College football rankings, Week 15: Notre Dame-Alabama set, NIU BCS-bound

Due to the BCS rule, only two SEC teams can play in a BCS bowl game this year. Six of the top 10 teams in the standings are from the SEC.

The Broncos, ranked 15th, and Huskies, 16th, are both looking to qualify for a BCS bowl berth. To do so, both need to finish in the top 16 in Sunday’s final BCS standings -- the final Coaches’ Poll rankings count for one third of the BCS standings - and be ranked higher than the other.

Below is the complete final rankings.

That position, if replicated in tonight’s final BCS standings of the season, would give the Huskies just enough to bust the BCS and knock Oklahoma out of a spot in a BCS bowl. The AP Poll does not count toward the BCS formula, which includes the Harris Interactive Poll, Coaches’ Poll and the six computer rankings, but the AP Poll has long served as an indicator of what might be in store in the BCS rankings.

Here’s the entire AP Top 25:

The BCS’ six computer ranking systems will combine to decide one third of the final, official BCS rankings on Sunday night. So far, the only one publicly available is Jeff Sagarin’s ELO CHESS system, which eliminates margin of victory from his much better, actual rankings, according with the BCS’ very silly rules.

There are no surprises at the top, with Florida’s very strong computer ratings continuing to give it the advantage over Georgia it might end up needing in order to ensure itself of a No. 3 BCS spot and thus a Sugar Bowl bid. The Dawgs remain far back, at No. 9, and look like they’d need an overwhelming show of support from the two human polls in order to get into the BCS -- not likely.