Athlon Preview Cliff Notes

Every year I say I am not going to buy the Athlon College Football Preview. I always succum because they are one of the first to press and I need my college football fix. Every year I come away disappointed in Athlon’s thin coverage and promise myself that next year I’ll only buy Phil Steele’s mag. Today I broke my promise. I’m about to get on a flight…I walk past a newsstand and there it is. Calling me. I bought it. After the flight, I’ve read most of the relevant stuff. Once again the magazine disappoints. In order to help those who are considering buying it, here are the Cliff Notes of the Athlon Preview:

-- BC is ranked 27th.
-- They expect us to finish 2nd in the ACC Atlantic
-- They predict wins against NC State, Army, UMass, Bowling Green, Maryland, and Clemson. Losses against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Wake, ND, Florida State and Miami are all considered “swing games”, meaning the editors think they could go either way.
-- Ryan was ranked the 5th best QB nationally and the best in the ACC. No other player or unit received national ranking. Raji made 1st team ACC. Dunbar, Cherilus, Challenger, Tribble, Silva and Ayers all made 2nd team ACC.
-- They had a positive write up on Jags in the new coaches section and within the team preview.
-- The preview didn’t contain much a regular fan wouldn’t already know. They did highlight Spaz and McGovern staying on. They also penciled in Tennant as the starting Center ahead of Sheridan.
-- They pick the Atlantic to finish in this order: 1. FSU, 2. BC, 3. Wake, 4. Maryland, 5. Clemson, 6. NC State.
-- They pick the Coastal to finish in this order: 1. VT, 2. Georgia Tech, 3. Miami, 4. Virginia, 5. UNC, 6. Duke.
-- Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Miami are the only ACC teams in their Top 25.

Reading each ACC team capsule also reinforced my belief that the conference is wide open again. Every team has at least one major issue. I predict the championship game will have one 5-3 team and one 6-2 team again. There is just too much parity in the conference.

I think this covers it all. If you have a specific question and want to avoid buying the magazine, send me an email or post your question in the comments. Now, I’ll eagerly await Phil Steele’s issue, which never disappoints.