Say this for the much-maligned Bowl Championship Series. At least the two top finishers can now settle any arguments on the field.

For the record, Oregon retained the No. 1 spot in the final USA TODAY Top 25 coaches poll of the regular season. The Ducks, who won their finale 37-20 at archrival Oregon State, staved off a strong challenge from Auburn.

BCS: Final standings will determine title game, Rose Bowl berths

Oregon had 34 first-place votes, 10 more than the Tigers, and finished with 13 more total poll points. Auburn, which had 10 first-place votes a week ago, garnered 24 after a dominant 56-17 victory against South Carolina in the SEC championship game.

The top two teams are all but assured of a date in the BCS championship game in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 10. The final BCS standings will be officially released later Sunday. The coaches poll is one component of the BCS rankings along with the Harris Interactive poll and an average of six computer formulas.

Third-ranked TCU, already in the clubhouse at 12-0, could do little more than watch on the final weekend of the season and hope one of the two ranked ahead of them slipped. It didn't happen, but the Horned Frogs, who held on to one No.1 vote in the poll, should still get a nice reward with a trip to the Rose Bowl.

Other conference resolutions led to minor changes farther down the rankings. Oklahoma was a field goal better than Nebraska in a 23-20 Big 12 finale. The Sooners climbed into an eighth-place tie with Arkansas.

ACC champion Virginia Tech, a 44-33 winner vs. Florida State, held steady at No. 11. Connecticut defeated South Florida 19-16 Saturday night to lock up the Big East's automatic BCS bid but finished just outside the top 25.

The 25th slot went to Hawaii, which concluded a 10-3 campaign with a 59-21 home win against UNLV. The lone dropout was Northern Illinois, which lost in Friday night's Mid-American Conference finale 26-21 to Miami (Ohio).

-- Eddie Timanus