Latest BCS data seems ugly, but doesn't mean much

	Vince Young and the 'Horns slipped past USC this week, but will they stay No. 1? Damian Strohmeyer/SI
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Chill, USC fans. Your team was passed by Texas in this week's BCS standings, but so what? This isn't 2003 all over again. The gap between the No. 2 Trojans and No. 3 Virginia Tech is so wide that as long as USC keeps on winning -- and that's something it can control -- it'll still play for the national championship in the Rose Bowl.

This is just another chapter in the arcane BCS formula, in which six computer rankings can move teams up and down based on the quality of their opponents. USC is still No. 1 in the Harris and USA Today/Coaches polls. But Texas is No. 1 in five of the six computer rankings (only Sagarin has USC No. 1 and Texas No. 2) and since the computers account for one-third of the formula, Texas is .0007 ahead of USC.

Why the shift in the computers, which had USC No. 1 a week ago? Well, Texas is coming off a solid 35-point win over previously undefeated Texas Tech, whom the computers like, while USC is coming off a 27-point victory over Washington (1-6), whom the computers don't like. USC, however, still has to face Cal, currently 6-2, and UCLA (7-0), while Texas' toughest remaining game is against Texas A&M  (5-2). The Longhorns will also play a two- or three-loss team in the Big 12 championship game, so it's likely USC will jump back ahead of Texas in the coming weeks.

Any leapfrogging will be moot if both teams win out. The margin (.0592 ) between No. 2 USC and No. 3 Virginia Tech is significant, and even if the Hokies beat Boston College, Miami and potentially Florida State in the ACC title game, it likely won't be enough to move them into the No. 2 spot.

So while the latest BCS news was unexpected and certainly jarring, it doesn't mean anything. Even computers have a funny way of evening out at the end. Plain and simple, if USC and Texas take care of business, both teams will be in Pasadena on Jan. 4.