Ohio State, Boston College, Arizona State, Kansas University and Hawaii.

A perennial football heavyweight, the nation’s top Catholic football program, a baseball powerhouse, an elite basketball university and an island way out there in every sense of way out there. They span nearly 6,000 miles and various cultures and climates.

By now most followers of college football know what those five schools have in common. They are the only remaining undefeated teams among the 119 that play in the sport’s most competitive division.

All five rank among the top 16 in the nation in the Associated Press poll: 1. Ohio State; 2. Boston College; 7. Arizona State; 12. Kansas; 16. Hawaii.

Combined, the five schools have a 36-0 record, compared to a 12-27 combined mark for Notre Dame, Nebraska, Iowa, Washington and Ole Miss.

Interestingly, the five share a scheduling similarity. None of the 36 victories they have scored thus far came against a school now ranked in the AP Top-25 poll. Three of the 36 victims were ranked at the time of the games against the unbeaten. Ohio State (Purdue), Boston College (Georgia Tech) and Kansas (Kansas State) each scored a victory over a ranked team.

The rankings aren’t a prediction of where teams finish, rather a reflection of what they’ve accomplished thus far. Safe prediction: Arizona State won’t be ranked after its next four games, which are against California, Oregon, UCLA and USC. That doesn’t mean the Sun Devils don’t deserve to be ranked now.

Boston College doesn’t have a breather left, with Virginia Tech on deck, followed by Florida State, Maryland, Clemson and Miami.

Hawaii, which has had the easiest schedule among unbeatens, has three tough challenges left, facing Fresno State, Boise State and weaker-than-usual Washington.

Ohio State doesn’t have any layups, with Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan remaining.

Regardless of what happens from here for Kansas, the soft nonconference schedule already has served its purpose. The 7-0 start has resulted in tons of exposure for the program, and with any luck, Mark Mangino’s decision not to talk to respected sideline reporter Jack Arute at halftime will not hurt the team’s chances of getting back on the network soon.

The start also guarantees KU a bowl game early enough for the program’s growing fan base to start saving cash for a bowl trip, which could lead bowl directors to have confidence Kansas will travel in big numbers.

The schedule grows much tougher for the Jayhawks, who have their two weakest remaining opponents at home (Nebraska and Iowa State) and the three toughest ones away from Memorial Stadium (Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Missouri).

Then again, playing on the road doesn’t mean what it once did. In two road conference games, KU has won as many games (two) as Mangino’s first five teams did in 20 games.

“People always knocked us, saying we weren’t going to be able to find a way to win on the road, saying, ‘Wait until they play on the road, they’ll fold,'” quarterback Todd Reesing said. “… So all the talk about, ‘Can’t win on the road,’ that’s got to be over now.”