The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are back on top.
Following losses by Kansas State and Oregon, the two top teams in the rankings, Notre Dame moved from the No. 3 spot to earn its first No. 1 ranking in the BCS in school history. The Irish mark the third new No. 1 team in the past three weeks, according to the Associated Press.
Kansas State was defeated 52-24, by Baylor, while Oregon lost in overtime to Stanford 17-14.
According to ESPN.com, "Notre Dame is No. 1 in both human polls and No. 1 in all six computer ratings systems."
"Now we don't have to answer questions about style points or politics," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said to the Associated Press. "Now we have a chance to play for the national championship this week."
Notre Dame beat Wake Forest 38-0 at home on Senior Day to stay undefeated, its best season since 1993 when the team went 11-1.
The Irish will play USC in Los Angeles to finish the season and if they win, the team will clinch an undefeated regular season and a spot in the BCS national championship game. Notre Dame last won a national title in 1988 and hasn't beaten USC since 2010.
As much as Notre Dame benefited from the losses by the Ducks and Wildcats, Alabama may have gained even more.
The team looked finished for the season at No. 4 after losing to Texas A&M last Saturday, but now the team has its destiny in its own hands, only needing to win one more game to clinch the other spot in the title game.
The team is ranked No. 2 in the BCS with a .933 average and are one of three SEC teams in the top five.
Georgia is ranked third with a .876 average, leaving a considerable gap between them and the Crimson Tide. For the Bulldogs to make it to the national championship game they will have to defeat Alabama in the SEC championship game.
Florida moved up to the No. 4 spot, while Oregon dropped to No. 5 after their loss. Kansas State dropped down to No. 6 after losing to Baylor, while Stanford moved up to No. 8.
Texas A&M is in the No. 9 spot, while Florida State is at No. 10, the highest rated team in the ACC. The SEC has five teams in the top 10.
Alabama and Georgia each have rivalry games before the conference title game, with the Crimson Tide hosting Auburn and the Bulldogs facing Georgia Tech next Saturday.
Both teams had easy victories this weekend. Georgia defeated Georgia South 45-14 behind four touchdowns from quarterback Aaron Murray, while Alabama shut out Western Carolina 49-0.
AJ McCarron set the school single-season passing touchdown record in the win, while running back Eddie Lacy scored three touchdowns for the Tide.
"I was pleased with the way our guys competed in the game," Alabama coach Nick Saban said to the Associated Press. "We went out there and tried to play to a standard and executed fairly well. Western Carolina, those guys played hard and they were a little bit outmanned, and our guys played the way we want them to play.
The SEC title game will serve as a play-in game for the national championship if the two teams win on Saturday.
The Irish will be supremely confident after beating Wake Forest on Saturday and the toughest test of their season will be to beat the Trojans this week.
Although USC will be without quarterback Matt Barkley in the game, the Trojans will have a lot to prove after starting the season at the No. 1 team in the AP Poll. The team is a disappointing 7-4 on the year and is coming off of a tough loss to crow-town rival UCLA.
Notre Dame got stellar play from quarterback Everett Golson, who threw for three touchdowns and over 300 yards on Saturday. Cierre Wood also played extremely well, rushing for 150 yards and a touchdown, including a 68-yard score.
"I told them tonight I'm proud of them," Kelly said to the Associated Press. "I voted them No. 1 for a reason, because I think they're the best team in the country. I think they played like that tonight."
The biggest disappointment of the weekend came for the Ducks, who will face rival Oregon State next Saturday after losing to Stanford in overtime.
The usually explosive Oregon offense was completely shut down by the Cardinal, who only allowed 14 points and 198 rushing yards. Heisman candidate Kenjon Barner only rushed for 66 yards on 21 carries for an average of 3.1 yards per carry.
"It hurts and as I told them, you'd like to have some words that would take the pain out of it, but there aren't," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. "We'll feel bad for a little bit of time and we'll bounce back from it."
If the national title picture holds, it will be the seventh straight year that an SEC team has a chance to win the BCS championship.
