The Final Seven Undefeateds through the first nine weeks of the 2009 FBS season

Who should be the Top 7 in College Football, after nine weeks of play and through the first two months of action?

The candidates, in alphabetic order:

• Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC)
• Boise State (8-0, 3-0 WAC)
• Cincinnati (8-0, 4-0 Big East)
• Florida (8-0, 6-0 SEC)
• Iowa (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten)
• Texas (8-0, 5-0 Big 12)
• TCU (8-0, 4-0 MWC)

Of the Top 6 BCS conferences, only the Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC are represented. The ACC and Pac Ten have at least one loss or more among their members. Of the non-BCS conferences, the C-USA, MAC and Sun Belt have no representatives on the final seven, so it's up to the MWC or WAC member to carry the torch for the non-BCS teams. None of the three Independents are undefeated. Standings

Links to SOS rankings: CBSSports and Sagarin

So, entering November, who should be the Top 7 in College Football, why?

1. Florida Gators - The Gators are the defending BCS champions of a year ago. They hold the longest win streak in college football, losing to Ole Miss 30-31 in the fourth game of 2008 season. The Gators last OOC loss was in the Capital One Bowl at the end of the 2007 season, 35-41 to Michigan of the Big Ten. Florida already has locked up the SEC East spot in the SEC title game. Final three regular season games: @ South Carolina (4-4, 3-3 SEC), vs. Florida International (2-6, 2-3Sun Belt) and the in-state rivalry game vs. Florida State (4-4, 2-3 ACC). SOS rankings: #5 CBSSports and #27 Sagarin.
2. Iowa Hawkeyes - The Hawkeyes were 9-4 in 2008 and lost all four games by a total of 12 points. Iowa's last out of conference loss, was a 20-21 squeaker at Pitt in '08, prior to current QB Ricky Stanzi taking over from former Hawkeye QB Jake Christensen. The Hawkeyes in 2009 mirror very well with Alabama of 2008, as Phil Steele has pointed out before and during the 2009 season. The Hawkeyes beat the SEC's South Carolina 31-10 in last year's Outback Bowl. They have the second longest winning streak among FBS members. The Hawkeyes are 4-0 in 2009 in games trailing, while entering the fourth quarter. This week, Iowa scored 28 unanswered points vs. IU to beat Indiana at home 42-24. Unlike fellow Big Ten member, Ohio State, the Hawkeyes have beat a SEC opponent in bowl participation. For some number, OSU has never beat a SEC team in a bowl game, ever. Iowa's remaining games in the Big Ten are: vs. Northwestern (5-4, 2-3 Big Ten), @ Ohio State (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten) and vs. trophy game rival Minnesota (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten). SOS rankings: #12 CBSSports and #22 Sagarin.
3. Texas Longhorns - The Longhorns have the third longest winning streak in FBS, behind Florida and Iowa. The Longhorns avenged their lone loss in '08 when they beat Texas Tech in game 3 of the season, 34-24 in Austin. The Longhorns last OOC loss was a 7-24 vs. Ohio State at home in '06. The Longhorns avenged that loss last year in the Fiesta Bowl, beating the Buckeyes 24-21. The final four remaining regular season games for the Longhorns are: vs. UCF (4-3, 2-2 Sun Belt), then three final Big 12 games: @ Baylor (3-5, 0-4 Big 12), vs. Kansas (5-3, 1-3 Big 12), @ Texas A&M (5-3, 2-2 Big 12) and a possible Big 12 title game, if the Longhorns take care of business in the Big 12 South. SOS rankings: #31 CBSSports and #43 Sagarin.
4. Alabama Crimson Tide - The Crimson Tide have taken care of business in '09 thus far. The Crimson Tide were undefeated in the regular season in '08, but lost 20-31 to Florida in the 2008 SEC title game, then lost 17-31 to Utah to end the 2008 season in the Sugar Bowl. Coach Nick Saban is in his third season as head coach at Alabama. Ironically, his final game at LSU was a 25-30 loss vs. Iowa in the 2005 Capital One Bowl, where Iowa won on the final play of the game. The Hawkeyes have done that once this season @ MSU. A rematch of Iowa's Kirk Ferentz vs. Alabama's Nick Saban, who beat Ferentz in his first Big Ten game as Iowa's head coach, could be very interesting in a bowl game or title game, for that matter. LSU faces it's biggest SEC West game this week vs. LSU (7-1, 4-1), which could determine who plays Florida in the SEC title game. The Crimson Tide are coming off bye week. After LSU, the Crimson Tide face games @ Mississippi State (4-5, 2-3 SEC), vs. Chattanooga (a 5-3 FCS program, 3-3 Southern) and @ Auburn (6-3, 3-3 SEC). SOS rankings: #34 CBSSports and #36 Sagarin.
5. Cincinnati Bearcats - The Bearcats continue to remain undefeated in '09. This is despite the loss of QB Tony Pike to injury, which happened in '08, as well. Further, the Bearcats began the '09 season with a new DC Bob Diaco, former Iowa player at LB, and ten new starters on defense, from a team that went 11-3 and represented the Big East in the BCS bowl lineup in '08. The ACC's Virginia Tech beat Cincinnati though in the Orange Bowl last season, 20-7, which is the Bearcats last loss. The Bearcats last regular season loss in the OOC was a 26-52 loss early in '08 at Oklahoma (Big 12). The Bearcats have four more regular season games: vs. UConn (4-4, 1-3 Big East), vs. West Virginia (6-2, 2-1 Big East), vs. Illinois (2-6, 1-5 Big Ten) and @ Pittsburgh (7-1, 4-0 Big East) for a challenging slate for the Bearcats to close out '09. SOS rankings: #46 CBSSports and #74 Sagarin.
6. TCU Horned Frogs - The Horned Frogs come from the MWC and last year, the MWC represented the non-BCS conferences, since Utah went undefeated and beat TCU 13-10 at home in conference play in '08. The Horned Frogs went to Poinsettia Bowl in '08 and beat Boise State 17-16 to finish 11-2 in '08. TCU's lone OOC loss in '08 was at Oklahoma (Big 12) 10-35 before beginning conference play in '08. TCU has won four straight bowl games, with wins over Iowa State, Northern Illinois, Houston and Boise State. TCU closes out the regular season in conference play: @ San Diego State (4-4, 2-2), vs. Utah (7-1, 4-0), @ Wyoming (4-4, 2-2) and @ New Mexico (0-8, 0-4). SOS rankings: #40 CBSSports and #46 Sagarin.
7. Boise State Broncos - The Broncos are undefeated in the past two regular seasons ('08 and '09), but they have one big loss, a 16-17 loss in Poinsettia Bowl to close out '08 vs. TCU. The Broncos have lost back to back bowl games with losses vs. East Carolina (C-USA) 38-41 in the Hawaii Bowl to end '07 and of course last year's loss vs. TCU (Poinsettia). The Broncos last OOC regular season loss was @ Washington (Pac Ten) in '07 10-24. Boise State may end up undefeated in '09 and they have an impressive 19-8 season opening win vs. Oregon, 19-8, but it is hard to see the Broncos with a resume for a BCS title game in '09. The Broncos close out conference play in '09: @ Louisiana Tech (3-5, 2-3), vs. Idaho (7-2, 4-1), @ Utah State (2-6, 1-3), vs. Nevada(5-3, 4-0) and vs. New Mexico State (3-6, 1-3). Will the Broncos close out WAC play on top? SOS rankings: #85 CBSSports and #80 Sagarin.

We begin November play in Week 10. There is plenty of action to play out to determine most of the conference champs and who are #1 and #2 in the BCS race for a date in the Pasadena's Rose Bowl BCS title game.

Breakdown of conferences: (Bowl eligible, bowl eliminated)

• ACC - 3, 0
• Big 12 - 3, 0
• Big East - 3, 0
• Big Ten - 4, 0
• C-USA - 1, 1
• Independents - 1, 0
• MAC - 3, 4
• MWC - 4, 1
• Pac 10 - 3, 1
• SEC - 5, 1
• Sun Belt - 1, 0, x
• WAC - 2, 0

x - Western Kentucky cannot become for bowl eligible in '09.

Eight programs are already home for the Holidays in '09: Rice, Miami-OH, Akron, Ball State, Eastern Michigan, New Mexico, Washington State and Vanderbilt.

peace