Oklahoma debuted at No. 9 in the first BCS Standings, placing the Sooners firmly in the national championship picture.

Some thoughts on the standings:

• Obviously, the Sooners are going to need help. It seems likely that somebody from the SEC will represent one side of the national championship game. The Sooners will have their chance to take care of one non-SEC team in front of them in two weeks, Notre Dame. That leaves the Pac-12 as the biggest obstacle to an OU national championship appearance. Oregon is currently third and would make the title game by going undefeated. Same with Oregon State. But USC is the team to watch. The Trojans play Oregon, Notre Dame and potentially a strong opponent in the Pac-12 title game, which would give them a shot to make quite a statement with voters and the computers.
• The Sooners need No. 4 Kansas State, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 13 West Virginia to win as many games as possible to help OU’s computer profile and perception with voters. If all three teams finish with 10 wins, OU’s computer rating would be tremendous.

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