Who else remains in the running? Texas retains its No. 3 position and remains on pace to play the Florida-Alabama winner in the Rose Bowl, with the national championships at stake. TCU, hanging in at No. 4, continues to be very much in the mix.

BCS rankings combine the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Harris Interactive poll, and the average of six computer rankings.

Here’s how it works, courtesy of USA Today:

“To derive a team’s poll percentages in the Harris Interactive and USA TODAY polls, each team’s point total is divided by a maximum 2850 possible points in the Harris Interactive Poll and 1575 possible points in the USA TODAY Poll.

“Teams are assigned an inverse point total (25 for #1, 24 for #2, etc.) for each of their respective computer poll rankings to determine the overall computer component. The highest and lowest ranking for each team is dropped, and the sum total of the remaining four rankings is divided by 100 (the maximum possible points). This figure produces a Computer Rankings Percentage. The six computer ranking providers are Anderson & Hester, Richard Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey, Jeff Sagarin and Peter Wolfe. Each computer ranking accounts for schedule strength within its formula.

“The BCS Average is calculated by averaging the percent totals of the Harris Interactive and USA TODAY Polls, and Computer rankings. The highest BCS Average receives the #1 ranking, the second highest receives #2, and so forth.”

Here are the Top 10 after Week 4:

1. Florida — .966
2. Alabama — .961
3. Texas — .926
4. TCU — .867
5. Cincinnati — .859
6. Boise State– .783
7. Georgia Tech– .776
8. Oregon– .672
9. Pittsburgh– .664
10. Ohio State– .652

To read more about the individual breakdowns, visit USA Today.

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1. Florida (60), 13-1 (1,524)
2. USC 12-1 (1,393)
3. Texas 12-1 (1,389)
4. Utah (1) 13-0 (1,375)
5. Oklahoma 12-2 (1,333)
6. Alabama 12-2 (1,157)
7. TCU 11-2 (1,114)
8. Penn State 11-2 (1,091)
9. Oregon 10-3 1,011
10. Georgia 10-3 (904)
11. Ohio State 10-3 (874)
12. Texas Tech 11-2 (867)
13. Boise State 12-1 (809)
14. Virginia Tech 10-4 (740)
15. Mississippi 9-4 (620)
16. Missouri 10-4 (549)
17. Cincinnati 11-3 (493)
18. Oklahoma State 9-4 (480)
19. Oregon State 9-4 (407)
20. Iowa 9-4 (250)
21. Brigham Young 10-3 (248)
22. Georgia Tech 9-4 (219)
23. Florida State 9-4 (217)
24. Michigan State 9-4 (179)
25. California 9-4 (116)

Source: ESPN.com

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In fact, it’s not even close. With more than 36 million residents, the Golden State is about 50 percent more populated than its closest competitor.

Here’s a list of the Top 10:

1. California — 36,756,666
2. Texas — 24,326,974
3. New York — 19,490,297
4. Florida — 18,328,340
5. Illinois — 12,901,563
6. Pennsylvania — 12,448,279
7. Ohio — 11,485,910
8. Michigan –  10,003,422
9. Georgia — 9,685,744
10. North Carolina — 9,222,414

Sources: worldatlas.com and U.S. Census Bureau

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Who is the biggest cash cow? Fittingly enough, it’s a program with a steer for a mascot.

Here’s the Top 10, according to Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal, using figures from the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act.

1. Texas:  $72.95 million

2. Georgia: $67.05 million

3. Florida: $66.01 million

4. Ohio State: $65.16 million

5. Notre Dame: $59.77 million

6. Auburn: $59.67 million

7. Michigan: $57.46 million

8. Alabama: $57.37 million

9. Penn State: $53.76 million

10. LSU: $52.68 million

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35.7 million – Estimated July 1, 2008, population most threatened by Atlantic hurricanes: the coastal portion of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Approximately 12 percent of the nation’s population lived in these areas.

10.2 million – The 1950 coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Seven percent of the nation’s population lived in these areas at that time.

251 percent – Percentage growth of the coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas between 1950 and 2008.

180,155 – Collective land area, in square miles, of the coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas.

3 – The number of the nation’s 20 most populous metro areas in 2008 that were within Atlantic or Gulf coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas. These areas are Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas (sixth); Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla. (seventh); and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (20th).

8 — The number of hurricanes during the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. Five were major hurricanes at Category 3 strength or higher.

Ana – The name of the first Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean storm of 2009. The second storm will be named Bill.

17.9 million – Estimated 2008 coastal population of Florida, accounting for half (50 percent) of the coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Among the Sunshine State’s coastal population, approximately 10.6 million lived along the Atlantic and 7.3 million along the Gulf.

1 percent – Percentage growth of Florida’s coastal population between 2007 and 2008.

Fay – The only storm on record to make landfall four times in the state of Florida, and to prompt tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings for the state’s entire coastline (at various times during its August 2008 lifespan).

1950 – The year the Weather Bureau officially began naming hurricanes.

2005 – In one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, 28 named storms form, 15 of them hurricanes, seven of which are major, and four reach Category 5 status. For the first time, the alternate Greek alphabet scheme for naming storms has to be employed.

455,056 – Estimated population of New Orleans on July 1, 2005 — about two months before Hurricane Katrina struck.

311,853 – Estimated population of New Orleans on July 1, 2008 — three years after Hurricane Katrina struck.

29,431 – The population of Homestead, Fla., near the point of landfall of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. In 2007, the population of Homestead was 56,601.

37,789 – Population of Galveston, Texas, at the time of the city’s “Great Storm” on Sept. 8, 1900, which killed more than 8,000 people.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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According to Rivals.com, Nick Saban and Alabama took the top spot with a big late push, outdistancing LSU, USC, Ohio State and Texas.

Here’s a look at the top 10, with total players signed, those rated as 5-star, 4-star and 3-star talents by Rivals, average stars in each class and total points scored according to Rivals’ rating system.

To see how the other schools did, and to find out who signed where, visit Rivals.com.

Sure, they’re barely done cleaning up all the confetti from Florida’s celebration of its Bowl Championship Series national title game win over Oklahoma, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start thinking about 2009. Already, Rivals.com is out with its first rankings for the season to come, and here’s a look at the Top 10:

1. Florida

2. Texas

3. USC

4. Oklahoma

5. LSU

6. Ohio State

7. Virginia Tech

8. Alabama

9. Boise State

10. Oklahoma State

If that doesn’t have you ready to tee it up all over again, check out the rest of the Top 25 at Rivals.com. Let the bickering and arguing begin again!

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Southern Living’s readers voted on their favorite small towns:

1. Beaufort, South Carolina
2. Fairhope, Alabama
3. Fredericksburg, Texas
4. Blowing Rock, North Carolina
5. Franklin, Tennessee
6. Eureka Springs, Arkansas
7. Oxford, Mississippi
8. Grand Rivers, Kentucky
9. Madison, Georgia
10. Hendersonville, North Carolina

Sponsored list:

• Hotel offers under $99 (feed)

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Here are the results of the Bowl Championship Series national title game showdowns:

2008 Season: Florida defeated Oklahoma, 24-14

2007 Season: LSU defeated Ohio State, 38-24

2006 Season: Florida defeated Ohio State, 41-14

2005 Season (Rose Bowl): Texas defeated USC, 41-38

2004 Season (FedEx Orange Bowl): USC defeated Oklahoma, 55-19

2003 Season (Nokia Sugar Bowl): LSU defeated Oklahoma, 21-14

2002 Season (Tostitos Fiesta Bowl): Ohio State defeated Miami, 31-24 (2OT)

2001 Season (Rose Bowl): Miami defeated Nebraska, 37-14

2000 Season (FedEx Orange Bowl): Oklahoma defeated Florida State, 13-2

1999 Season (Nokia Sugar Bowl): Florida State defeated Virginia Tech, 46-29

1998 Season (Tostitos Fiesta Bowl): Tennessee defeated Florida State, 23-16

Source: ESPN.com