Undefeated After Week 11

Despite the Hoosiers' 52-35 dismantling of the hapless Illini this past Saturday and despite the fact that, technically, the Hoosiers still have a chance at going to a bowl, that bed-shitting-after-a-magnificent-comeback loss to Minnesota last week pretty much guarantees that the Hoosiers' "bowl" game will be for the Old Oaken Bucket when those mouth-breathing shit stains from West Lafayette visit Memorial Stadium on November 30.  I like to be optimistic about these kinds of things, but IU sits at 4-5 right now, and our next two games are simply unwinnable, barring some sort of historic effort.

First up, this coming Saturday, the Hoosiers travel to Wisconsin, where IU hasn't won since 2001 (a resounding 63-32 victory, thanks to 280 rushing yards and 5 TDs by Levron Williams).  Since then, IU has gone 0-4 at Camp Randall, scoring a total of 54 points, while Wisconsin has averaged 54 points.  At least Bret Bielema is no longer the head coach, so the Badgers maybe won't try to score 83 points against us.  How's the SEC working out for you, dick bag?

It goes from horrible to apocalyptic, as the Hoosiers' next game is a trip to the Horseshoe to battle tO$U.  IU hasn't beaten the Buckeyes since 1988 and hasn't won in Columbus since 1987.  The only hope is that Urban Meyer's team of paid criminals comes down with the flu the night before the game.

Anyway, as in years past, I'll be breaking down the remaining undefeated teams each week for the rest of the season.  It's both painful and pleasurable for me.  As a college football fan, I enjoy talking about the best teams and how I hope they fail.  As an IU fan, it's bittersweet, since the Hoosiers are a long way away from ever making this countdown. 

This past weekend, Oregon, who I generally love to watch, doomed their national title hopes by only playing for the last 13 minutes against Stanford, leaving us with a mere six undefeated FBS teams –- all from different conferences.  This means that we could potentially have six undefeated teams heading into bowl season.  On the bright side, this is the last year of the BCS, so undefeated teams from non-BCS conferences and one-loss teams not named Alabama will actually have a shot at winning the national title in the future.

Looking at the remaining games, Baylor looks like it has the toughest road to remain unbeaten, but I think they will have a pretty strong argument for playing in the BCS Championship game if they win out. 

Meanwhile, Florida State should cruise until the ACC Championship game, and will probably cruise in that game as well, since there is no one in the Coastal Division with a realistic shot of beating the Seminoles at a neutral site.

It looks like the two non-BCS teams –- Fresno State and Northern Illinois –- should make it through the regular season and their respective conference championship games unscathed.  If you're looking for a mid-week football fix and a chance to see the best player you've never heard of, Northern Illinois QB and Heisman dark horse Jordan Lynch play on Wednesday night this week and next week, and then Tuesday night the following week.  This Wednesday night's game against 9-1 Ball State (8 p.m. EST on ESPN2) is the Huskies' toughest remaining game.

Alabama has the toughest remaining game out of the six undefeated teams, playing at #7 Auburn in the Iron Bowl on November 30.  If Auburn wins (assuming it doesn't lose before then), Alabama would not go to the SEC Championship game and, as I understand it, would not be eligible to play in the BCS title game.  Go Tigers!

And let's not forget about Ohio State.  Fuck Ohio State!

Here is a breakdown of the undefeated teams and each team's remaining games (rankings are BCS rankings):

#1 Alabama (9-0)

11/16 – at Mississippi State (4-5)

11/23 – Chattanooga (FCS) (8-2)

11/30 – at #7 Auburn (9-1)

12/7 - SEC championship game (Atlanta) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  21-8 (.724)

#2 Florida State (9-0)

11/16 – Syracuse (5-4)

11/23 – Idaho (1-9)

11/30 – at Florida (4-5)

12/7 - ACC championship game (Charlotte) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  10-18 (.357)

#3 Ohio State (9-0)

11/16 – at Illinois (3-6)

11/23 – Indiana (4-5)

11/30 – at Michigan (6-3)

12/7 – Big Ten championship game (Indianapolis) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  13-14 (.481)

#5 Baylor (8-0)

11/16 – Texas Tech (7-3)

11/23 – at #12 Oklahoma State (8-1)

11/30 – at TCU (4-6)

12/7 – #24 Texas (7-2)

Remaining opponents' combined record:  26-12 (.684)

#14 Fresno State (9-0)

11/23 – New Mexico (3-6)

11/29 – at San Jose State (5-4)

12/7 - MWC championship game (at higher-ranked team's stadium) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  8-10 (.444)

#15 Northern Illinois (9-0)

11/13 – Ball State (9-1)

11/20 – at Toledo (6-3)

11/26 – Western Michigan (1-9)

12/6 - MAC championship game (Detroit) - TBD

Remaining opponents' combined record:  16-13 (.552)