Irving, TX (Sports Network) - On the strength of a blowout victory over Wake Forest, combined with losses by Kansas State and Oregon on Saturday, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have ascended to the top spot in the new BCS standings released on Sunday.
The Fighting Irish (11-0), in third spot last week, finished atop the poll for the first time in program history with a .9973 BCS average. They have one last test remaining -- this coming Saturday against perennial foe Southern Cal -- standing in the way of completing their first undefeated season since a 12-0 year in 1988 that was also the program's last national title campaign.
Alabama (10-1), clocked in at .9333, rose two spots to second on the strength of a 49-0 demolition of Western Carolina. The Crimson Tide also next take the field six days from now, hosting Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
Previous No. 1 K-State (.7692) dropped all the way to sixth thanks to a crushing 52-24 defeat to Big 12 rival Baylor, while last week's No. 2 Oregon slipped to fifth (.8318) after falling in overtime at home by a 17-14 count to Stanford. The win by the Cardinal (.7077) vaulted them to No. 8 in the poll.
A pair of SEC schools with identical 10-1 records finished third and fourth, respectively. Georgia moved up two spots with an average of .8763, while Florida rose from sixth at .8434. The Bulldogs host Georgia Tech on Saturday, while the Gators travel to Tallahassee that same day to take on Florida State.
LSU (9-2, .7308) remained in the seventh slot, Texas A&M (9-2, .6526), which throttled San Houston State actually dropped one place, and the Seminoles (10-1, .6363) rounded out the top 10.
The BCS poll is computed by averaging the percentage totals of the Harris Interactive poll, USA Today poll and computer rankings.
Since 1998, the top two teams in the poll following the conference title games squared off for the BCS Championship. In two years, a four-team playoff system goes into effect.
