Oregon passes Auburn for No. 1 in BCS standings

Oregon passed Auburn in Sunday’s latest Bowl Championship Series standings, but that wasn’t big news considering first and second are of equal value in terms of getting to the national title game.

The news was Texas Christian jumping ahead of Boise State into third position, and Utah moving up three positions from last week into the fifth spot.

Oregon, a 53-32 winner over USC on Saturday, is first in the BCS with an average of .9777, followed by Auburn at .9599.

TCU is third with an average of .8911, followed by Boise State at .8824 and Utah at .7318.

Alabama leads the group of one-loss teams at No.6, followed by Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Louisiana State.

Alabama remains the one-loss team with the best shot of getting to the title game because it plays Auburn on Nov. 26.

Boise State lost its grip on No. 3 despite a 29-point win over Louisiana Tech last Tuesday. Alabama, which had a bye, got jumped in the standings by Utah.

TCU plays at Utah this weekend in a matchup that will eliminate one of the remaining five unbeaten schools.

TCU’s jump over Boise State is critical if Oregon or Auburn lose a game, because that could vault undefeated Boise State, TCU or Utah into the BCS title game.

Boise State has remained ahead of TCU in the polls all year, but the Broncos might not have the schedule strength to hold off the winner of this week’s TCU/Utah game if both schools finish undefeated.

Another key element in the mix is the fact the Rose Bowl must take a “non-AQ� conference team this year if it loses an anchor team to the title game. That would be the case if Oregon finishes first or second in the BCS.

Oregon (8-0) and Auburn (9-0), if they both win out, are on course to meet in the BCS title game on Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz.

Both schools, however, still have a lot of work left to do. Oregon has four Pac-10 games remaining, starting with this weekend’s home game against Washington. Oregon then plays at California on Nov. 13 and hosts Arizona on Nov. 26 before closing the season at Oregon State on Nov. 4

Auburn hosts Tennessee Chattanooga and Georgia the next two weekends before playing at Alabama on Nov. 26. If Auburn wins the SEC West, it plays in the Southeastern Conference title game.

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