So I'm filling out my AP ballot Sunday morning and I notice something odd about this college football season. Now, I usually don't notice much of anything on Sunday mornings because three consecutive nights with about three hours of sleep on the traveling GameDay gig leave me a little ragged. Plus, I avoid the morning caffeine fix so I can sleep the entire flight home.

Sitting in an airline lounge in Atlanta, I'm looking bleary-eyed at the list of teams to be ranked in some order. When I get beyond the first ten or so, something seems unusual. Where is the next tier of teams, below the unbeatens? It has shrunk like a cheap t-shirt in a hot dryer.

Do you realize there are only seven teams with a single loss? That's one fewer than the number of unbeatens. It's bizarre.

Then, further research arrived via e-mail from Colorado's fine sports information director, Dave Plati, a fellow research nut who apparently had some time on his hands. Dave reports that beyond the eight perfect teams and seven with one loss, only 14 teams have two losses.

That leaves 88 of 117 Division I-A teams with three or more losses entering November.

All the focus so far has been on the potential BCS title game chaos if more than two big time unbeatens remain. But the disappearance of the "second tier" teams means that the records of teams in a whole bunch of other respectable bowl games will look very mediocre.

The seven with one loss are Texas, Iowa, Washington State, Minnesota, Marshall, TCU, and Boise State. The Longhorns are at Nebraska, Iowa hosts Wisconsin, Washington State begins a tough four-game stretch and Minnesota visits Ohio State. The little list could shrink even more this weekend.

BCS watch
I am no BCS alarmist. I've learned better than to obsess about the decimal point scenarios a month before the final standings are released. But I also get bothered by this constant catch phrase: "Well, there's a lot of football to be played and it'll all work itself out in the end." What, like last year? And the year before?

You know the recent history. The BCS formula spit out numbers last season that further eroded the system's credibility. A Nebraska team rated fourth in both polls and coming off a four-touchdown loss was bumped into the BCS title game despite not getting to the championship game in its own conference.

Florida State benefited from the system in 2000 and was sent to the championship game instead of Miami, despite a head-to-head loss to the Hurricanes.

A lot of fans forget that if either FSU or Nebraska had won those bowl games a split title would have resulted, and the BCS title game winner would have gotten its piece only because the final coaches poll is like an Iraqi election: only one choice at the top. But I don't know if the consequences for a dissenting vote would be the same.

So I am not that concerned about the early BCS numbers. But what is now interesting to watch each week now are the parallel marches of the unbeatens. Eight is a high number as we launch into November. It's really seven unbeatens in the BCS mix, though, with MAC member Bowling Green no threat for the top six spots.

Each time an unbeaten escapes (like Ohio State last week) or passes an important road test (Georgia, Notre Dame, N.C. State last week), we move closer to chaos. The odds are still stacked heavily against most of these teams -- or even three of them -- surviving until Dec. 8 undefeated, but it's starting to get interesting.

Sonny Lubick of Colorado State -- an admittedly biased ex-Miami assistant -- put it this way: if Miami is perfect, with a coach who has not lost a game in his two years, and is somehow third in the BCS standings and excluded from Tempe, "they should cancel the bowl. It has no validity."

Remember to check out the weekly columns on ESPN.com by our resident BCS authority Brad Edwards, and if you have ESPNEWS you can catch Brad there each Monday.

The flipside
On the other side of that discussion are the teams that folks who rank the bottom 10 are concerned with. There are relatively few struggling teams -- see how nice I was not to use the word "awful". Only six teams have just one win: Buffalo, Louisiana-Lafayette, Navy, SMU, Rutgers, and Tulsa.

Congratulations to the Golden Hurricane, which snapped the nation's longest losing streak at 17 last Saturday. Tulsa waited all season for a visit from lowly UTEP and cashed in with a 20-0 triumph. This game was nowhere near the national radar screen, but during a speech recently in Tulsa I promised to mention the score somewhere if Tulsa won. I try to keep my promises.

(By the way, Tulsa's hoops team will not be struggling for each win the coming season. They're experienced and good.)

So the lone winless I-A team is Army. The Black Knights' only near-miss was a three-point loss last week against UAB. Following an off week Army has Air Force, which is very much in a mood to secure its primary goal of winning the Commander in Chief's Trophy for the umpteenth straight time.

That leaves a road game at improved Tulane and then a visit to Memphis. Appropriately, both cities are known for the blues. Barring a big upset, Army will march winless onto the trashed turf at Giants Stadium on Dec. 7. I've seen real battlefields with better grass than that nasty pitch.

The Army-Navy game on Pearl Harbor Day will carry even more poignancy than it normally does. But the Cadets will simply be desperate for a win.

Someone asked me a couple weeks ago if I thought America rooted for its service academies to succeed in football. I said I didn't speak for the rest of America but that I certainly wanted to see them win.

To me, a winning football team is certainly not symbolic of a well-run, successful academy. If Army goes 0-12, I don't fear for the quality of our future officers. If they go 12-0, I don't feel extra secure.

But the soldier-athletes at the academies deserve to savor the taste of a win for all the difficult sacrifices and commitments they make for their country. So, yeah, I'll be rooting for Army to get a win, somehow, somewhere.

The Cocktail Party
We're headed to Jacksonville this week for College GameDay's setup at the Georgia-Florida game. The 'Dawgs get top billing this year but also carry more pressure for the first time in a while. When one side has dominated a series -- Florida has won 11 of the last 12 -- but the other side is expected to win this one it's always a compelling formula.

The planets seem to be aligned for Georgia this season. It has a bunch of talent recruited by former coach Jim Donnan's staff. They also have experience, chemistry, heart and a coach in Mark Richt who has improved a lot in his second year.

The Bulldogs survived some close scrapes to start the season, rallying past Clemson and then getting a goal line fumble in the rain to survive against South Carolina. They got a gutsy last-second field goal to beat Alabama, and then Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen got hurt and missed the Vols' visit to Athens.

I was impressed that the Bulldogs had dodged all that trouble. Even more impressive was last weekend' s win at Kentucky without running back Musa Smith, wideout Fred Gibson, and offensive tackle Jon Stinchcomb. Georgia's defense was so smothering in the second half that Kentucky managed just 68 passing yards, 22 rushing yards and zero points.

Consecutive sacks late in the second quarter ignited the defense and then Boss Bailey and Tony Gilbert lit a fire under their teammates at halftime. The domination of Jared Lorenzen and the Wildcats after that was something to behold. Now they might be reminded that the Gators rolled up 584 yards in last year's game.

With all they have accomplished and with Florida at its most vulnerable point in a decade, can the 'Dawgs seize the day? Or rather the night, since the World's Largest Cocktail Party will be a prime-time affair for the first time.

Georgia has not won a title of any kind since 1982 and is long-overdue for a program with such a rich heritage. This must be the year to end the drought. And while they're fighting for an SEC East crown, the 'Dawgs may as well stay in the race for the national title, too.

Florida is still a dangerous spoiler, though. The Gators have confidence whenever they face Georgia and there is a reason that UF is only a slight underdog.

Because of their woeful moments against Ole Miss and LSU and a lucky win over Auburn, folks are overlooking the fact that just about all of the Gators' goals remain intact. They can still win 10 games, win the SEC East and the conference championship game, go to a BCS bowl and defeat their three biggest rivals in Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida State.

True, this is not a great Florida team and all those goals are unlikely to be reached, but the fact is the Gators are alive as they take the field Saturday night. Ron Zook can still sell that to his guys and maybe press some buttons.

The embattled Zook and his staff have used the two weeks to examine everything about his team and search for ways to improve. They can treat this rivalry game as a last stand of sorts and I wouldn't be surprised if they played well.

Stormin' in Norman
The most important game of the weekend from a BCS standpoint is Colorado at Oklahoma. Not many are giving the Buffs a chance to hang tough, let alone win.

CU does not need this game to stay in the driver's seat for the North division title and a potential rematch with OU in the Big 12 championship game, though. The Buffs can lose Saturday, win at Missouri on Nov. 9 and beat Iowa State the following week to clinch the division before heading to Lincoln for the season finale against Nebraska -- provided the Huskers lose to Texas or Kansas State before then.

So Colorado should be able to play loose. And the Buffs will not be intimidated the way Iowa State did in its first big road game.

With a snow storm hitting Colorado this week, the Buffs have not had the best week of practice. But this is a team that knows how to get ready for big challenges, like the Nebraska and Texas games last year.

But when it comes to handling challenges, the Stoops' troops defense is simply the best. First it took down Chris Simms, Cedric Benson, Roy Williams and the rest of Texas' blue chip brigade, then the Heisman front-runner of the week in Seneca Wallace. Now Chris Brown rolls in to Norman as the nation's top rusher, wearing the target for the Crimson Crew.

Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops has been thinking about this game for awhile. He will practically guarantee Brown won't romp for another 100-yard game and suggesting otherwise is like challenging him to a fistfight.

If you believe Brown and the Buffs will gash OU for a big day be prepared to shake hands on it, and maybe check out the location of nearby ATMs.

Only one of the last 12 Sooner opponents has reached the 100-yard rushing mark. It's hard for a back to hit the century mark without ripping off a long run or two, and OU's zone has not allowed big gains. I don't think Cedric Benson had a run longer than 10-11 yards.

Brown has already had five runs longer than 50 yards and is not simply a bruising, wear-you-down type of back, but OU is superb at limiting big plays.

Colorado will try to move the ball on Oklahoma by simply blocking its front. Sounds simple, but few teams are strong enough up front to do it. The Buffs believe they are.

Robert Hodge is not the type to beat zone coverage by placing the ball in seems against defensive backs as good as Andre Woolfolk, Derrick Strait, Brandon Everage, and Eric Bassey. That could lead to a few picks.

But Hodge is a much better runner than he's showed so far. The Buffaloes haven't had to show too much against Baylor, Kansas, and Texas Tech, and Hodge's wheels can be a weapon.

To me, the key to the game is Colorado's defense. It played a superb game against Texas Tech's spread offense and might even need to surpass that effort Saturday. The Buffs' tackling will again have to be excellent, making the Sooners work for everything and creating a couple turnovers.

The Sooners never seem to be daunting on offense, but check the scoreboard each week and you'll the production is strong.

Colorado's crew must play well early, keeping the game very close while the Buffs' running game tries to get cranked up. When the Colorado offense was throttled by USC -- in Hodge's first start -- the defense eventually caved and it got ugly.

Oklahoma is under more pressure and has more at stake, but has also had more time to heal and prepare. The challenge is there: Brown's great stats and the fact that the last game with CU was one of the few embarrassing days Stoops' defense has endured.

The Sooners were completely handled on both sides of the ball back in 1999 in Boulder, out-schemed and out-worked. An extensive rethinking of defensive philosophy resulted, with the shift away from man coverage.

These days, no one is out-scheming or out-anythinging Oklahoma. But the Buffs will not embarrass themselves.

Loose in the Palouse
Arizona State visits Washington State in the Pac-10's best game this week. The Sun Devils are excited just to be in a November game that means something. They really have no experience with this sort of thing.

No player on the ASU roster had ever been part of a seven-win team until last week's victory over Washington. And they still four regular-season games left.

Deep down, few of them really thought at the start of the season that the Rose Bowl was realistic. Now it is if they can respond in a big game. Winning in Pullman has not been issue. Arizona State did that two years ago, and two years before that.

The desert-dwellers even catch a break from the Northwest weather, wintry mid-week but expected to be mild Saturday. Now, Dirk Koetter wants his team to finally put together its' first complete game. If they can do that, ASU could be scary.

Defensive end Terrell Suggs already is scary, though. With 4 1/2 sacks against Washington he continues to stretch his national lead. He is an admirer of Adam Archuleta, the former Sun Devil linebacker who won conference defensive player of the year honors.

With the St. Louis Rams off last week, Archuleta showed up to deliver a pep talk and then watch the game from the sidelines. Suggs was so charged up by Archuleta's presence that he played possessed against a struggling Washington line.

We like it when a guy featured on GameDay follows with a great performance. So we thank Terrell. We still think it's a little weird that he shaves his body before each game, but hey, whatever works for you. Washington State won't make it easy for Suggs since the Cougars' offensive line is very good and Jason Gesser's three-step drops often negate pressure.

This game is almost a bonus for the young Sun Devils. Wazzu comes off a flat, over-confident effort at Arizona and should be ready for a big game and I don't see them losing this one at home.

Chris Fowler is host of ESPN College GameDay