New England now a hot spot

The good karma that has enveloped Boston with the success of the Red Sox, Patriots, and Boston College has spread in the college football world throughout New England.

Suddenly, the region, which can hardly be called a hub of college football talent or sustained success, has blossomed.

Look at the standings involving New England schools.

Atlantic Coast Conference: BC 4-0 in conference play, 8-0 overall (first in the ACC Atlantic)

Big East: Connecticut 3-0, 7-1 (first)

Ivy: Harvard 4-0, 5-2; Yale 4-0, 7-0 (tied for first)

Colonial Athletic Association: UMass 5-0, 7-1 (first in CAA North); New Hampshire 3-2, 6-2 (second in CAA North)

Patriot: Holy Cross 3-0, 6-2 (second)

That is a combined conference record of 26-2 and a staggering 46-8 overall.

"That's the way it is supposed to be," said Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins with a laugh. "It's been a great year in New England."

Perkins has strong New England connections as the former athletic director at UConn who rode through the turbulent times when the school was making the transition from Division 1-AA to 1-A and moving to the Big East. He also has maintained close ties with BC and its AD, Gene DeFilippo. "I couldn't be happier for Gene and for [UConn coach Randy Edsall, whom Perkins hired]," he said.

Perkins is in the middle of a football revival on his current campus, where the Jayhawks have vaulted to No. 8 with an out-of-the-blue 8-0 start.

"People forget that our institution has a pretty good history in football," said Perkins, referring to the days when players such as quarterback John Hadl and running back Gale Sayers were earning accolades.

"In the last few weeks, we've had representatives from the Orange, Sugar, and Fiesta bowls at our games. Last year we were lucky to get the Independence Bowl to visit. It's been exciting. But in my mind, the question was, 'Why shouldn't we be as good in football as we have been in basketball?' We have a great school, great facilities, a great conference. It was just a matter of getting the right people."

Perkins says the trend toward parity was evident the last few years. "You saw [Mid-American Conference] teams beating people and then you saw what Boise State did [beating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl] last year," he said. "Parity has caught up."

In New England, there is a powerful role model. The BC players do not hide the fact that they see the way the Patriots run their business and try to emulate their efficiency.

"It definitely helps having them nearby," said quarterback Matt Ryan, a Heisman Trophy front-runner. "The way they handle their business, if you can't learn from that, there is something wrong."

There has been almost nothing wrong with the Eagles this season as they have climbed to No. 2. And the same can be said as you look down the road to UConn, another unexpected visitor to the upper tier of conference standings. The 16th-ranked Huskies still may falter - perhaps tomorrow when they host Rutgers. But an upset of South Florida last week kept the dream of a Bowl Championship Series bid alive for another week.

At the Football Championship Subdivision level, Harvard and Yale have reestablished themselves as the elite of the Ivy, setting up their meeting Nov. 17 as the possible league Game of the Year.

In the Colonial, UMass, which has not lost - and may not lose again - since BC beat the Minutemen in September, has maintained its status as a national FCS power.

In the Patriot League, Holy Cross will meet Fordham (4-0 league) in a battle of conference unbeatens tomorrow.

It has been a strange year. "Who would have thought that we would be sitting here at the end of October ranked ahead of teams like Florida, Michigan, and USC?" said Perkins.

And who would have thought that the possibility existed at the start of November that BC and Kansas could meet in a BCS bowl game or even be playing in the BCS title game?

Globe's top 10
1. Ohio State
2. Oklahoma
3. LSU
4. Boston College
5. Oregon
6. Arizona State
7. West Virginia
8. Kansas
9. Missouri
10. Georgia

Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.