Battle for BCS No. 2 tight.(The Orlando Sentinel)

Byline: Mike Huguenin

While Oklahoma will be in the Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl regardless of what it does in Saturday's Big 12 Championship Game, the Sooners' opponent remains up in the air.

USC (10-1) is No. 2 in this week's Bowl Championship Series standings, with LSU No. 3. USC will finish its regular season Saturday by hosting Oregon State, which hasn't won at the Los Angeles Coliseum since 1960. LSU (11-1) will meet Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game on Saturday night in Atlanta.

The Trojans lead the Tigers by 1.53 points in the BCS, but that gap will narrow if both win Saturday. How much it will narrow _ and, indeed, if LSU can pass USC _ is uncertain.

Currently, USC leads LSU in the media polls, computer and strength-of-schedule components in the BCS standings. The media polls aren't likely to change, with USC staying one spot ahead of LSU. But it's the other components that bear watching.

This week, USC leads LSU by 0.25 point in the computer average. The BCS uses seven computers, throws out the highest ranking, then averages the remaining six. But the computers likely will look more favorably on LSU's beating Georgia than USC's beating Oregon State. How much more favorably is the question.

In the strength-of-schedule ratings, USC is at 37 this week and LSU at 54. That gap will be narrowed, given each team's opponent this week.