ESPN College Football

It's early, but besides Kansas, here's a look look at five more surprise teams from this year.

1. Arkansas

We knew that the Razorbacks had a veteran offensive line, led by the junior building known as tackle Shawn Andrews. We knew that the Hogs have a habit of being underestimated. But no one knew that senior tailback Cedric Cobbs would begin to fulfill the potential that he brought to Fayetteville four years ago. No one knew that quarterbacks Matt Jones and Ryan Sorahan would be able to ham-and-egg it without a slipup. The defense still believes in making it interesting, but Arkansas will have a say in the defense of its SEC West championship.

2. Washington State
The Cougars lost a lot from last season's Pac-10 winners, including the head coach and half the coaching staff. They stumbled in the opener at Notre Dame, almost as if they couldn't believe that might win beneath Touchdown Jesus. However, quarterback Matt Kegel played a masterful game at Oregon. The defense, despite significant losses, is playing winning football. The Cougars must win at USC to win the Pac-10, but there's no place tougher to win than Autzen Stadium, and Washington State did just fine there.

3. Nebraska
A 7-7 record meant six new assistant coaches. That's hardly the recipe for a 5-0 start. But defensive coordinator Bo Pelini has modernized a unit that had grown stale, while the offense has done enough to get by. Jammal Lord, even with the two long touchdown passes at Southern Mississippi, hasn't done anything to prevent defenses from putting nine in the box. That may be the difference between these Huskers and a Big 12 champion. But the Big Red is a lot farther down the road than most of us thought it would be.

4. Northern Illinois
Had any of us paid attention to the Huskies last season, we might have predicted this sprint out of the gate. Then again, maybe not. Northern Illinois lured Maryland and Iowa State to come to DeKalb, then popped both of them upside the head. But the success of Northern Illinois isn't merely a quirk of scheduling. The Huskies went down to Alabama and won there, too. Tailback Michael Turner has been as good as advertised. The defense has been better. A good running game and tough defense may be old-fashioned, but it still works.

5. Arizona State
The dark horse in the Pac-10 after an 8-5 season has stumbled badly in its last two games, at Iowa and at Oregon State, losing by a combined 66-19. In fact, after a hot midseason last year, the Sun Devils have lost six of nine. Andrew Walter, the quarterback considered a Heisman dark horse when the season began, has been good but not great. That is due in large part to an absolute lack of a running game.