Thanks in no small part to their dominating performance Saturday, USC moved back into second place in the BCS standings. LSU, winner against Ole Miss, is in third, while Michigan parlayed their decisive win over rival Ohio State into the fourth spot.

As of Saturday, the New Year's weekend picture became less murky. Michigan and USC, winners of the Big-10 and Pac-10 titles respectively, assured themselves of at least a Rose Bowl berth, joining Florida State, which captured the ACC title last week. Ohio State will almost certainly receive an at-large bid, and Oklahoma has all but punched its ticket for the Sugar Bowl, regardless of whether it wins or loses the Big-12 title game against Kansas State. The Big East champion will be decided next Saturday, when Pitt hosts Miami, while the SEC title game will match Georgia or Florida against LSU or Ole Miss. Assuming Oklahoma and LSU win out in two weeks, the remaining at-large bid will probably go to Texas; if the Longhorns lose to A&M Friday, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Washington State would be in the running.