The Associated Press

The messy Bowl Championship Series situation cleared up considerably Saturday. In fact, it became twice as clear.

Four of the eight undefeated teams were knocked off, and it was difficult to decide which upset was more surprising:

• No. 3 Virginia Tech blew a 21-7 lead against Pitt and lost 28-27.

• No. 4 Notre Dame turned the ball over five times and got whipped at home by Boston College 14-7.

• No. 5 Georgia lost to Florida 20-13, proving that the Gators own the Bulldogs in Jacksonville, Spurrier or no Spurrier.

• No. 10 North Carolina State lost 24-17 to Georgia Tech, which started 2-3 in the ACC.

The Hokies, Irish and Bulldogs all were 8-0, while the Wolfpack were 9-0, the best start in school history.

The other four unbeatens had an easier time Saturday: No. 1 Miami (8-0) defeated Rutgers 42-17, although the Hurricanes had to rally from a 17-14 fourth-quarter deficit; No. 2 Oklahoma (8-0) beat 13th-ranked Colorado 27-11; No. 6 Ohio State (10-0) routed Minnesota 34-3; and No. 21 Bowling Green (8-0) defeated Kent State 45-14.

The BCS officials should thank everyone of the teams that pulled the upsets. The eight unbeatens were the most at this point in the season in 21 years, and a logjam of perfect records a the end of the year would have created chaos - and inevitable calls for reform.

Since Bowling Green has no realistic chance of climbing into the upper reaches of the BCS, there really are just three teams - Miami, Oklahoma and Ohio State - that have the inside track for those No. 1 and 2 spots. The top teams in the final BCS will meet for the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3.