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2002 Preseason Conference
Rankings
Here are the 2002 preseason conference rankings
from 1-11 of each Division I conference along with a brief summary of each conference.
Included is each conference’s “Top Dawgs”, the teams that will contend on a national
level (as in make a run at the BCS), the “Mid-Level Teams”, as in teams that will be at or
above the .500 mark but will not make a run at any large prizes this year, and the “Lower
Level Teams”, which are teams that will almost surely have losing records this
year.
| Big XII |
| Top Dawgs: Colorado, Nebraska,
Oklahoma, Texas |
| Mid-Level Teams: Iowa State, Kansas
State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech |
| Lower Level Teams: Missouri, Kansas,
Oklahoma State, Baylor |
| The Big XII is probably not as deep from 1-12 as
the SEC but definitely has the most elite teams. Colorado and Nebraska, from the Big XII
North, as well as Oklahoma and Texas, from the Big XII South, all have chances to claim
a BCS berth. Colorado and Nebraska were the conference’s representatives last year in
the BCS (Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl and Nebraska fell short of national champ Miami in
the Rose Bowl). Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech should all take
winning seasons this year. Any of these teams could step up and make a run at the Big
XII title, but the top four teams will be hard to overcome. Oklahoma State is borderline
between a mid-level team and lower level team. The Cowboys have the potential to step
up to .500 but have not proven they can over the past few seasons. Missouri, Kansas, and
Baylor are without a doubt the bottom three teams in the Big XII.
|
| SEC |
| Top Dawgs: Two of these four:
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee |
| Mid-Level Teams: Two of these four:
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee plus Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU,
Mississippi, and Miss. State |
| Lower Level Teams: Kentucky,
Vanderbilt |
| After being the leader among conferences in
college football the past few years, the SEC seems to have at least temporarily taken
second place behind the Big XII. The margain is not huge, but it is there. Whereas the
Big XII has four teams that will be legitimate contenders for BCS berths, four of the
SEC’s five best teams are in the SEC East in my opinion. This would likely limit the
number of legitimate BCS contenders in the SEC to two. Whichever two do not step up
and make BCS-type noise will join all six members of the SEC West (AL, AR, AU, LSU,
UM, and MSU) as mid-level teams in the SEC. Kentucky and Vanderbilt are the obvious
low points of the conference this year. The SEC has a legitmate shot at having ten bowl
eligible teams this fall. |
| PAC 10 |
| Top Dawgs: Two of these three:
Washington State, Washington, Oregon |
| Mid-Level Teams: One of these three:
Washington St, Washington, Oregon plus USC, UCLA, Arizona, Oregon State |
| Lower Level Teams: Stanford, Arizona
State, California |
| I expect two teams to be in fierce battle for the
PAC 10 title this season while the next four or five teams are packed tightly just above the
.500 mark overall. I think WSU is certain to be one of the two teams contending while
either Washington or Oregon will be the second. Which ever one falls into the mid-level
category will join USC, UCLA, Arizona, and Oregon State. The teams who look as if
they won’t have winning seasons in ‘02 are Stanford, Arizona State, and Cal. Stanford
and Arizona could possibly change positions, but I think the Wildcats have a chance to be
successful this season. Even though this is a strong conference, I think it’s too
competitive to have a team appear in the Fiesta Bowl this season. Like the SEC, these
teams will beat up on each other too much. |
| Big Ten |
| Top Dawgs: Ohio State, Michigan,
Michigan State |
| Mid-Level Teams: Illinois, Penn State,
Iowa, Purdue, Wisconsin |
| Lower Level Teams: Northwestern,
Minnesota, Indiana |
| Giving the Big Ten three top-tier teams is very
generous as I don’t think all three of these teams can legtimately compete at the top level
this season. One will likely fall into the mid-level category by season’s end. The mid-level
category is impressive in the Big Ten. One member, Illinois, actually won the conference
last season. Penn State, Iowa, Purdue, and Wisconsin should have winning
seasons this year though I’ve predicted Wisconsin to have a disappointing season this fall.
Northwestern, after being picked by some to win the conference last year, falls into the
lower-level as do Minnesota and Indiana. |
| Big East |
| Top Dawgs: Miami, Virginia
Tech |
| Mid-Level Teams: Boston College,
Pittsburgh, Syracuse |
| Lower Level Teams: West Virginia,
Rutgers, Temple |
| In the ratings of the teams above, I was generous
to the Big East by giving them two teams in the “Top Dawgs” category and including
Syracuse in the mid-level teams. Most people are picking ‘Cuse to have success this
season, but I feel they’re going to fall off significantly from last season’s record. Miami is
an obvious choice for the top spot in the conference. The ‘Canes will again contend for
the national title. Boston College and Pittsburgh, as well as Virginia Tech, should have
very good seasons this fall. West Virginia could approach .500, but Rutgers and Temple
will make up the bottom two spots of the conference. |
| ACC |
| Top Dawgs: Florida State |
| Mid-Level Teams: NC State, Maryland,
Clemson, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest |
| Lower Level Teams: Virginia, North
Carolina, Duke |
| Florida State is the obvious choice for the top
spot in the ACC this year. NC State and Maryland are solid choices for the mid-level
category. Duke will again be the cellar-dweller of the ACC. But that’s where the
sure-choices end. I think that three of the remaining five teams (Wake Forest, Clemson,
Georgia Tech, Virginia, and North Carolina) will have good seasons while the other two
will fall below .500. As of right now, I’d have to say the UNC and UVA appear to be the
odd ones out. Wake Forest could easily slide back down though, but I think they could be
a surprise in the ACC this fall. |
| CUSA |
| Top Dawgs: Louisville |
| Mid-Level Teams: Cincinnati, Southern
Miss, Memphis, TCU, East Carolina |
| Lower Level Teams: UAB, Tulane,
Houston, Army |
| Louisville has a chance to shine this fall and
possibly make a run at the BCS behind QB Dave Ragone. Cincinnati, Southern
Miss, Memphis, TCU, and East Carolina should all be right around or above the
break-even mark this fall. The bad spot of this conference is that there are four teams that
are going to struggle this season. UAB, Tulane, Houston, and Army averaged only three
wins each last year, and that number may not be much better this season.
|
| Mountain West |
| Top Dawgs: ----- |
| Mid-Level Teams: Utah, Colorado State,
New Mexico, UNLV, BYU |
| Lower Level Teams: Air Force,
Wyoming, San Diego State |
| While Utah and Colorado State are the class of
the MWC in my opinion, I don’t think either of these teams can be seriously considered a
contender for the BCS. New Mexico, in my opinion, will surprise some people this fall.
UNLV and BYU will also put quality, .500 teams on the field this year. Air Force,
Wyoming, and San Diego State are the bottom three in the Mountain West.
|
| WAC |
| Top Dawgs: ----- |
| Mid-Level Teams: Louisiana Tech,
Boise State, Hawaii, Fresno State |
| Lower Level Teams: UTEP, Rice,
Nevada, Tulsa, SMU, San Jose State |
| Even if a team from the WAC was to go
undefeated, it’s not entirely guaranteed that they would be represented in the BCS. I
don’t think it will happen anyway though. LA Tech, Boise State, Hawaii, and Fresno
State will make the most serious runs at the conference title this fall while the rest of the
conference will try to contend for possibly one more .500 record.
|
| MAC |
| Top Dawgs: Marshall |
| Mid-Level Teams: UCF, Miami (OH),
Kent St, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Ball St, Toledo |
| Lower Level Teams: Akron, Ohio,
Buffalo, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan |
| Marshall is the obvious choice for the top spot in
the MAC behind QB and Heisman Trophy candidate Byron Leftwich. The rest of the
spots are wide open. The teams that won’t contend this fall are Akron, Ohio, Buffalo,
Central Michigan, and Eastern Michigan. Including Kent State and Ball State in the
mid-level teams was generous while not including Western Michigan was rather harsh. WMU
may move up by season’s end, but at this point, I’m not sure they’ll finish .500.
|
| Sun Belt |
| Top Dawgs: ----- |
| Mid-Level Teams: North Texas, Middle
Tennessee |
| Lower Level Teams: Idaho, New
Mexico St, LA-Monroe, Arkansas St, LA-Lafayette |
| The conference with the fewest teams also
happens to be the weakest. Middle Tennessee and North Texas will battle it out for the
Sun Belt crown (again), but past that, there are no good teams. The rest of the conference
will continue to struggle as the Mean Green and Blue Raiders are in charge.
|
Conference Rankings by Jonathan.
Southern College Sports
|
