Notre Dame has essentially punched its ticket to Miami, and the release of the
penultimate BCS standings on Sunday indicated the winner of the SEC
Championship Game will likely join the Fighting Irish in South Beach. Alabama
(11-1) and Georgia (11-1) were both No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the poll
last week and remained in the same positions following blowout wins against
rivalry opponents. The pair will square off next Saturday in Atlanta in the
SEC title game in what amounts to a de facto national semifinal. The BCS
champion has come from the SEC each of the past six years. While the Crimson
Tide and Bulldogs still have work to do, the Fighting Irish finished off their
12-0 regular season with a victory at Southern California on Saturday night to
stay atop the BCS poll.