With some teams having finished their seasons already, it's worth a look at where the remaining undefeated teams stand.
There are 13 undefeated teams left, which is not an outrageous number for this time of year. By the time Week 7 was over, we've had 11 undefeated teams twice over the last five seasons (2008, 2010). Of course, that's no reliable indicator of how many undefeated team we'll have at the end of the season. There were three at the end of the 2010 regular season (Auburn, Oregon, TCU) and only two at the end of the 2008 regular season (Utah, Boise State). By contrast, there were five undefeated teams prior to 2009's bowls (Alabama, Texas, Cincinnati, TCU, Boise State), but there were only seven undefeated teams standing after Week 7 that year.
So how do the undefeated teams stack up with their contests this weekend?
RED ALERT
Michigan, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
The Wolverines play in-state rival Michigan State, who is easily their toughest opponent of the season to date with the possible exception of Notre Dame. UM needed a last-second score to beat the Irish, if you remember. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State has Texas. The Longhorns typically play well after losing the Red River Shootout, and the Cowboys have never had an easy time with their burnt orange neighbors.
K-State is the surprise team here, led in large part by its stout defense. Texas Tech has a dangerous offense, and so far it has pretty much played to exactly the level of its opponents. It will probably be a close one in Lubbock.
JUST TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS
Clemson, LSU, Illinois
The purple and orange Tigers have looked pretty good so far, so they should be able to beat an enigmatic Maryland team this weekend. Tajh Boyd is a bit banged up, and that could be trouble if he re-aggravates his hip injury.
The purple and gold Tigers have looked great so far, so in theory they shouldn't have too much trouble with the Tyler Bray-less Tennessee. However UT would have beat LSU last year in Baton Rouge if not for some creative clock and personnel management. As the section header says, LSU just needs to take care of business here to be in this feature next week.
I never thought I'd consider Illinois beating Ohio State "taking care of business", especially when Ron Zook is the coach there. However Zook made fantastic hires for his coordinators, and Ohio State is an absolute mess. Illinois is the better team here, however improbable that might feel.
DON'T SCREW THIS ONE UP
Alabama, Boise State, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Stanford, Wisconsin
Bama has Ole Miss. Boise State has Colorado State. Georgia Tech has Virginia. Oklahoma has Kansas. Stanford has Washington State. Wisconsin has Indiana. All of these games should be a case of how many touchdowns the favorites win by, not whether they will win at all.
ENJOY THE COUCH
Houston has a bye.