The Oklahoma Sooners, who are no strangers to competing for national titles in this age of the Bowl Championship Series, were ranked No. 1 Sunday night when the first BCS standings for 2010 were released.
Oklahoma has attained notable victories this season by thumping Florida State 47-17 and defeating rival Texas 28-20, and the Sooners improved to 6-0 this past Saturday with a 52-0 blanking of Iowa State. They are followed on the BCS chart by Oregon, Boise State, Auburn, TCU, LSU, Michigan State and defending national champion Alabama.
BCS STANDINGS1. Oklahoma2. Oregon3. Boise State4. Auburn5. TCU6. LSU7. Michigan State8. Alabama9. Utah10. Ohio State
BCS analyst Brad Edwards told ESPN that Oklahoma being No. 1 now doesn’t guarantee the Sooners a spot in a fifth BCS title game should they win out. Oklahoma captured the 2000 title by defeating Florida State in the Orange Bowl but lost the ’03 title to LSU, the ’04 title to Southern Cal and the ’08 title to Florida.
The BCS championship game was introduced in 1998 and pairs the top two teams from two polls and several computer services. This season’s finale will take place Jan. 10, 2011, in Glendale, Ariz.
“I don’t think anybody is in that position right now where they control their destiny,” Edwards said. “As good as everything looks for Oklahoma right now being No. 1, I think it’s a concern for them that they’re not No. 1 in the polls, because that’s where you want to be. If you had to choose, you would rather be No. 1 in the polls than the computers, and you look at those SEC teams looming undefeated behind them with Auburn and LSU.
“If one of those teams stays unbeaten, the first team they’re going to jump [in the polls] is Oklahoma. Oregon is up their safely at No. 1 [in the polls], so I’m not sure if Oklahoma is in as good of a position as it looks right now.”
Auburn and LSU play this Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium, so next week’s standings are assured to look quite different.
The SEC had six of its 12 teams in the inaugural BCS top 25, with Alabama checking in as the highest-ranked one-loss team. South Carolina came in at 21st, Arkansas 23rd and Mississippi State 24th.
Mississippi State defeated Florida 10-7 in the Swamp this past Saturday to improve to 5-2, with its two losses to Auburn and LSU.
“We’re going to see what we have to deal with,” Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen said. “Our players have done a great job of dealing with the adversity of defeat, working hard and regaining their focus. Now we’re going to see how we do with some success.”
Florida, which leads all SEC schools with 83 appearances in the BCS standings, is not in the rankings this season with a 4-3 record that includes three consecutive defeats. Tennessee, which won the inaugural BCS national championship with a Fiesta Bowl win over Florida State, is on the outside looking in as well with its 2-4 start.
The SEC leads all conferences with 362 appearances in the BCS standings, with the Big 12 a close second at 354. The Big Ten is third with 323.