With the first BCS rankings of the year being released, things are finally starting to shake out not only across the country, but in the conference races, as well. Here’s a look at everything that made news on Sunday.
College football news: Alabama leads first BCS rankings, Don James passes away
Recapping a busy day of news as Week 8 of the college football season wrapped up.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Alabama, Florida State ahead of Oregon in BCS standings
The Alabama Crimson Tide topped the first BCS rankings of the year. The computers actually had Florida State as the top team after blowing out Clemson over the weekend, but being ranked No. 1 in the Coaches' and Harris Poll helped push Nick Saban's bunch to the top.
Oregon is No. 3 in the BCS after another convincing win over Washington State. Ohio State is ranked fourth despite some shaky performances in recent weeks, while the upstart Missouri Tigers round out the top five.
The full BCS rankings can be found here.
Legendary coach Don James passes away
Former Washington Huskies coach Don James passed away on Sunday. He was 80 years old. James spent 18 years as the head coach at UW, leading the program to six conference titles and a split national championship in 1991.
Connor Shaw won't need surgery
South Carolina did not have a good weekend, and Shaw going down with a knee injury in Knoxville only made things worse. On Sunday, it was revealed Shaw suffered a "significant sprain" to his left knee, but there was no ligament damage. He won't need surgery, though it would seem he is unlikely to play next weekend against No. 5 Missouri. Look for Dylan Thompson to make the start if Shaw is unable to go.
College GameDay is headed to Eugene
Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and the College GameDay crew will be in Eugene next weekend as the Oregon Ducks welcome in the UCLA Bruins. It'll be the second time in three weeks the Ducks will be featured on GameDay, with their trip to Washington being picked up by ESPN two weeks ago. Missouri/South Carolina and Texas Tech/Oklahoma were the two other candidates in the running.
Oregon’s Nick Allioti apologizes for controversial comments
Following Oregon’s big win over Washington State, defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti called Mike Leach and the Cougars “low class” for scoring two touchdowns in garbage time. He also said it was “total bulls---.”
On Sunday night, Aliotti apologized for his comments.
“The bottom line is, I’m sorry,” Aliotti said. “I’m embarrassed that I got caught up in the moment after the game. There’s no excuse, but sometimes right after the game the adrenaline is still flowing and I made a huge, human error in judgment. I wish I could take it back, and I promise it won’t happen again.
“I’d like to apologize to Mike Leach and Bill Moos, Washington State and its fans, and Oregon and our fans.”
David Ash won't play against TCU
Texas will turn to Case McCoy to be their starting quarterback once again next weekend as Ash continues to deal with lingering effects from a head injury he suffered in September. Ash hasn't played since Sept. 21 and it's unclear if he will see the field again in 2013. McCoy has played well in reserve duty for UT, throwing for 764 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception.
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