New York ? No scoreboard watching necessary for Texas Tech.
Fewer than 24 hours after the Red Raiders gave the national championship race a makeover by defeating then-No. 1 Texas, they received more good news when the BCS standings were released Sunday.
Texas Tech was in second place, behind Alabama and just ahead of third-place Penn State.
If the undefeated Red Raiders of the Big 12 and undefeated Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference win out, they will likely meet in the BCS national championship game in Miami on Jan. 8.
The unbeaten Nittany Lions still need help in the form of an Alabama or Texas Tech loss to reach the title game.
The computer rankings made the difference for the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech was a close No. 3 behind the Nittany Lions in the USA Today coaches’ poll and the Harris Poll. Alabama was a solid No. 1 in each poll.
However, the Red Raiders were tied with Alabama for first in the computer ratings, while Penn State was rated fourth in the compilation of six computer ratings the Bowl Championship Series uses.
Alabama had a BCS average of .9747. Texas Tech was at .9372 and Penn State .9286.
Texas Tech faces ninth-place Oklahoma State and sixth-place Oklahoma in its next two games.
