The Associated Press

Florida State moved to the top of the one-loss crowd.

The Seminoles were third in the Bowl Championship Series standings released Monday, trailing only undefeated Oklahoma and Miami in the race to play for the national championship.

The Sooners, the top team in the polls all season, have been in first place in the first two BCS standings. Oklahoma will have to keep winning to guarantee itself a spot in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4, starting with a showdown against Oklahoma State on Saturday.

The Cowboys, 14th in the AP poll and the BCS, have beaten the Sooners the past two years.

"It's another very important game this week," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said Monday. "We've got to be on top of our game to stay undefeated and stay after the championships that we're after."

The BCS standings are used to determine which teams play in a national title game. The teams that finish 1-2 in the final BCS standings on Dec. 7 will play for the title in New Orleans on Jan. 4.

The formula uses the AP media and coaches' polls, seven computer rankings, strength of schedule, losses and a bonus for quality wins.

Oklahoma (8-0) is ranked first in five of the computers, with Miami No. 1 in the other two. The Hurricanes (7-0), who play at Virginia Tech on Saturday, are ahead of four tightly packed one-loss teams.

The Seminoles are at the top of that group based on their strong computer rankings. Florida State, which moved up one spot this week, is third in three computers, and fourth in three others.

FSU is followed by Southern California, Georgia and Ohio State.

The Miami RedHawks (7-1) are 19th, two spots behind Mid-American Conference rival Bowling Green.

TCU, major college football's only other undefeated team, is in 12th place, in part because of the 99th toughest schedule.

Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois had steep falls after losing for the first time last week. The Hokies went from third to 16th, and the Huskies dropped from 10th to 23rd.

BCS top 10

Rank-Team	Points
1. Oklahoma	2.45
2. Miami	3.87
3. Florida St.	10.34
4. Southern Cal	11.07
5. Georgia	11.15
6. Ohio State	12.60
7. LSU	18.68
8. Washington St.	20.67
9. Nebraska	21.38
10. Michigan St.	23.53

Others ranked: 17. Bowling Green; 18. Purdue; 19. Miami.