For fans consumed with college football, preseason rankings are useful to help pass the slow summer days and ... well, that's about it.
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Last year, Tennessee was a popular pick to contend for the national title. By the end, the Volunteers finished 8-5 after a 30-3 throttling at the hands of Maryland in the Peach Bowl.
No one used Ohio State and perfection in the same sentence at this time a year ago, but the Buckeyes ran the table and left the Fiesta Bowl with their first national title since 1968.
So it can be said that predictions made during the spring don't often mean much come fall. Fans of South Carolina, Georgia Tech and Clemson are praying that's the case this year.
Unlike recent seasons, the magazines don't expect much of the Gamecocks, Yellow Jackets and Tigers in 2003. Georgia, on the other hand, is predicted to continue its winning ways.
Here's a primer on that and other takes from five prominent publications: Athlon, Lindy's, The Sporting News, Street & Smith's and Phil Steele's College Football Preview:
WHO'S NO. 1? Oklahoma is a popular pick (Street & Smith's, Athlon, Lindy's) despite losing its starting quarterback, a 1,800-yard rusher and its top four receivers. The pundits believe the Sooners' defense, coupled with the masterful coaching of Bob Stoops and his staff, will carry them to New Orleans for the national championship game at the Sugar Bowl.
The Sporting News went out on its well-traversed limb by picking Auburn to win it all.
Fans of other contenders shouldn't worry. Some of Last year's picks for the top spot were Florida State (Athlon), Texas (Street & Smith's ) and Tennessee (Steele).
WILL GEORGIA CONTEND FOR THE NATIONAL TITLE? Most observers seem to think the Bulldogs' personnel losses - leading receiver, leading tailback, entire offensive line, nose tackle, and starting linebacking corps - are too severe to allow for another 13-1 season.
But the Bulldogs still have plenty of talent, and the SEC East doesn't seem to be as beastly as usual, so the Georgia Dome could be filled with red and black again come December's Southeastern Conference Championship game.
HOW HOT IS TOMMY BOWDEN'S SEAT? Scalding. The magazines - not to mention many Clemson fans - all agree.
This year is huge for Bowden, and the prognosticators don't seem to think his Tigers will make huge progress in the ascending Atlantic Coast Conference.
The consensus is that the Tigers will again be middle-of-the-road - a status that could have Bowden hitting the road out of Clemson.
IS LOU HOLTZ OUT OF MAGIC AT SOUTH CAROLINA? Many think the 66-year-old has one run left, but it's hard to envision it coming this year.
The Gamecocks don't have a big-play receiver beyond Silver Bluff's Troy Williamson, and quarterback Dondrial Pinkins has yet to inspire confidence that he can guide his teams to wins in such pressure-packed road venues.
Still, Holtz has loads of young talent and eight home games - the program's most since 1982. This team could get better as the year progresses.
IS GEORGIA TECH A SCRAMBLING WRECK? None of the magazines envisioned big things for the Yellow Jackets - and that was before the mid-May revelation that 10 players - including tailback Tony Hollings and defensive end Tony Hargrove - were declared academically ineligible for the fall.
The Jackets are picked to finish sixth or seventh in the ACC. Had most of the magazines known about the academic fiasco before they went to press, Georgia Tech might have been picked dead last.
IS MIKE SEWAK'S JOB IN DANGER? Uh, no. Just seeing whether you were paying attention. Sewak's place at Georgia Southern appears secure after he guided the Eagles to an 11-3 record in his first season as the head man in Statesboro.
Sewak welcomes back 14 starters, including quarterback Chaz Williams. Most expect the Eagles to enjoy their usual stranglehold atop the Southern Conference.
WHO'S THE BEST DEFENSIVE END IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL? Georgia's David Pollack gets a virtually unanimous vote. No one could stop him last year, when he became the first defensive player to win the SEC's player-of-the-year honors since 1988, and that doesn't figure to change in 2003.
A junior, Pollack is tabbed by Lindy's to win both the Bronko Nagurski award (Outstanding Defensive Player) and Lombardi Award (best lineman or linebacker).
WHO HAS THE BEST PRESEASON PREVIEW? Now at a bulging 328 pages, Steele's issue has become the most informative and useful. No one else is even close.
Its specialties are statistics, trends and numbers that matter. One beef, though: Steele thinks Georgia quarterback David Greene, the best quarterback in the SEC last year, is only the fourth best this year, behind Eli Manning, Casey Clausen and - are you serious? - Jared Lorenzen.
| Georgia | USC | Clemson | Georgia Tech |
| Lindy's | 13 | 53 | 51 | 55 |
| Athlon | 8 | 64 | 47 | 65 |
| Street & Smith's | 13 | NR | NR | NR |
| The Sporting News | 11 | 54 | 49 | 59 |
| Phil Steele | 17 | NR | NR | NR |
Note: Street & Smith's rankings consisted only of a Top 25; Phil Steele ranked the top 45 teams.
Reach Larry Williams at (706) 823-3645 or larry.williams@augustachronicle.com.
