The second Bowl Championship Series standings of the 2012 college football season were released on Sunday night, and the SEC once again held the top two spots in the rankings.

Undefeated Alabama and Florida remain atop the standings as we enter Week 9, meaning the Crimson Tide and Gators would meet for the BCS national championship if the season ended today. Of course, there is plenty of football yet to be played. The big news, though, is that Kansas State jumped ahead of Oregon for the No. 3 spot after its thorough dismantling of West Viginia in Morgantown. Meanwhile, Notre Dame remained at No. 5 following its close call with BYU.

Of course, this current system is being replaced by a four-team playoff in 2014. How exactly that new format will look remains to be seen.

Here is the BCS formula — how these rankings came about: Harris Interactive Poll (1/3) + USA Today Coaches’ Poll (1/3) + Computer rankings (1/3). The BCS national championship game in Miami will pit the top two teams in the final BCS standings, which will be released the Sunday after the regular season ends.

The BCS standings — Top 16

1. Alabama .9625
2. Florida .9310
3. Kansas State .9111
4. Oregon .8966
5. Notre Dame .8512
6. LSU .7862
7. Oregon State .7421
8. Oklahoma .7126
9. USC .5767
10. Georgia .5379
11. Mississippi State .5265
12. Florida State .4925
13. South Carolina .4797
14. Texas Tech .4736
15. Rutgers .4703
16. Louisville .4196

A few thoughts:

Chip Kelly and the Ducks have plenty of big games left to move up in the computers.

• Oregon fans shouldn't be too worried about getting passed by Kansas State. First, these are just the second set of rankings. And second, the Ducks have plenty of big games left to jump the Wildcats, including a potential league title game. If the Ducks run the table and finish 13-0, they will be in Miami even if K-State runs the table and finishes 12-0. The Wildcats have games remaining against Texas Tech and Texas, but they have no Big 12 championship game to make one final statement on the last weekend of the regular season. If you look at the computers, Oregon checks in currently at No. 6. But that number will only rise because they have games left against USC, Stanford and Oregon State. And another clash with USC could be on tap in the Pac-12 championship game. If the Ducks run the table, they will not fall from the No. 2 spot they occupy in the human polls.

• Florida has the edge over every other unbeaten besides Alabama right now because of their tough slate, which includes wins over LSU, South Carolina and Texas A&M. With Georgia on the schedule this week, the Gators will continue to be strong in the computers. But it will be interesting to see how the computers factor in a weaker slate toward the end of the schedule, with games against Missouri, Louisiana-Lafayette and Jacksonville State on tap. However, Florida State is the regular-season finale for the Gators, and a game against Alabama or LSU could await in Atlanta in the SEC title game.

• If Notre Dame is unbeaten at the end of the season, Brian Kelly's team will be in the title game, right? It's not often that one major unbeaten squad jumps another major undefeated team, but Oregon is in that position as well as the Fighting Irish. A win Saturday over Oklahoma is another opportunity for Kelly's team to change the national perception of the program, a chance to show that the team belongs in the discussion with the elite. And because of its strong brand name, voters could change their minds more easily for the Irish. It's just the way it is. It's tough to move in the polls as the season progresses, so a win over OU is the last chance for the Irish until the USC game to make a strong statement.

Certainly there is a ton of football left, but it's at least fun to discuss possible national championship participants as we enter Week 9.

Email dave.miller@nationalfootballpost.com or follow me on Twitter at Miller_Dave