Ranks of college unbeaten sure to dwindle

Through last weekend's action, 16 college football teams remain undefeated, though over the next 10 days, at least three are guaranteed to lose, as Texas faces Oklahoma and USC plays Cal on Saturday, October 9, while Louisville invades Miami the following Thursday.

All of the aforementioned teams are currently undefeated and all but one (Louisville) are ranked in the Top 10, so there's sure to be some shifting and shaking in the polls over the next two weeks.

Rounding out the list of the unbeaten -- in no particular order -- are Georgia, Virginia, Auburn, Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Utah and Boise State.

This logjam of solid unbeatens means that the BCS will have its work cut out for it when it gets around to ranking the teams that will eventually play in the various bowl games and for the National Championship.

The top two squads -- the Sooners and Trojans -- face the most imposing schedules in their quest to remain unbeaten. Oklahoma, if they handle Texas, follows that game up with Kansas State, and then has two critical road games - Oklahoma State (Oct. 30) and Texas A & M (Nov. 6) - back to back. If they survive, there's still the Big 12 championship game after that, and the these Sooners are well aware of what can happen in a one-game do-or-die situation, especially after their debunking debacle against Kansas State last season.

The Trojans will be looking for revenge this weekend at Cal, since it was the Golden Bears who ruined their undefeated season (and chance to play in the national championship game) last year, with a 24-21 overtime victory. But the Bears will be as formidable a foe as Southern Cal faces all year. With three victories already in the books, Cal has outscored its opponents by a combined tally of 146-35. The QB-WR combination of Aaron Rodgers to Chase Lyman is among the best in the country and the Bear defense has all the gears greased, last week holding a pretty good Oregon State team to a mere seven points.

Whichever team comes out on top this Saturday, they both have to get past unbeaten and improbable Arizona State, with USC having first crack at the Sun Devils on the 16th. It's conceivable that the Trojans could go from being ranked at the top of the polls to also-ran status in just an 8 day span. Cal can certainly bruise them. Arizona State could inflict mortal wounds.

Down in South Florida, the Hurricanes are only undefeated because of their defense, which kept them in their season opener against Florida State until the Miami offense finally tied the game with 30 seconds to spare and won it in overtime, 16-10. Since then, they've limited three opponents to 16 points total, and while they are off this weekend, they'd better be ready for the high fliers from the north, Louisville, come Thursday.

The Cardinals (4-0) already have recorded shutouts against Kentucky and North Carolina, pummeled Army, 52-21, and ran roughshod over East Carolina this past week, 59-7. Louisville ranks fifth in the nation in total offense, while Miami is #2 in total defense, so this ESPN game is one not to be missed.

Most of the other unbeaten teams reside in the Big Ten and SEC, where things will get somewhat sorted out over the next six weeks. Georgia and Auburn both hammered their opponents last week, with the Bulldogs overpowering LSU, 45-16 and the Tigers putting the kibosh on the previously-unbeaten Tennessee Volunteers by a 34-10 margin. These two are clearly the class of the SEC and will meet at Georgia on November 13 and probably one more time in the SEC Championship.

Over in Big Ten country, it's a wide open affair, as both of the perennial favorites -- Michigan and Ohio State -- have lost already. The Wolverines were upset at South Bend weeks ago and the Buckeyes finally found out that you can't win without an offense as Northwestern picked them off in overtime last week. That still leaves Minnesota, Wisconsin and Purdue without losses and it's anyone's guess which of these will play survivor and reach the Rose Bowl, possibly the Orange.

If anybody can make it through unscathed, it could be either Wisconsin or Purdue, who meet on Oct. 16. The Boilermakers rely on the strong arm of Kyle Orton and an improving defense, while the Badgers' defense simply pounds opposing offenses into mistakes and poor field positions. With Purdue getting all the praise -- especially after whipping Notre Dame 41-16 under the golden dome last week -- Wisconsin has quietly run up a 5-0 record, allowing a mere 26 points overall and leading the nation in total defense at 193.2 yards allowed per game.

Or it could be Minnesota, who has the easiest schedule of the bunch. They miss Purdue and Ohio State, but have to play at Michigan this weekend and at Wisconsin on Nov. 6. The Golden Gophers have the best offense-defense balance of the contenders and they may just be good enough to capture the Big Ten title.

The odd teams in the mix include Boise State and Utah -- both of which could finish the season without a loss -- and the 4-0 Virginia Cavaliers, who still have Florida State, Miami, Maryland and Virginia Tech ahead of them. The Cavs will be fortunate to finish the season still ranked when the grueling ACC schedule concludes.

Sixteen undefeated teams may sound like a lot right now, but consider this -- there were 20 prior to last weekend and we're only two weeks into conference play. Ohio State, Tennessee, West Virginia and Fresno State all suffered initial losses on Oct. 2nd and there's more on the way.