Nov. 2 - The tide shifts to the Men of Troy. Following Miami’s loss at Virginia Tech, USC reportedly will climb to No. 2 when the latest Bowl Championship Series standings are released on Monday.

OKLAHOMA (9-0) WILL maintain its hold on the top spot following a convincing 52-9 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday.

According to www.CollegeBCS.com, a web site that projects the BCS standings, USC (8-1), a 43-16 winner over Pac-10 title contender Washington State, will move from No. 4 to No. 2, passing Miami and No. 3 Florida State (8-1), which defeated struggling Notre Dame 37-0.

The BCS standings are used to determine which teams play in a national title game. The teams that finish 1-2 in the final BCS standings on Dec. 7, will play for the title in New Orleans on Jan. 4.

The formula uses the AP media and coaches’ polls, seven computer rankings, strength of schedule, losses and a bonus-point system for quality wins.

The BCS standings will be released each week for the remainder of the season.

The seven computer rankings are operated by Anderson & Hester, Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey, The New York Times, Jeff Sagarin’s USA Today and Peter Wolfe.

The BCS was started five years ago to create a national title game without playoffs. Champions of six conferences — the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC — qualify for a BCS game, and two at-large teams are selected to fill out the field.

USC would be the first Pac-10 team to play in the BCS national title game. The other five major conference have each won one title since the BCS was implemented.

USC moved from No. 3 to No. 2 in the AP and coaches’ polls on Sunday, sparking their projected rise in the BCS.

The Trojans will likely maintain the No. 2 spot — or move up to No. 1 if Oklahoma loses — if they can win their final three games against Arizona (1-8), UCLA (6-3) and Oregon State (6-3).

Florida State and Miami are projected to be Nos. 3 and 4 and have an outside chance of passing USC even if the Trojans don’t slip up.

Other one-loss teams in the hunt are LSU, Ohio State and Virginia Tech.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.