Five burning questions: Week 5

1) Do you believe the Big 12 North has equaled the Big 12 South yet in terms of depth and quality of play?

Steven Lassan: The Big 12 North is getting close, but it's not quite at the level of depth of the Big 12 South. Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech are top 10 teams from the South while the North only has Missouri. However, the North has improved recently, especially with the climb of Kansas and Colorado's continued development behind coach Dan Hawkins. The two preseason picks at the bottom in both divisions — Baylor and Iowa State — are looking much better than they did last season, giving this conference quality overall depth from 1-12.

Mitch Light: No, I don’t. I still think the power is in the South. The top of the South, with OU, Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, is still better than the top of the North. Missouri is an elite team and Kansas is very good. At this point, we think Colorado is pretty solid, but we still don’t know. Nebraska? Who knows. We’ll find out more after the Virginia Tech game. Too many unknowns in the South at this point to put the division on equal footing as the North.

Jake Veyhl: I don’t think so. The conference’s elite teams still reside in the South and until Missouri or Kansas proves otherwise, they’ll still be the third and fourth best teams in the conference behind Oklahoma and Texas. That being said, the North’s level of play went from atrocious two years ago to very good in a short amount of time. There are some great coaches in that division now, but until Dan Hawkins and Bo Pelini get Colorado and Nebraska completely turned around, the North will still be playing second fiddle.

2) We’ve all heard the talk about BCS busters, but so far, they’ve only come from the WAC (Boise State, Hawaii) and Mountain West (Utah). Will a team from the Conference USA, MAC or Sun Belt conferences ever reach a BCS game?

Steven: Eventually, yes. The Sun Belt, MAC and Conference USA have pulled off upsets over major conference schools and it's only a matter of time before one vaults into the top 25 after a couple of upsets and sweeps their conference schedule. East Carolina had a shot this year, but who knows, maybe Tulsa, Central Michigan or Ball State could be that team next year.

Mitch: Ever? Yes. I don’t think a MAC team, but I wouldn’t be shocked if a Conference USA team like Tulsa, ECU or Southern Miss makes a push in the not-so-distant future. East Carolina had the right formula this year — play a good schedule to impress voters and then hope to take care of business in league play. It worked for a while.

Jake: Interesting question. Before this season started, I would have said absolutely not for the MAC and Sun Belt, but this year’s Ball State team makes me think twice about that. The pounding it laid on Indiana last week was very impressive and proves a good MAC team might belong in the discussion after all. I still don’t believe a Sun Belt team will ever make it but a CUSA squad is a definite possibility, and if I had to guess, believe that CUSA would supply the first BCS Buster out of those three conferences.

3) Which 3-0 or 4-0 team do we know the least about right now?

Steven: I think the 4-0 team we know the least about is Penn State. They may be undefeated, but they are untested. The Nittany Lions toughest game this season was against Oregon State and the jury is still out on whether the Beavers will have a winning season or not. The Nittany Lions have a first year starter at quarterback (Daryll Clark) and a defense that has some injuries in the front four. We'll find out just how good they are when they play Illinois this Saturday.

Mitch: There’s a bunch, but I would say Nebraska and Kentucky are at the top of the list. Nebraska has defeated Western Michigan, San Jose State and New Mexico State at home. Kentucky has a solid win at Louisville, but that was countered by a too-close-for-comfort win at home vs. Middle Tennessee.

Jake: Oklahoma State is still a mystery to me. While the opening season beating of Washington State looked impressive at the time, it doesn’t look as good anymore. Zac Robinson has thrown only 52 passes in three games, including four in the last outing against Missouri State. The Cowboys have been impressive in out of conference games in recent years but struggled once league play begins. The jury is also still out on Penn State, which has thrashed Coastal Carolina, Oregon State, Syracuse and Temple.

4) Which undefeated team has the best chance of reaching a bowl game – Vanderbilt, Northwestern or Minnesota?

Steven: I think all three teams will be in a bowl game, but the team with the best shot is Vanderbilt. Sure, the stats aren't impressive, but the Commodores find ways to win. With Mississippi State, Kentucky, Duke and a home date against Tennessee to finish off 2008, the Commodores will find a way to get to six or seven wins and make a bowl game for the first time since 1982.

Mitch: Northwestern. First of all, the Cats have a solid team, and the schedule is more favorable than Vanderbilt’s and Minnesota’s. Northwestern does not play Wisconsin or Penn State, two of the top teams in the Big Ten. I think all three teams can get to a bowl, but Northwestern probably has the easiest path.

Jake: I’m going with Northwestern. While I thoroughly enjoy the Vanderbilt story, there are too many good teams in the Dores’ path and I think they have a better chance to stumble than the Wildcats. Northwestern misses Penn State and Wisconsin on its schedule and the Big Ten has shown that about any of the bottom seven teams can beat each other on any given day. I’m passing on Minnesota because I’m not convinced the Gophers have turned the corner yet. They could be the answer to question No. 3 with four wins against Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, Montana State and Florida Atlantic.

5) Georgia faces Alabama at home this week. Does Nick Saban’s team have enough to knock off the Bulldogs?

Steven: Nick Saban's team has a shot against Georgia, but I think the Bulldogs will eventually find a way to win this game in the fourth quarter. The Crimson Tide have asked little of quarterback John Parker Wilson, as the running game and defense have led the way. The key to the Crimson Tide pulling the upset is to find a way to slow down Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno and pound the Bulldogs' defensive front with one of the best offensive lines in the country. It should be relatively low scoring, but Moreno and quarterback Matthew Stafford will have just enough to win this one.

Mitch: Sure, they have enough, but I think Georgia wins the game. The added dimension of freshman receiver A.J. Green in the passing game gives the Bulldogs great balance. Alabama has passed every test, and the Tide looked great in the SEC opener at Arkansas, but I think Georgia is simply a better team.

Jake: Nope. The Tide aren’t ready for this showdown quite yet. The optimism has run rampant since their first win in Georgia (vs. Clemson), but I still think the Bulldogs have the better team. If this game was a few weeks later, I might give the advantage to ‘Bama due to the Dawgs’ schedule, but that schedule hasn’t had time to take its toll yet.

Throughout the season in the weekly five burning questions article, Steven, Mitch and Jake will participate in the Campus Challenge. The rules are simple. Each person picks a quarterback, running back and wide receiver to make up their "team" for the week in an effort to amass as many passing yards, rushing yards, receiving yards and total touchdowns as possible. Whoever has the best stats as the end of the year wins. All players selected must be from a BCS conference team and each editor can only use a player once during the season.