TCU moves into 4th place in BCS standings

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - TCU took over fourth place in the BCS standings behind Florida, Alabama and Texas, giving the Horned Frogs hope - however slim - of becoming the first BCS buster to break into the national championship game.

Florida is first for the fourth straight week, and Alabama and Texas switched spots for the second week in a row.

The Gators and Crimson Tide have clinched their respective division in the Southeastern Conference and will meet Dec. 5 in the league championship game. One of them is all but guaranteed a spot in the BCS title game on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif., if they can get through the next month without a loss.

The same goes for Texas, which has three regular-season games and possibly the Big 12 championship remaining.

The other undefeated teams - TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State - need the top three to stumble to have any shot of reaching the championship game.

The Horned Frogs (.8620) moved up two spots and are just ahead of Cincinnati (.8579) and Boise State (.8125). Each is 9-0 with three games left.

TCU has been rising in the standings by racking up blowout victories. The Horned Frogs have won their last four games by an average score of 44-8.

Meanwhile, Boise State has played close games against Tulsa and Louisiana Tech, two teams with losing records, and Cincinnati struggled to put away Connecticut in a wild 47-45 victory on Saturday night.

TCU is ranked fourth in both the Harris and the coaches' polls and in the compilation of six computer rankings. Cincinnati is fifth in the two polls and third in the computer ratings, while Boise State is sixth across the board.