Half of BCS clear; other half murky

At least one spot in the BCS national championship game is reserved for the Southeastern Conference champion.

A Big 12 South team is probably first in line for the other spot – but which one?

No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Florida cruised into their league title showdown next week with resounding victories against fierce rivals Saturday.

No. 3 Oklahoma forged a three-way tie atop the Big 12 South with fellow national title contenders Texas and Texas Tech by beating Oklahoma State 61-41 Saturday night.

Coach Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide snapped a six-game losing streak against Auburn with a 36-0 victory in the Iron Bowl.

Alabama (12-0) heads to the Georgia Dome for its first appearance in the SEC championship game since 1999.

Tim Tebow and the Gators extended their winning streak against Florida State to five games with a 45-15 victory in Tallahassee.

The Gators and Tide will play the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in a conference title game and the winner is virtually assured of advancing to the BCS national title game on Jan. 8 in Miami.

The opponent? That’ll also be determined next week, but heading into today it remains unclear which teams would be playing for a shot and which teams would be watching with a shot.

No. 7 Texas Tech rallied behind Graham Harrell from a 14-point deficit to beat Baylor 35-28 and keep the Red Raiders in the hunt for a Big 12 South title.

More importantly, though, the Red Raiders kept No. 4 Texas from clinching the South and a berth in the conference title game against Missouri next week.

When Oklahoma capped the day by pulling away from its in-state rival, the decision of which team wins the South was handed over to the BCS poll voters and computer ratings.

The team with the highest ranking when the BCS standings come out today plays in the Big 12 title game.

Southern California kept its national title hopes alive by humiliating Notre Dame 38-3. USC can wrap up a Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl bid by beating UCLA this week.

(7) Texas Tech 35, Baylor 28: Graham Harrell capped a 21-point rally for Texas Tech with a touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter and the Red Raiders (11-1, 7-1 Big 12) defeated the Bears in Lubbock, Texas.

Texas Tech won 11 games in a season for the third time in the program’s 84 years.

Kansas 40, (12) Missouri 37: Todd Reesing threw a touchdown pass to Kerry Meier with 27 seconds left to give the Jayhawks (7-5, 4-4 Big 12) an upset win over the Tigers (9-3, 5-3) in Kansas City, Mo.

Reesing finished 37 for 51 for 375 yards with two interceptions, throwing two touchdown passes to Meier and one each to Dezmon Briscoe and Dexton Fields.

Missouri’s Chase Daniel had 391 total yards and threw for four touchdowns, but also had two interceptions, a fumble and was sacked for a safety in the second quarter. Jermey Maclin had nine catches for 123 yards and a touchdown, and tight end Chase Coffman caught two touchdown passes for the Tigers.

(18) Georgia Tech 45, (13) Georgia 42: Roddy Jones rushed for 214 yards, including a decisive 54-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter, and the Yellow Jackets (9-3) overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to beat the host Bulldogs (9-3) for the first time since 2000.

(16) Cincinnati 30, Syracuse 10: Tony Pike threw a pair of TD passes to lead the Big East champion Bearcats (10-2, 6-1) past the Orange (3-9, 1-6) in Cincinnati.

The Bearcats tied a school record set last season with their 10th win of the season and are headed to a BCS bowl for the first time.

(20) Boston College 28, Maryland 21: Billy Flutie, the Boston College backup quarterback and nephew of Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, threw a 9-yard touchdown on a fake field goal to help the Eagles (9-3, 5-3) beat the Terrapins (7-5, 4-4) in Boston and earn a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

The Eagles will play Virginia Tech – the second straight year the former Big East foes will play for the ACC’s spot in the Orange Bowl.

Maryland fell to 4-1 against ranked teams this season.