Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Cincinnati is four games from perfection. But this year, perfection might not be good enough.

Before we go any further, let's add the appropriate disclaimer that the No. 5 Bearcats (8-0, 4-0 Big East) still need to win all their games. They must beat West Virginia at home and win at No. 13 Pitt at the end of the year.

But Cincinnati should be favored in each of its remaining contests and has an average margin of victory of more than 26 points this year. Only one team, Fresno State, has come within 10 points of the Bearcats this year.

	Chris Livingston/Icon SMI
	Even a 12-0 record may not be enough to get Brian Kelly’s Bearcats a shot at the national title.

In just about any other year, a 12-0 team of this caliber would be a near shoo-in for the BCS title game. More and more, though, it's looking like 2004 all over again.

That was the year that Auburn finished undefeated but was left out of the championship game in favor of fellow unbeatens USC and Oklahoma. Like in 2004, there's also a Big Ten team that has started 9-0 -- that year it was Wisconsin, this year Iowa. Utah also had an argument in 2004 after winning all of its games; TCU and/or Boise State could run the table this year as BCS busters.

Crazy things can happen down the stretch, of course, and there's more than a month of football left to be played. But No. 2 Texas cleared what looks like its toughest remaining hurdle by thrashing Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater. The Longhorns' schedule the rest of the way -- Central Florida, at Baylor, Kansas, at Texas A&M -- does not offer many challenges, and the Big 12 North doesn't appear to have anyone capable of beating Texas in the league title game.

Then there's the SEC, where both No. 3 Alabama and No. 1 Florida are on a collision course to that league's title game. The winner of that Dec. 5 showdown will almost certainly go to the BCS title game, barring an unlikely upset along the way.

Iowa maintains a hefty edge in the BCS computer rankings over Cincinnati, and the Hawkeyes will likely stay ahead of the Bearcats if they can keep winning. Iowa's toughest remaining game is Nov. 14 at Ohio State. Cincinnati would also have to hold off TCU, which is .025 points behind in the BCS standings this week, and Boise State, which will get a perception boost if Oregon keeps winning.

Auburn's weak nonconference schedule proved to be its downfall in 2004. Cincinnati has scheduled much more ambitiously but is not getting as much help as it needs from its FBS opponents, who are a combined 29-28 so far. Only one past opponent, No. 25 South Florida, is currently ranked. The NCAA rates Cincinnati as having just the 58th-toughest schedule so far.

West Virginia's loss to South Florida on Friday hurts the Bearcats' schedule strength going forward, as does the poor showing by Illinois (2-6) this year. The NCAA says Cincinnati's remaining schedule is just 46th-toughest in the FBS.

The Bearcats could use a strong finish from Oregon State (5-3), including a Beavers win over Oregon in the Civil War. Having South Florida continue to play well and beat Miami would also help. And if Pitt can topple Notre Dame and come into the Dec. 5 game at 11-1 and ranked in the top 10, that would give Cincinnati an opportunity to make a strong late statement.

But even at 12-0, the Bearcats will need a lot of help. Like Auburn in 2004, they may have picked the wrong year for perfection.