Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Ohio State and Michigan remain 1-2 in the Bowl Championship Series heading into their Nov. 18 showdown in Columbus, Ohio, while undefeated Rutgers University climbed seven spots to sixth after beating Louisville.

Ohio State, which improved to 11-0 with a 54-10 win over Northwestern, has a BCS grade of .977. Michigan, also 11-0 after beating Indiana 34-3, is at .974 in the BCS standings. Ohio State and Michigan meet each year to end their Big Ten Conference schedules.

``The Ohio State-Michigan game is always the biggest game,'' Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said at a news conference after beating Northwestern. ``It doesn't matter what the records are or what is on the table depending on the outcome. The fact that it is No. 1 versus No. 2, we think that is the way it should be.''

Rutgers jumped from 13th in last week's BCS rankings after beating then-No. 3 Louisville 28-25 on Nov. 9. The Scarlet Knights, who are 9-0, earlier today climbed into the top 10 of the Associated Press poll for the first time in school history.

The BCS standings are a compilation of computer ratings and polls that determine the two schools that will play for college football's national championship on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Arizona. The final standings will be announced on Dec. 3.

With three of the top six teams in last week's BCS rankings losing, Southern California moved to third from seventh after beating Oregon 35-10 last night. USC, which has an 8-1 record, has a BCS grade of .870. The 9-1 Florida Gators remain fourth at .850, followed by Notre Dame, Rutgers, Arkansas, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Louisville dropped to 10th, while Texas fell to 13th from fifth after losing to Kansas State 45-42 and Auburn dropped to 14th from sixth after losing to Georgia 37-15.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 12, 2006 20:03 EST