Now it's official: Notre Dame is back.
Following a 22-13 win over USC that clinched an undefeated regular season, Notre Dame finished the year 12-0 and No. 1 in the BCS standings, clinching a spot in the national title game in Miami.
Alabama and Georgia came in ranked behind Notre Dame and will have a de facto playoff game to decide who will play the Irish next Saturday in the SEC championship game.
"If you think about what the game means, this that and the other, it doesn't really help you win the game," Georgia coach Mark Richt said to the Associated Press. "The only thing that helps you win the game is preparation and getting your mind ready to go to battle. That's what you've got to do."
Alabama easily defeated in-state rival Auburn 49-0 on Saturday, while Georgia defeated Georgia Tech 42-10 at home.
Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron passed for over 200 yards and four touchdowns, while running back Eddie Lacy rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns. The win clinched the SEC Western division for Alabama set up a game with Georgia to decide who will play in the BCS national championship.
"To me, in all those games that I've been a part of, they are about as good as any game in the country other than the national championship game," Alabama coach Nick Saban said to the Associated Press.
The Florida Gators are ranked at No. 4 after a 37-26 win against Florida State and still could play in a BCS bowl game depending on next week's final standings. If Florida finishes ahead of whoever loses the SEC championship game, the Gators will clinch a spot in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
According to the Associated Press, "If the loser of the SEC championship falls below Florida, it could find itself out of the BCS picture altogether because the No. 3 team is guaranteed a BCS bowl bid and no more than two schools per conference can receive bids."
"For either one of these teams, it's not really a great scenario," Saban said.
Florida is ranked third in scoring defense behind Alabama and Notre Dame and has played the hardest schedule in college football this season. Running back Mike Gillislee led the way for the Gators on Saturday, rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
''We should be playing for the national championship,'' Florida coach Will Muschamp said, according to Boston.com
Notre Dame has been dominant on defense this season, allowing only 10.3 points per game, ranked second in the nation behind Alabama. The Fighting Irish defeated four Top 25 teams this season and completed their first undefeated season since 1988.
The Irish haven't played for a national championship in 24 years.
"We're going to fight," linebacker Manti Te'o said to the Associated Press. "That's our name. It doesn't matter where we are."
Notre Dame is ranked No. 1 in all three polls this week: the Assoicated Press Top 25, the coaches poll and in the BCS. The team will have over six weeks to prepare for the national title game, which is scheduled for Jan. 7.
The top 9 teams in the standings remained the same from last week, including Kansas State at No. 6, followed by LSU, Stanford and Texas A&M. South Carolina is ranked at No. 10 after defeating state-rival Clemson 27-17, followed by Oklahoma, who won a 51-48 shootout against Oklahoma State on Saturday.
The Big East conference took a big hit this weekend, with no teams in the Top 25 after losses by Rutgers and Louisville.
In the bottom half of the standings, there are some BCS busters lurking.
Kent State is ranked No. 17 at 11-1 and is only one spot away from clinching a BCS bowl berth. The team moved up six spots after winning 28-6 against Ohio on Saturday.
The Golden Flashes will play No. 21 Northern Illinois on Friday in the Mid-American Conference championship and will likely move up to the 16th spot if they win. According to the BCS rules, if Kent State finishes in the top-16 ahead of a conference champion from an automatic-qualifying school, they will clinch a spot in the BCS, crashing the party for one of the top teams.
No Mid-American Conference (MAC) team has ever sent a team to a BCS bowl. Since both Big East teams lost, Kent State will likely finish ahead of teams in that conference with a win on Friday, giving them a BCS bowl spot.
No. 20 Boise State has an outside chance to finish in the top 16, while Florida State fell to No. 13 and are the highest-ranked team in the ACC.
This will be the second-to-last season of the BCS before the postseason format changed to a four-team playoff in 2014. The SEC is in a prime position to win its seventh straight BCS championship, with Georgia and Alabama primed to play the Irish in Miami.
