It’s already that time of year when this site shifts more into pop culture, media and entertainment mode. What did you think I did when there was no football and basketball? Well, Spurs vs Heat Finals? Yawn.Been there. Done that.
And the Blackhawks have obviously jumped the shark now. So hockey and NBA are both done for me for this season. That summer lull of dullness also means I start the way to early college football previews.
Here’s who we’re previewing and why. 32 teams just like in the NFL.
We used to call this series the 77 in 77. As I previewed 77 college football teams in 77 days. 77 was the jersey number of the greatest player in football history, Red Grange, the “Wheaton Ice Man” or the “Galloping Ghost.”
Grange attended my alma mater, the University of Illinois. When superstar he was done with school in the 1920s, professional football leagues were considered an abomination at worst; a pathetic joke at best. But Grange, along with fellow Illini George Halas, broke from tradition to give professional football the star power and leadership infrastructure it badly needed to establish itself. The duo combined to give the game marketing appeal and marketing acumen. And we know how this product has panned out.
Anyways, doing 77 teams means you’re stuck covering a lot of schools where people only care about basketball, the program has fallen on hard times, and mid-majors that no one cares about. And I don’t do mid-majors. I can’t waste the time on low interest material.
So instead I narrowed it down to 32: the top 5 overall, the entire Big Ten, all the opponents of the teams that I cover regularly, and others with a somewhat interesting storyline.
So here’s who I’ll preview. And their ranking according to Lindy’s. Yes, the college football preview magazines are already out! Just 58 days until the college football preseason starts (Big Ten Media Day) 95 until the college football season kicks off.
107 Texas State
99 USF
97 Western Kentucky
92 Purdue
82 Cal
74 Rutgers
71 Northwestern
69 indiana
68 Illinois
59 Maryland
52 Minnesota
50 Northern Illinois
38 Penn State
34 Bowling Green
26 Iowa
23 Washington
22 Texas
21 Nebraska
20 Michigan
19 Notre Dame
16 Kansas St
15 USC
14 Wisconsin
12 Georgia
11 LSU
8 UCLA
7 Michigan State
5 Ohio State
4 Oregon
3 Oklahoma
2 Alabama
1 Florida State
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also a frequent guest on national talk radio. Banks, a former contributor to NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, has been featured in numerous outlets including NFL.com, Forbes and the History Channel. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)