Vanderbilt (4-0, 2-0 in SEC, 19th in both polls)
Honors: The Commodores, whose last winning season was in 1982, are unbeaten and in first place in the East division of arguably the nation's toughest conference. Vanderbilt is the only school currently rated in the top 20 in all three polls mentioned in the first paragraph of this story.

Distinguished alums: Grantland Rice, Molly Sims and a trio of U.S. poet laureates.

Summa cum laude: Vandy leads the nation in turnover margin at plus-2.25 per game.

Tutorial needed? The Commodores are near last (112th) nationally in total offense.

Worthy of a fellowship: Cornerback D.J. Moore leads the nation in punt returns with a 29 yards-per average.

Setting the curve: The Commodores picked up a road win at Mississippi, who then upset No. 4 Florida.

Make-up exam? Not necessary.

Semester outlook: Vandy struggles on offense, a bad omen with three of the nation's top 10 scoring defenses remaining on the schedule. Contests with Mississippi State, Duke and Tennessee are winnable. Choppy waters ahead, but the Commodores have set a course for their first bowl in more than a quarter-century.

Northwestern (5-0, 1-0 in Big Ten)
Honors: Unbeaten, Northwestern is the only 5-0 team in our study group.

Distinguished alum: Brent Musberger, pardner! Also Zach Braff, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers.

Summa cum laude: Ranked ninth in the nation in scoring defense (12.4 points per game), the Wildcats are the only school in this group rated in the top 25 in either the scoring defense or total defense categories. Northwestern is rated fifth in sacks with 3.4 per game.

Tutorial needed? At 25 points per game, the Wildcats are tied with Stanford as the lowest-scoring team in our distinguished scholar-athletes group.

Extra credit: The Wildcats are fifth in the nation in sacks per game (3.4).

Worthy of a fellowship: Defensive end Corey Wootton, a 6-7, 270-pound beast, is among the nation's top 20 in both sacks and tackles for loss.

Setting the curve: Road win at Iowa.

Make-up exam? Not necessary.

Semester outlook: Cats bypass Big Ten bullies Penn State and Wisconsin on the schedule and have a realistic shot at nine wins.

Cal (3-1, 1-0 in Pac-10)
Honors: Cal shredded conference foe Washington State, 66-3.

Distinguished alums: Jack London, Gregory Peck and Jann Wenner.

Summa Cum Laude: The Golden Bears have the most explosive offense in this septet, averaging 43.25 points per game (10th nationally).

Tutorial needed? Not really. The Golden Bears, after the noon debacle at Maryland, need to remember to avoid scheduling early-morning classes.

Extra Credit: Cal is 11th in the nation in pass efficiency defense.

Worthy of a Fellowship: Sophomore tailback/returner Jahvid Best is third in the nation in all-purpose yardage (215.5 yards per game) and eighth in kickoff return yardage (31.56).

Setting the curve: Beat Michigan State, which is 4-1.

Make-up exam? Cal lost to 4-1 Maryland, which beat preseason top 10 Clemson.

Rice (3-2, 2-0 in C-USA)
Honors: The Owls have not allowed Hurricane Ike, which ravaged the Houston area, to distract them from their goals.

Distinguished alum: Venture capitalist John Doerr.

Summa cum laude: The Owls are 14th nationally in scoring, averaging 41.2 points per game.

Tutorial needed? Rice surrenders three sacks per game, which places them 113th.

Extra Credit: Quarterback Chase Clement and wide receiver Jaret Dillard broke an NCAA record on Saturday when they hooked up for their 41st career touchdown reception.

Worthy of a Fellowship: An entire study group excel for Rice. Clement is sixth in the nation in total offense, while wide receivers James Casey and Dillard are second and third, respectively, in the nation in receptions per game. The two wideouts are also both in the top 10 in receiving yards per game. Safety Andrew Sendejo averages 10 tackles per game.

Setting the curve: No high-quality wins yet, but the Owls have averaged 58.3 points in their three victories.

Make-up exam? The Owls' two losses have come to pair of unbeatens: Vandy and No. 5 Texas.

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