.8993) is on the outside looking in, followed by No. 4 Kansas State (.8963) and No. 5 Notre Dame (.8774).

The Crimson Tide and Gators, both 6-0, do not play each other this season but would meet in the SEC Championship Game if both maintain their unbeaten records.

Despite being ranked third in the Harris Poll and fourth in the USA Today poll, Florida got a boost to the second spot by having the nation’s best average computer ranking. Notre Dame was second in the computer rankings.

LSU, one of the preseason favorites to make the Jan. 7 title game in Miami, is the highest-ranked team with a loss at No. 6. The Tigers fell to Florida on Oct. 6.

No. 7 South Carolina, No. 8 Oregon State, No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 10 USC round out the top 10.

With No. 11 Georgia, No. 12 Mississippi State and No. 18 Texas A&M, the SEC has seven teams in the top 25. Two SEC teams, LSU and Alabama, held the top two spots in six of the eight standings last season.

There are no Big Ten teams in the top 25.

Despite its strong initial showing, another all-SEC national championship game is still a long shot. Oregon’s schedule is backloaded with strong opponents and the Ducks will likely be able to close the gap in the computers if they keep winning.

This is safe to say: If Alabama keeps winning, the Tide will play for its second straight national title, and third in four seasons.

Alabama has never before been first in the initial standings. Seven times since the Bowl Championship Series was implemented in 1998, the team that was first in the initial standings went on to play in the BCS title game.

Seven times the team that started second played for the BCS title. And only twice has neither of the teams that were in the top two spots in the first standings reached the title game.