College Football Week 6: 5 Most Surprising Undefeated Teams

Some critics will claim that college football is more predictable than the NFL.  To them, I say this:  Any.  Given.  Saturday. 

The AP polls today look a lot different than the preseason rankings.  There are some good teams most thought would lose a couple games, and some not so great teams that are toting around the "undefeated" label. 

Here's a look at the five most surprising undefeated teams, from a fan's perspective. 

Wisconson Badgers, No. 4 AP Top 25

Wisconsin makes this list despite the fact that they played three of their first four games against nobody, and the fact that they played in last year's Rose Bowl.  Their only real competition was the Oregon State Beavers, who they torched 35-0. 

Wisconsin earns respect here because of their outstanding play against a highly regarded, then-No. 8 Nebraska team.  

It's not so much the fact that the Badgers beat an opponent ranked only one place below them.  It was the total domination in all four quarters of their 48-17 win. 

B1G haters were convinced that Wisconsin's 11-1 season was a fluke when TCU put them at 11-2 in the Rose Bowl last year. 

What really makes Wisconsin surprising is how well their new quarterback has played.

Russell Wilson played for three years at North Carolina State, where he had a 57.4 career completion percentage. 

In 2011, with the Wisconsin Badgers, he's completing 74.8 percent of his passes with a whopping 12.53 yards-per-attempt.  His one interception on 111 attempts is even more impressive.

Russell Wilson and his Wisconsin Badgers have both been pretty surprising this year. 

Illinois Fighting Illini, No. 19 AP Top 25

Illinois is currently undefeated, but the question remains, "Who have they played?"

Before that is answered, anybody in the B1G will tell you that Illinois is a bottom-feeder.  They are the Vanderbilt or Washington State of the B1G. 

So who have they beaten?

The most recent was conference opponent Northwestern.  Northwestern may not have a reputation as a great football team, but folks up north will be quick to speak of their notoriety as frequent upsetters. 

Their signature victory, however, was against then-22nd ranked Arizona State, where they came up with a 17-14 win. 

Their quarterback, Nathan Scheelhaase, has played wonderfully.  He's completed 69.4 percent of his passes for 1028 yards.

Illinois has gone from unranked to No. 19. 

That's surprising to say the least. 

Let's hope the Fighting Illini enjoy it while they can, because they have four games on their schedule they are sure to lose. 

Oklahoma State Cowboys, No. 6 Ap Top 25

To say Oklahoma State is a surprise undefeated team going into Week 6 is a surprise in itself. 

They return the outstanding quarterback-wide receiver duo of Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon, who won the Biletnikoff Award in 2010. 

What makes it surprising is that they are still undefeated despite to the play of their defense, among other things. 

They gave up over 30 points to both Louisiana-Lafayette and Tulsa.  They did, however, hold the Arizona Wildcats to 14 points. 

Here's the real reason they are a surprise undefeated: Texas A&M. 

The SEC-bound Aggies had the Cowboys dead to rights.  We're talking a "needs a miracle" situation.  The Aggies were ahead 20-3 at halftime and didn't seem to be slowing down. 

When the Cowboys went to the locker room, someone lit a fire under their asses. 

They came out swinging, scoring 21 unanswered points. 

Texas A&M hung around, but Oklahoma State won 30-29 in a game that was all but over by the half. 

Most expected them to be undefeated at this point, but no one expected it to be by the skin of their teeth. 

LSU Tigers, No. 1 AP Top 25

Let's address the glaring question first.  LSU is No. 1 in the polls and undefeated.  Looking back at the preseason, especially after their starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson was suspended, not many saw this coming.

Here's what makes their journey surprising thus far: their new quarterback Jarrett Lee, who played abysmally while sharing time with Jordan Jefferson in 2010, started off with the worst game of his career on the biggest stage. 

The Tigers began the season with an opener against the previous season's runner-up in the BCS National Championship game, the Oregon Ducks.

The Tigers walked in ranked fourth, and the Ducks third. 

Lee completed 10 of 22 passes that night, stats that say his team should have lost. 

The LSU defense, however, played big and they played hard, forcing four turnovers.

The Tigers won 40-27.

They have since knocked off two ranked opponents, Mississippi State and West Virginia, and earned the No. 1 ranking. 

After mediocre quarterback play and a big win over Oregon, it's a surprise they're undefeated. 

Clemson Tigers, No. 8 AP Top 25

I've got one word to describe Clemson's season thus far: WOW. 

They play in a very underrated ACC, but they've played anything but underrated competition in three of their first five games. 

The eighth-ranked Tigers opened up against a couple cupcakes, Troy and Wofford (Wofford?), barely winning against Wofford, which left a very foreboding feeling for Clemson fans. 

In Week 3 they played the reigning national champion Auburn Tigers.  They came away with a fairly convincing win, 38-24. 

Everyone pegged Auburn to be a much weaker team this year, so it's understandable that Clemson took the win, right?

Well, in Week 4 they beat then-11th ranked Florida State, who a week prior lost a close one against the national championship favorite, Oklahoma. 

The following week they unseated 11th-ranked, undefeated Virginia Tech in a 23-3 drubbing of their conference opponent.

Three victories against ranked opponents in a row, an No. 8 ranking, and still undefeated?

It's safe to say Clemson is the biggest surprise undefeated of the year.