LSU narrowed Southern California’s lead for second place in the BCS standings Monday but still needs help to play for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl.

The Trojans (11-1) hold a 1.53-point lead over the Tigers (11-1) going into the final week of the regular season, down from 2.15 a week ago.

The top two teams in the final Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday will play for the title Jan. 4 in New Orleans.

Oklahoma (12-0) maintained its grip on the top spot with a nearly five-point lead over USC and would likely remain in the top two even with a loss Saturday to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game.

The Sooners are a unanimous No. 1 in the Associated Press media and USA Today/ESPN coaches’ polls and the top team in all seven BCS computers.

USC has a one-point lead in the polls over LSU, has a 0.25 advantage in the computers and a 0.68 lead in strength of schedule. The Tigers have a 0.4 bonus for a quality win over Georgia. While LSU would gain in the computers and strength of schedule by beating the Bulldogs (10-2), the Tigers would also be penalized because Georgia would drop — costing them quality-win points.

A win by Syracuse over Notre Dame would be a big help for the Tigers, likely moving them to second in the Colley Matrix computer if they can beat Georgia. USC beat Notre Dame earlier this year.

USC finishes the season Saturday at home against Oregon State (7-4).