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It's that time of the week to take a look at the unbeaten teams left in college football. Here's how this year's count compares to those at the same point in the previous five seasons:
- 2006 (7): Ohio State, USC, Michigan, West Virginia, Louisville, Boise State, Rutgers
- 2007 (6): Ohio State, South Florida, Boston College, Arizona State, Kansas, Hawai'i
- 2008 (9): Texas, Alabama, Penn State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Utah, Boise State, Ball State, Tulsa
- 2009 (7): Florida, Texas, Alabama, Cincinnati, Boise State, Iowa, TCU
- 2010 (5): Oregon, Boise State, Auburn, TCU, Utah
- 2011 (6): LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Boise State, Houston
Teams listed in order of rank in the AP Poll.
If it feels like undefeated teams have been dropping like flies lately, that's merely because we've been keeping pace with what history would suggest is right for this time of year. The 2008 season has a lot more than the rest, but that is likely because it was an unusual season schedule-wise. The season started in August, so everyone therefore had an extra bye week. You'll see that nine fall to a six next week, which is still on the high end but is still reasonable nonetheless.
SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE
Alabama, LSU
As you may have heard, these two undefeated teams are playing each other this weekend. If my math is correct, we'll see one of them drop from the ranks of the unbeatens as a result.
RED ALERT
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys host Kansas State this weekend. While K-State got exposed against Oklahoma last week, it's still a pretty good team. The Wildcats are no pushover, so an upset, while surprising, wouldn't be a shock.
DON'T SCREW THIS UP
Stanford, Boise State, Houston
Stanford visits Oregon State this weekend. While the Beavers have improved some since losing to a I-AA team in Week 1, their two wins are only over a pair of dreadful teams (Arizona, Washington State). The Cardinal should roll.
Meanwhile, Boise State and Houston have UNLV and UAB, respectively. Those teams are truly, heart-achingly bad, so the Broncos and Cougars shouldn't have much trouble.