Final four unbeatens take to the road

College football's final four unbeatens hit the road Saturday, and don't be surprised if there's another wave of upsets.

Notre Dame, North Carolina State and Virginia Tech lost for the first time last week -- and they played at home. Georgia, the fourth fallen unbeaten a week ago, lost at a neutral site.

Looking to remain perfect are No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 20 Bowling Green.

The Sooners (8-0) visit Texas A&M (5-4), the Hurricanes (8-0) are at Tennessee (5-3), the Buckeyes (10-0) play Purdue (4-5) and the Falcons (8-0) travel to Northern Illinois (6-3).

It's Miami, though, with the most to prove. The defending national champions are coming off three shaky wins, the most recent a 42-17 decision over Rutgers. The result was a drop in the AP media poll and the BCS standings, where Miami is third behind Oklahoma and Ohio State.

"We have a chip on our shoulder because we feel like nobody is respecting us," Miami safety Maurice Sikes said. "After the Florida game, everybody was saying we're the next coming, we're the best thing since sliced bread. And now we're not good for anything because we won by 25.

"We definitely feel like we're not getting any respect, and we're going to have to take it back."

A win over Tennessee in front of 106,000 fans singing "Rocky Top" all day, would help. Led by quarterback Ken Dorsey (2,020 yards and 20 touchdown passes) and running back Willis McGahee (1,034 yards, 16 TDs), Miami averages 43 points per game -- fourth nationally.

The Hurricanes may be playing poorly of late, but at least they're winning. The Volunteers are out of the SEC race thanks to losses to Florida, Alabama and Georgia. A win over Miami could salvage the season.

"I think this team is very excited about the opportunity they have in front of them," Vols coach Phillip Fulmer said. "Obviously, we don't feel like we've reached our potential this year, for whatever reason."

Tennessee's Casey Clausen has thrown for 1,697 yards and nine TDs, but the Vols may try to wear down the Hurricanes' susceptible run defense with Jabari Davis and Cedric Houston. Davis remained questionable with a sternum injury.

Miami is favored by more than a touchdown, but beware: The teams played once before, and Tennessee won 35-7 in the '86 Sugar Bowl.

In other Top 25 games, it's Baylor at No. 4 Texas, No. 15 Oregon at No. 5 Washington State, Northwestern at No. 6 Iowa, Mississippi at No. 7 Georgia, No. 8 Virginia Tech at Syracuse, No. 9 Notre Dame at Navy, and No. 10 USC at Stanford.

Also, it's Mississippi State at No. 11 Alabama, No. 21 Iowa State at No. 12 Kansas State, No. 13 Michigan at Minnesota, No. 14 North Carolina State at Maryland, No. 16 LSU at Kentucky, No. 17 Florida State at Georgia Tech, No. 18 Colorado at Missouri, Virginia at No. 19 Penn State, Temple at No. 22 Pittsburgh, No. 23 Florida at Vanderbilt, and California at No. 25 Arizona State.

Oklahoma at Texas A&M

Winning at home used to be a snap, but the Aggies have already lost three of four at Kyle Field. Under coach R.C. Slocum, A&M was 64-7-1 at College Station entering the season.

Led by 5-foot-8 running back Quentin Griffin, Oklahoma is running itself into position for a second national title in three years under coach Bob Stoops. Griffin had 128 yards in last week's 27-11 win over Colorado.

"I think they're a better team than they were two years ago," Slocum said.

Aggies quarterback Dustin Long has been putting up points, but the defense has not played up to its "Wrecking Crew" standards, allowing 38 points per game in the last three losses.

Beware: Oklahoma has lost eight of 10 games at College Station.

Ohio State at Purdue

With or without freshman running back Maurice Clarett, the Buckeyes' biggest concern is playing well on the road.

In three road games this season, Ohio State has beaten Cincinnati (3-5) by four points, Northwestern (3-7) by 11 and Wisconsin (6-4) by 5.

The Boilermakers lead the Big Ten in total offense at nearly 450 yards per game, but the Buckeyes' defense has allowed just 17 points in the last three games.

Beware: Purdue's last win over a Top 25 team was Oct. 28, 2000 -- against Ohio State. The highest-ranked team Purdue has ever beaten was No. 2 Ohio State in 1984, at West Lafayette. The Boilermakers were unranked at the time.

Bowling Green at Northern Illinois

The Falcons, under new coach Urban Meyer, are second nationally in scoring at 47.4 points per game. Since Josh Harris became the starter late last season, Bowling Green has won 11 in a row. During the streak, Harris has 2,525 yards and 22 TDs passing and 896 yards and 18 TDs running. He also has three catches -- all for touchdowns.

Northern Illinois counters with Michael Turner, second nationally in rushing with 1,285 yards (142.8 ypg) and fourth in all-purpose yards (182.2).

Beware: The Huskies are only four-point underdogs because they are tied for first with the Falcons in the MAC West. Both are 5-0 in the league.