The skinny on the unbeatens and the Golden Souffle

Thank god for Larry Eustachy.

It's been a while since the 'Bag checked in on Eustachy, the 2000 national Coach of the Year at Iowa State who turned up at Southern Miss two years ago after the infamous Natty Light Coed Party Pix extravaganza got him fired in 2003.

(True story: the 'Bag had to show up at Eustachy's doorstep that week for a terribly uncomfortable interview for an Sports Illustrated story about how Eustachy became an alcoholic. We're not sure which aspect we were more queasy about: the look on the face of Mrs. Eustachy when she opened the door -- she's no longer Mrs. Eustachy, by the way -- or our sense that Eustachy's sudden revelation of his alcoholism was perhaps tied less to a sincere admission than to his hiring of a PR agent to manage the scandal.)

In any case, Eustachy has a new claim to fame: He has saved the Golden Soufflé, the 'Bag's coveted annual award that goes to the nation's Most Dubious Undefeated Team in mid-December. Why, if Southern Miss (7-0) hadn't scheduled seven straight home games against Betty Crocker Hall of Fame cupcakes (including three NAIA teams!), there would have been no Golden Soufflé to award this year. (Well done, Eagles!)

It's a welcome sign of the times in college hoops: Teams are scheduling more challenging non-conference games than ever, not least because the NCAA tournament committee has rewarded teams that do so come March.

The results are obvious: even two-time defending Soufflé winner Billy Gillispie of Texas A&M scheduled games against UCLA, LSU and Winthrop this season, and only eight Division I teams remain undefeated (compared to 18 at this point last season). The consensus top three in the preseason (Florida, Kansas and North Carolina) have five losses between them, and we've already seen a bevy of upsets and great games involving heavyweight programs.

It's not exactly a Magic Eight, but here's the octet of spotless outfits:

THE 2006 GOLDEN SOUFFLE Southern Mississippi (7-0) Best win so far: Sam Houston State Will face reality on: Dec. 16 vs. Alabama The rampaging Eagles' latest victim was Southern-New Orleans, an NAIA school whose only two wins have come by forfeit (thanks to Concordia's use of an ineligible player on two occasions). Now the Crimson Tide awaits. "Alabama will raise the bar for us," Eustachy told reporters last week before gladly accepting his Golden Soufflé award. No kidding: Southern Miss' schedule includes such NAIA luminaries as Belhaven, Spring Hill, Southern-New Orleans and Reinhardt. Teams That Can Back It Up UCLA (8-0) Legit wins: Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M Next big test: Dec. 23 vs. Michigan It's fashionable to say that no team will remain undefeated deep into this season, but we're not so sure. The Bruins are hardly an offensive juggernaut, but their defense has been suffocating in every game. When you're that consistent in your effort, gaudy records can follow. Wichita State (7-0) Legit wins: at LSU, at Syracuse, at George Mason, at Wyoming. Next big test: Dec. 22 vs. New Mexico What more does Mark Turgeon's team have to do to be ranked in the top five? The nation's most impressive resume will hold up until March. We thought the Shockers would be good, but it turns out they're the top-10 Missouri Valley team we predicted Creighton would be. Oklahoma State (11-0) Legit wins: Syracuse, Missouri State, Northwestern State. Next big test: Dec. 18 vs. Tennessee. So far, so good for rookie coach Sean Sutton, who (along with Washington State's Tony Bennett) is proving his AD made the right call by keeping the hoops head job in the family. (The 'Cuse victory was big, but don't overlook the wins over Missouri State and Northwestern State, either.) We'll learn even more about the Cowboys from upcoming games against Tennessee and Pittsburgh, and maybe we'll even get to see Marcus Dove pull out his notorious "Dove sign" again. Oregon (8-0) Legit wins: at Georgetown, at Rice, Nebraska Next big test: Jan. 6 vs. UCLA The impressive win at Georgetown was enough for us to push the Ducks into this category by a hair. Everyone knows Ernie Kent has to win to keep his job, a position that's even more tenuous with a new AD coming in. We're as excited about the Pac-10 as we've been in years, and that Jan. 6 battle against the Bruins at Mac Court is going to be must-see TV. The Jury's Still Out On... Pittsburgh (10-0) Best win so far: Florida State Put up or shut up time: Dec. 16 at Wisconsin Kudos to Jamie Dixon for taking on a tougher schedule this season, including his willingness to play Buffalo (in a squeaker) on the road. The game of the week is clearly going to be in Madison on Saturday, but we're also curious to see how the Panthers perform against Oklahoma State in a virtual road game on Dec. 21. If Pitt can win at least one of those games, we'll fess up and admit that we undervalued them to start the season. (We'll already cave on the so-far-exemplary performance of Levance Fields at the point-guard spot.) Connecticut (8-0) Best win so far: Mississippi Put up or shut up time: Dec. 30 at West Virginia It's hard to bag on Jim Calhoun's schedule when his team is taking on LSU, Indiana and Georgia Tech after New Year's. That said, it's impossible to reach even preliminary conclusions about the Huskies at this point. A.J. Price is starting to show his promise at the point, but I'm withholding any judgments until the Huskies visit Morgantown. Clemson (10-0) Best win so far: at Old Dominion Put up or shut up time: Jan. 3 at Florida State Before you pooh-pooh Oliver Purnell's bunch for being paper Tigers, consider their promising road wins over Old Dominion and South Carolina. Not exactly Murderer's Row, but not Golden Soufflé material, either. The schedule maker even did Clemson a favor by not forcing the Tigers to lose for the bazillionth straight time at North Carolina this season.