The sign said it all: “THANKS STANFORD. FSU.”
It appeared during the second half of the Seminoles’ 59-3 dismantling of Wake Forest on Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C., Florida State’s first appearance since Stanford defeated previously unbeaten Oregon on Thursday night.
That loss by Oregon is why Florida State is a solid No. 2 in the polls and BCS standings that were released Sunday.
The Seminoles (9-0, 7-0 ACC) supplanted Oregon and moved up to No. 2 in the three polls — Associated Press, USA Today coaches, Harris — while strengthening their grip on the No. 2 spot in the BCS standings. Oregon, which fell from No. 3 to No. 6 in the BCS, was expected to pass FSU if it beat Stanford.
Florida State took care of its business with a dominating defensive performance at Wake Forest in which it forced seven turnovers.
“Our destiny is in our hands,” Seminoles linebacker Terrance Smith said. “We have to handle business.”
Alabama (9-0, 6-0 SEC) remains No. 1 in the BCS standings and the polls.
“The national championship picture has become a lot clearer,” ESPN analyst and former Florida quarterback Jesse Palmer said on the “BCS Countdown” show.
“For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been debating who should be No. 2. Should it be Oregon? Should it be Florida State? Now that Oregon lost to Stanford, it appears that if Alabama and Florida State just win out, they’re playing in the BCS national championship game.”
The other big winner in the state was Central Florida, which moved up four spots to No. 17 in the BCS standings after a 19-14 victory over Houston in Orlando. The Knights (7-1, 4-0 AAC) lead the American Athletic Conference and have the inside track to play in their first BCS bowl.
The winner of the AAC receives an automatic bid to a BCS bowl.
Miami fell 12 spots to No. 23 in the BSC standings after being humiliated 42-24 by visiting Virginia Tech on Saturday night. The Hurricanes (7-2, 3-2 ACC) have dropped 16 spots in the standings the last two weeks after losing to FSU and Virginia Tech by a combined 45 points.
If the Seminoles win their final three regular-season games against Syracuse and Idaho at home and at Florida, plus win the ACC championship game, they will secure a spot in the Jan. 6 national title game in Pasadena, Calif.
The top two teams in the BCS standings will meet for the national championship.
FSU is closer to No. 1 Alabama than it is to No. 3 Ohio State in the polls and BCS. The Seminoles are .034 points behind the Tide and .069 ahead of the Buckeyes in the BCS. Stanford is No. 4 and Baylor is No. 5, both teams jumping one spot.
The Noles have the advantage over unbeaten teams Ohio State and Baylor for the same reason Oregon had the edge over the Seminoles before the Ducks lost: strength of schedule.
The Seminoles are the only team among the unbeatens that has defeated two opponents ranked in the top 10 at the time of the game: No. 3 Clemson and No. 7 Miami.
“I think Florida State, you could make a strong argument that they are the most complete team of all the teams this year,” analyst Kirk Herbstreit said on ESPN.
Much like how the ACC held back its best teams in recent years by being a mediocre conference, Ohio State is hurt by the Big Ten, which is having a down season. No. 16 Michigan State and No. 22 Wisconsin are the only other teams in the conference in the BCS Top 25. Wisconsin is the only team Ohio State has played that is ranked.
Although UCF is ahead of Louisville (8-1) in the BCS standings and AP poll, the coaches and Harris polls have the Knights behind Louisville by significant margins; six spots in the coaches poll and five spots in the Harris. UCF won 38-35 at Louisville 38-35 this season, and the Knights’ lone loss was by three points to South Carolina, which is 10th in the BCS.
Louisville has four games remaining — at Temple (1-8), Rutgers (5-3), South Florida (2-6) and at SMU (3-5).
Only the coaches and Harris polls factor into the BCS standings.
