by FOXSports.com

While Alabama moved up to the top spot in the rankings, the bigger development Sunday was Texas Tech leapfrogging idle Penn State and grabbing — at least for the time being — one of the two spots in the title game.

One day after beating the Longhorns, the Red Raiders jumped all the way from seventh to second in the standings. And they did so thanks to a wide swath of support.

The human voters had Texas Tech No. 3 in both the Harris and USA Today polls, behind just 'Bama and Penn State, but within shouting distance of the Nittany Lions in both.

However, the Red Raiders were No. 1 in three of the six computer polls utilized in the formula and were tied with the Tide for the top spot in that portion of the formula.

While Alabama and Texas Tech occupy the two coveted top spots, both teams still have some work to do to lock up a title shot. Alabama travels to LSU on Saturday and would still have to beat a suddenly resurgent Florida team in the SEC title game.

As for Texas Tech, a home game vs. Oklahoma State and a road date at Oklahoma are both potential stumbling blocks, as is the Big 12 championship game.

Should either stumble, Penn State would seem to be positioned to take their place. The Nittany Lions have just three games remaining on their schedule, only one of which features an opponent in the top 25 in the current BCS standings.

And if both Alabama and Texas Tech should lose? Well, it's a little less certain who'd join Penn State in the title game under that scenario.

It could be Texas, which only dropped to No. 4 in the standings despite suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of Texas Tech.

Or it could be Florida, which jumped from eighth to fifth after dismantling Georgia Saturday.

Oklahoma and USC are sixth and seventh, respectively, but both teams face a similar problem in their bid to reach the title game — neither can win their conference (let alone the national championship) without a little help.

Even if the Sooners run the table, they won't automatically play in the Big 12 championship game unless the Longhorns lose a second game, which seems unlikely given what remains on Texas' schedule (Baylor, at Kansas, Texas A&M) or they finish as the highest-ranked team in the BCS in a three-way tie with Texas Tech and Texas.

Meanwhile, even an 11-1 USC team won't win the Pac-10 unless Oregon State stumbles down the stretch. While that's certainly not impossible, the Trojans would likely end up behind an undefeated Penn State, as well as one-loss SEC and Big 12 champions, in the final BCS standings.