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BCS leaders face weekend easy as A-B-C
Updated 11/21/2009 9:38 PM ET
This college football weekend might be viewed as the calm before the storm.

With the teams at or near the top of the Bowl Championship Series standings expected to have one-sided victories or enjoying an open date, there figures to be little meaningful change in the rankings before the spotlight shifts in the remaining two weeks to rivalry games and conference championships.

Four of the top six teams in the BCS standings are favored this week by a combined 127½ points (as of Thursday), and that doesn't even count No. 2 Alabama (10-0), which is playing Chattanooga from the NCAA's Championship Subdivision before traveling to rival Auburn next Friday.

"Our focus for this game is to continue to improve as a team," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said this week. "Every game has significance."

No. 1 Florida (10-0), which has clinched the Eastern Division title in the Southeastern Conference and ended its league schedule, is a 45-point favorite against Florida International.

The Gators host old foe Florida State next week, then meet Alabama in the SEC title game in Atlanta, where a trip to the BCS championship game likely awaits the winner.

No. 3 Texas (10-0, 6-0 Big 12) is a 27½-point choice against visiting Kansas. The Longhorns, who are eyeing a spot in the Big 12 championship game, play at Texas A&M next Thursday.

No. 4 TCU (10-0, 6-0 Mountain West), closing in on an automatic bid to a BCS game, is expected to have little trouble at Wyoming, a 31½-point underdog.

No. 6 Boise State (10-0, 5-0 Western Athletic Conference) is a 23½-point pick tonight at Utah State. The Broncos play next week against Nevada (7-3), which narrowly leads the WAC race at 6-0 and has won seven in a row.

No. 5 Cincinnati (10-0) is off this week.

Posted 11/19/2009 11:33 PM ET
Updated 11/21/2009 9:38 PM ET