NEW YORK -- To earn a national championship, Alabama or Florida will have to win two games matching No. 1 vs. No. 2.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide and second-ranked Gators held their spots in the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, setting up the 41st game matching the highest ranked teams in the AP Top 25.
Alabama (12-0) and Florida (11-1) will play Saturday at the Georgia Dome in the Southeastern Conference title game. The winner is virtually guaranteed a spot in the BCS championship game in Miami on Jan. 8.
No. 3 Texas slipped past No. 4 Oklahoma in the latest rankings, a week after the Sooners had jumped over the Longhorns.
The Crimson Tide received 62 first-place votes and 1,620 points from the media panel. The Gators received three first-place votes, up one from last week, and 1,516 points.
Texas had 1,488 points, eight more than Oklahoma.
There was little movement throughout the poll after a weekend when most ranked teams either won or were off.
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| Florida's Urban Meyer and Alabama's Nick Saban hope two more victories equal a national championship. (US Presswire) |
No. 9 and unbeaten Boise State and Ohio State round out the top 10.
The 1 vs. 2 matchup in Atlanta will be the fourth in which Alabama has been involved, but the first not played in a bowl game and the first in which the Tide will be No. 1. The Tide are 2-1 in games matching the top two teams in the AP poll.
Florida has also appeared three times in a 1 vs. 2 matchup, going 2-1.
In 1 vs. 2 games, the top-ranked team is 23-15-2.
No. 11 is TCU in the poll, followed by unbeaten Ball State, Big East champion Cincinnati, and Oklahoma State, which slipped three spots after losing 61-41 at home to Oklahoma.
