Thirteen Teams in Fourteen Days

By: John Schroeder
Updated: October 5th, 2009

ATLANTA – Five weeks into the 2009 season, thirteen teams remain unbeaten. Are these college football’s dominant programs or merely the benefactors of favorable early season scheduling?

Among the thirteen unbeatens, a mere five teams have victories over ranked opponents and none have multiple Top 25 wins. Compare this to the nineteen BCS teams who have faced multiple ranked opponents this season – zero of which remain undefeated.

The ability to consistently beat ranked teams is what separates great teams from the also-rans. Over the next fourteen days nine intra-conference matchups will divide the contenders from the pretenders.

Florida at LSU and Cincinnati at USF headline this pivotal stretch which includes legitimate tests for Texas (vs. Oklahoma), Alabama (at Mississippi), Wisconsin (at Ohio State), Iowa (vs. Michigan), Missouri (vs. Nebraska), and Auburn (at both Arkansas and Kentucky).

By the Oct 18th release of the first BCS standings, we should have a much clearer image of who has the consistency and performance to control their own destiny in the hunt for the national title game.

The Six Claims to #1:

• Favorite of Vegas: Florida – a 9-point favorite at LSU
• Quality Wins: Miami – the only team to beat three Top 25 opponents in 2009
• Style Points: Florida – averaging a 31-point margin of victory against FBS opponents
• Hottest Right Now: Texas – followed up the Texas Tech victory with a 57 point win over UTEP
• Road Warrior: Southern Cal. – added a win at Cal. to their victory at Ohio State
• Best Undefeated: Iowa – defeated Penn State and Arizona for the biggest wins of any unbeaten