Florida, Alabama, Texas lead BCS standings

NEW YORK — Florida, Alabama and Texas hold the top three spots in the first BCS standings and control their fates in the national championship race.

The Gators (.988) are in first, just ahead of the Crimson Tide (.952). Texas (.891) is third.

Boise State (.808) from the unheralded Western Athletic Conference is fourth, but the Broncos still seem to be a long shot to play for a national championship.

Meanwhile, undefeated TCU, which visits BYU on Saturday, is the top-ranked Mountain West Conference team, at No. 8.

And because TCU's remaining strength of schedule is believed to be stronger than Boise State's, the Horned Frogs could leapfrog the Broncos at some point during the season — as long as they remain unbeaten.

The highest ranked team from the non-automatic qualifying BCS conferences — the MWC, WAC, Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, or the Sun Belt Conference — will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either such a team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS standings, or that team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS standings and its ranking in the final standings is higher than a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic bid to one of the BCS bowl games.

The Harris Interactive Poll, USA Today Coaches Poll and computer rankings each comprise one-third of the BCS standings, which will be updated and released every week through the remainder of the season.

Florida is No. 1 in the two polls used by the Bowl Championship Series — the USA Today coaches' poll and Harris poll — and rated highest by the computers. The polls make up two-thirds of a BCS grade and a compilation of six computer ratings accounts for the other third.

Alabama is second in all the components. Texas is third in the two polls and sixth in the computer ratings.

With the strength of their remaining schedules, the Gators, Tide and Longhorns just need to win out to reach the BCS title game on Jan. 7 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., according to BCS analyst Jerry Palm.

Alabama and Florida would play each other in the Southeastern Conference championship game if each remains undefeated.

While the top teams in the standings are in good position, history is not on their side.