NEW YORK — Oregon and Auburn swapped spots atop the BCS standings and Boise State was passed again, this time by TCU.
    The Ducks (8-0) moved into first place for the first time this season, which is interesting but not necessarily important. Auburn (9-0) grabbed the top spot last week, but Oregon caught up after beating Southern California 53-32, leaving the Tigers in second place.
    The top two teams in the final BCS standings on Dec. 5 play in the championship game Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz. Right now, the Ducks and Tigers are in control.
    "They're fighting over what color uniform to wear in the championship game," BCS analyst Jerry Palm said.
    Oregon is No. 1 in the two polls used in the standings and No. 2 according to the computer ratings. Auburn is first according to the computers and No. 2 among the voters of the Harris and coaches polls.

The other three unbeaten teams, TCU (9-0), Boise State (7-0) and Utah (8-0), are next in the standings, but they'll need Oregon or Auburn to lose to even have a shot at playing for the national championship.

Boise State had been No. 3 for two weeks, but as the Broncos beat up on the soft part of their schedule, others are catching up — as expected. TCU jumped from fourth to third.

Utah, which plays TCU on Saturday, is fifth. Alabama is the highest rated one-loss team in sixth. With a game against rival Auburn to end the regular season and a possible Southeastern Conference title game, the defending national champion Crimson Tide (7-1) are definitely alive to repeat.

What are the chances the Tide returns to the national title game if it wins out?

"I don't think it's a slam dunk," Palm said. "If forced to make a prediction now, I'd guess Alabama would go over undefeated Boise State or TCU, but I'm not operating under the assumption that would happen."