LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State hold the top four slots in the first Bowl Championship Series standings of the 2011 college football season, setting up two potentially huge conference games that could determine which teams play for the national title in January.
Southeastern Conference rivals LSU, the BCS standings leader, and Alabama (No. 2) meet Nov. 5 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Tigers play defending national champion Auburn at home Saturday and the Crimson Tide plays at Tennessee. If they can get through those hurdles, both will be off for a week before a likely No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup that could determine the division champ in the SEC West.
BCS third-place Oklahoma and fourth-place Oklahoma State have to wait longer to play their potential Big 12 showdown. The Bedlam Series game is Dec. 3 in Stillwater, Okla.
The only other time the top four teams in the first BCS standings of the season came from two conferences was 2000, when the Big 12 (Nebraska and Oklahoma) and the Big East (Virginia Tech and Miami) did it.
The BCS standings combine the coaches poll, Harris poll and a compilation of six computer rankings. The top four teams in the AP top 25, which is not part of the BCS standings, are LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
Boise State is No. 5 in the first BCS standings, good position to at least earn a berth in one of the five most lucrative bowl games if not the BCS title game Jan. 9 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
Wisconsin is No. 6 in the BCS standings, followed by fellow undefeated teams Clemson and Stanford. The other two undefeated major-college teams: Kansas State (11th) and Houston (19th).
With half the season to play, there is still plenty of opportunities to shake up the standings, but for now the focus will be on the SEC and the Big 12.
Seven times in the 13-year history of the BCS, the teams that played in the national championship game were in the top four of the season’s first standings. But teams have also come from as far back as 12th (LSU in 2003) and 10th (Florida in 2008) to play in the title game.
The SEC has produced the last five national champions and Alabama and LSU are on target to put another SEC team in the title game this season. After the Tide and Tigers meet, both would have three more games and a conference title game to get through after the showdown in Tuscaloosa.
