Growing up in Eastern Massachusetts, if you played high school football, you were well aware of "The Bus".

Every Friday in the fall, the Boston Globe ran a cartoon bus with every unbeaten in the region drawn on its side, and each week, the group would grow smaller with more schools getting tossed off by a fictional monster looming over it.

Who will be the last one on the NFL's bus this fall? Glad you asked ...

Seven unbeatens remain: the Broncos, Colts, Giants, Jets, Saints, Ravens and Vikings.

So we'll break down this fairly irrelevant argument and take a stab at who will be left standing.

Broncos
While we're here, let's pay respect to the job that Josh McDaniels has done, harnessing his team in adverse conditions and building a sturdy, sturdy foundation for a bright future in Denver. That said, the Broncos' schedule is about to get a whole lot tougher. Their next six: DAL, NE @SD, BYE, @BAL, PIT. They still could win the West, but they'll have a tough time making it much further unblemished.

Colts
The Colts got off to 9-0 starts in 2005 and '06, a 7-0 start in '07 and they very well could be at it again. If Indy can get by a desperate Titans club in Week 5, it's pretty realistic that the Colts could be 8-0 going into their annual sweeps-week showdown with the Patriots. The schedule gets trickier from there, with a trip to Baltimore following the home game against New England.

Giants

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With the Chiefs and Raiders on deck, getting to 5-0 should be cake for this NFC juggernaut. Then starts a four-game stretch with the Saints, Cardinals, Eagles and Chargers. Could New York go 3-1 there? Sure, especially because they figure to get healthier (although the losses of Kenny Phillips and Jay Alford still sting). But 4-0 through that run leading to the Week 8 bye would be tough.

Jets
This week's game in New Orleans is wildly intriguing, matching perhaps the league's best defense against its best offense. And if the Jets get Miami twice, Buffalo and Oakland in the four weeks to follow. But as well as they're playing, it seems tough to believe that with a rookie quarterback, no matter how good he might be, there won't be a stumble somewhere soon.

Saints
Glad now I picked these guys to win the South (so maybe one of my prognostications comes correct), but it's hard to see the Saints keeping that record clean with the two New York teams and Falcons in the next four games. If somehow they make it through that perfect, they could go to the doorstep of December perfect.

Vikings

Next five games including two against the Packers, and back-to-back games against the titans of the AFC North, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. There should be a loss in there somewhere, particularly with trips to weather hazards in Pittsburgh and Green Bay coming in consecutive weeks for a dome team.

Ravens
Baltimore gets the Patriots, Bengals and Vikings the next three weeks, all tough games, then gets Denver and Cinci again after the bye. Maybe it's not a murderer's row, but as things look now, there's not a lay-up there either for a team that's start as hot as any in football.

And the verdict is ... Indianapolis. They should be able to survive Dwight Freeney's injury over the next couple of weeks, they'll get Anthony Gonzalez back, and their young players should continue to improve. So give it to the Colts, who should get to 8-0.

But don't expect anyone to get to 10-0 -- where the Titans got last year -- or even sniff 16-0.

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