NEW YORK — Oregon and Auburn swapped spots atop the BCS standings. Boise State was passed again, this time by TCU.

The Ducks (8-0) moved into the top spot 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 Cal, leaving the Tigers in second.

The top two teams in the final BCS standings, to be released Dec. 5, play in the championship game Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz. Right now, the Ducks and Tigers are in control of the title race.

“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 in the computer ratings. Auburn is first 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 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. 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 SEC title game, the defending national champion Crimson Tide (7-1) is definitely alive to repeat.

What are the chances the Tide returns to the BCS 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.”

Voters are giving more support than ever before to Boise State and TCU, and both are benefiting from good nonconference victories that helped their computer ratings. Those two factors could keep Alabama at bay, Palm said.

Still, the Broncos, Horned Frogs and Utes better watch their backs while they’re keeping an eye on each other. Boise State beat Louisiana Tech, 49-20, on Tuesday. Utah beat Air Force, 28-23, and TCU handled UNLV, 48-6, on Saturday. Those results didn’t necessarily swing things toward the Horned Frogs as much as Oregon and Auburn’s performances did.

After both won convincingly on the road, the Ducks and Tigers gained support in the polls, and Boise State slid from second to third. The Broncos’ computer rating still lags behind in seventh.

Meanwhile, TCU’s No. 4 ranking in each poll, plus a third-place rating in the computers, added up to the Horned Frogs moving up.

The Broncos, Horned Frogs and Utes are trying to become the first team from a non-automatic qualifying conference to reach the BCS title game. TCU at Utah likely will eliminate one of those Mountain West Conference teams from BCS contention all together.

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