So, the Nifty Nineteen is down to a baker’s dozen: there are 13 remaining undefeated teams in Division I-A. Dropping out of the picture this week: Virginia Tech, Iowa, TCU, Purdue, Texas A&M, and Houston. So, in just two weeks, we’ve gone from a Terrific Twenty-Nine to a Nifty Nineteen to a Lucky Thirteen. Next week will feature no unbeaten-vs.-unbeaten battles, but plenty will be tested. I’ll post the list of the Lucky Thirteen’s next set of games a little later, probably on Monday.

In other news, Washington’s impossible dream — a bowl bid — is looking more and more like a realistic hope. Ty’s Huskies beat Arizona to improve their record to 4-1 on the year. Washington, 4-1! Who’d have thunk it? The dogs will most likely get a rude awakening next week at the Coliseum against USC (knock on wood), but nevermind that for now: the more immediate question is, will they be ranked when they arrive in L.A.? They got 13 votes (tied for 34th place) in the AP poll last week, and 6 votes in the coaches poll (37th). Alas, I can’t see them cracking the Top 25 in either poll this week; not enough teams ahead of them lost, and a win over Arizona isn’t impressive enough to leapfrog the Huskies over too many teams. They should be around 30th in the AP poll and 32nd in the coaches, by my estimation, when the new polls are released. But hey, never fear, Husky fans: all you gotta do to crack the Top 25 is beat the Trojans! No sweat. :) Assuming, however, that wins over USC, Oregon or Cal (all on the road) are out of reach, the Huskies can still qualify for a bowl simply by winning two out of four against Oregon State, Arizona State, Stanford and Wazzu — and all of those games are at Husky Stadium, except the Apple Cup in Pullman. I like their chanes!

Other results of note from Saturday’s action:
• Michigan actually makes it through September undefeated (!!).
• Georgia barely escapes Ole Miss; is overrated. Just saying.
• Oregon crushes ASU; at Cal next. Huge.
• Well, that was quite a Kansas-Nebraska act.
• Boise State crushes Utah in road-game statement.
• Syracuse beats Wyoming in geographically bizarre matchup.
• Er, UConn kinda sucks. D’oh!
• Last but not least, BUFFALO DOESN’T LOSE!!! Er, because they had a bye week. :)

P.S. Speaking of Buffalo, the one team they beat this season, Temple, is so bad, Vegas may stop accepting bets on their games:

Reading through this weekend’s lines in USA Today on Monday, I couldn’t help but notice that Temple is a 33-point underdog Saturday … to Vanderbilt! . . .

Following consecutive 62-0 losses to Louisville and Minnesota, the Owls, currently on a 16-game losing streak, were a 30-point underdog last week to Western Michigan. They didn’t cover, losing 41-7. “I’ve never seen a team in the last 10 years that’s been this non-competitive,” said Mike Seba, senior oddsmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which sets college football lines for many Vegas sports books. “It’s not asking that much [for Vanderbilt] to cover 33.” . . .

Seba said sports books may soon be forced to take Temple’s games off the board. “If they get beat bad again this week, we’d send out an alert to our clients to take lower limits on their games,” he said. “And then if they get blown out again the next week [against Kent State], we’ll stop putting lines on their games.”

Temple actually did beat the spread this time, though. They lost by 29 points, 43-14.