ASSOCIATED PRESS Boston College's Andre Callender found some room against Notre Dame on Oct. 13. The Eagles are No. 2 in the BCS.

Idle Hawaii moves up in BCS poll

The bye week did Hawaii some good after all.

Not only did it allow Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan to rest his sprained ankle, it didn't hurt Hawaii in the BCS poll, as the Warriors moved up one spot yesterday to No. 17.

The Warriors benefited from another wild week for the nation's elite, as several top-10 teams were knocked off, including then-No. 2 South Florida. The Warriors are now No. 14 in the Harris Interactive and coaches polls that are part of the equation for the BCS ranking. Six computers are also involved. They gave Hawaii a zero, tied for the worst among the Top 25 BCS teams with Texas, in part because of a weak schedule.

Hawaii is No. 16 in the latest Associated Press poll. It is not part of the BCS formula, but is used as a guideline for many Harris voters. Hawaii needs to finish 12th or higher in the BCS poll to have a realistic shot at receiving an automatic bid to a lucrative BCS bowl. It would likely be the Fiesta or Sugar bowl if Hawaii can win its last five games.

The top two teams in the second BCS rankings of the season are unbeatens Ohio State and Boston College. Former No. 1 Louisiana State is not far off the pace at third nationally.

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NEW YORK » With its toughest test yet just days away, Boston College moved into second place behind Ohio State in the BCS standings yesterday.

Don't look back BC, third-place LSU gained ground this week and two Pac-10 teams are primed to pounce if the teams ahead of them falter.

With Boston College playing at Virginia Tech, which is eighth in the standings, on Thursday night, the Eagles stay at No. 2 could be as short as South Florida's.

The Hokies are the highest-ranked team BC has faced this season.

The Buckeyes (8-0), who are No. 1 in the Harris and coaches' polls, lead the Bowl Championship Series standings for the second consecutive week with an average of .976 out of a possible 1.000.

Ohio State is also No. 1 in the AP Top 25.

Boston College (7-0), which is tops in the computer ratings, took advantage of South Florida's loss last Thursday night at Rutgers and moved up one spot. The Eagles have a BCS average of .950. LSU (.911 average) also moved up a spot and closed in on the Eagles.

Unbeaten Arizona State (7-0) moved up four spots to fourth-place with a .763 average, just ahead of Pac-10 rival Oregon (.762).

The top two teams in the final standings will play in the BCS national championship game on Jan. 7 in New Orleans.

The Boston College-Virginia Tech game will start a big weekend of college football that could reshape the Bowl Championship Series standings and the national title race.

Seven of the top 12 teams in the BCS play ranked opponents.

The Buckeyes also face their toughest game so far, playing Penn State on Saturday night in Happy Valley.

Arizona State plays California at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. Oregon hosts Southern California, which is 12th in the latest BCS standings.

West Virginia, seventh in the BCS standings, is at Rutgers, and Florida, 11th in the BCS, faces SEC rival Georgia in Jacksonville, Fla.

Unbeaten Hawaii, trying to be this season's BCS buster, was 17th in the new standings. The Warriors, who do not have an automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series, can automatically qualify by finishing in the top 12 of the standings.