By Ralph D. Russo
Associated Press
NEW YORK ó The initial news from the BCS standings looked good for Texas. The long-range forecast, however, favors Oklahoma.
The Longhorns stayed ahead of the Sooners on Sunday ó but not by much ó and moved into the coveted second spot in the standings, thanks to a better computer rating.
The Sooners surged in the standings on the strength of a 65-21 victory against Texas Tech, which dropped to seventh place.
“This was a good week for Oklahoma,” said Jerry Palm, an independent BCS analyst and blogger, in a telephone interview. “It wasn’t really to be expected that they’d catch Texas this week.”
Alabama remained on top of the standings, a comfortable No. 1 in both the USA Today coaches’ poll and Harris poll, and best according to the computers. The Crimson Tide are two wins away from playing for their first national title since 1992. The Tide plays Auburn on Saturday and Florida in the SEC title game.
Texas is close behind Oklahoma in both polls, but has the second-best computer rating. The Longhorns’ BCS average is .9209 out of a possible 1.000.
Oklahoma is at .9125. But the Sooners have a road game against Oklahoma State (9-2) on Saturday that ó if they win ó should boost their computer score and likely sway a few more voters their way.
Texas plays Texas A&M (4-7) on Thanksgiving, a game that will weigh down the Longhorns’ strength of schedule ó a vital part of the computer ratings ó and won’t give voters much reason to move them up.
“I don’t think this week was good news for Texas,” Palm said of Sunday’s standings. “Oklahoma can only get better in all three parts of the formula and Texas can’t.”