A pair of potential BCS busters with the release of first rankings

Every year there are potential BCS busters from Non-AQ conferences and this year is no different, but whereas in most years, there is one team that seems to have a strong possibility of getting into the BCS, this year has two teams that could pose a threat.  Fresno State out of the Mountain West Conference and Northern Illinois from the MAC are both undefeated and currently ranked 17^th and 18^th respectively in the first BCS rankings.

Fresno State, led by quarterback Derek Carr currently sit at 6-0 and while they have had games against Boise State and Rutgers come down to the wire, Carr has found a way to lead his team to wins in both.  The Bulldogs take on San Diego State this week in the first of a tough stretch of games.  If they can get past the Aztecs, they follow that up with Nevada at home and then Wyoming on the road, both of which are led by talented quarterbacks in Cody Fajardo and Brett Smith.

On the other side, Northern Illinois is getting more respect in the BCS than they are in the polls, despite the fact they were in a BCS game last year and perhaps because they were taken apart by Florida State last year, there are people who are not inclined to move them up in the polls.  Nevertheless, Northern Illinois is undefeated including a wins against Iowa, Idaho and Purdue in nonconference play.

The Huskies led by quarterback Jordan Lynch take on an Eastern Michigan still reeling from the tragedy involving their wide receiver Demarius Reed this week followed by a road game against Massachussetts.  The game that has the potential to be extremely good if both teams keep winning is when MACtion gets going and they play Ball State, currently 7-1 on Wednesday, November 13^th.

There is always pushback from some fans and media in regards to these types of teams because they can be simply overpowered by some AQ teams, but with teams like Boise State who have won in these games in exciting fashion, it becomes difficult to ignore.  There is still a lot of football to be played and both teams could end up getting tripped up in the next few weeks, but it would not be a surprise if both teams were to end up undefeated at the end of the season and looking for a bowl to play.