The Associated Press

Miami finally moved atop the Bowl Championship Series standings - by the slimmest of margins.

The defending national champion Hurricanes squeaked past Ohio State, which needed overtime to beat Illinois 23-16 Saturday, in the latest standings released Monday. They edged the Buckeyes by 0.01 points, and the top two BCS teams have never been closer.

Miami, No.1 in the AP media and coaches' polls, has 3.69 points to top the standings for the first time this season, while Ohio State has 3.70 points. Washington State is third with 9.11 points.

The tight margin will be meaningless if Ohio State (12-0) and Miami (9-0) - the only unbeaten teams remaining - win the rest of their games. The top two teams in the final BCS standings released Dec.8 will play in the national title game at the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., Jan.3.

The Buckeyes' close win over Illinois was partly to blame for their drop.

OSU lost the No.1 spot in The New York Times computer poll to Miami this week, increasing its computer-rank average to 1.50. The Hurricanes' was lowered to 1.33. That ranking is an average of seven different computer polls.

Miami, which didn't play Saturday, also picked up points when its strength of schedule went from 1.60 to 1.36 this week. Ohio State, which has a composite total of 4.50, is so close to the Hurricanes because of a 0.8-point quality-win deduction for a victory over BCS No.3 Washington State earlier this season.

Ohio State plays its regular-season finale against No.12 Michigan (9-2) at home Saturday. Miami, which has won 31 straight games, hosts No.17 Pittsburgh (8-2) Thursday, then plays at Syracuse (4-7) and home against No.13 Virginia Tech (8-2) Dec.7.

KENTUCKY: Junior Jared Lorenzen is among 14 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien Award, presented to the nation's best quarterback.

MARSHALL: Quarterback Byron Leftwich has yet to return to practice since injuring his left shin Nov.2 and is questionable for Saturday's game at Ohio.

Leftwich, one of the nation's top quarterbacks, is still on crutches and backup Stan Hill is listed as the Thundering Herd's starter. Last week, Hill threw four TD passes and scored from 1 yard out with five seconds left to give Marshall a 36-34 win over Miami (Ohio).

The win put the Thundering Herd (7-2, 5-1 MAC) in first place in the East Division. A win over the Bobcats (4-6, 4-2) will give Marshall the division title and home-field advantage in the conference championship Dec.7.

Leftwich is the nation's total offense leader and is averaging 374 yards. He has thrown for 2,995 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

MIAMI REDHAWKS: Senior safety Milt Bowen was named Mid-American Conference East Division defensive player of the week for the second time in his career. He also was special-teams player of the week in 2000.

WYOMING: Vic Koenning was fired as coach, with his team struggling at 2-9 and one game left on the schedule. Koenning has coached the Cowboys for three seasons (5-28) and will work the finale at New Mexico on Nov.30.

TENNESSEE: Quarterback Casey Clausen (sprained right foot and ankle) returned to practice after a week off and was optimistic he would be able to play Saturday against Vanderbilt.

FLORIDA: Receiver Carlos Perez had surgery on his broken right leg and will begin rehabilitation in four weeks.