|
 Email this story to a friend  Kelley Washington was named to The Sporting News' first-team preseason All-SEC squad. |
July 5, 2002
Complete Breakdown of 2002 Predictions in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Summer is here. And so are the preseason college football magazines-each vying to predict the upcoming season.
If the preseason rags are correct, Tennessee fans should have plenty to cheer about. Tennessee, which finished last season with an 11-2 mark and a No. 4 national ranking, is a solid Top 10 pick by most major publications, including two, Blue Ribbon and Phil Steele, that have picked Phillip Fulmer's Vols at the nation's No. 1 team.
A composite ranking of six major publications, The Sporting News, Street & Smith's, Football Action, Athlon Sports, Lindy's and Phil Steele, have Tennessee ranked No. 5 nationally.
Texas edged Oklahoma by one point in the composite poll for the No. 1 spot, and the Longhorns were picked No. 1 by one of the six magazines surveyed. Three chose the Sooners to win the national title, one chose Florida State and another (Phil Steele) picked Tennessee. The composite poll also handicapped the Southeastern Conference, with the magazines picking a rematch of Tennessee and LSU in the SEC title game.
In Blue Ribbon College Football Forecast, due to be available at most major bookstores later this month, the Vols edged Oklahoma for the No. 1 spot, followed by Florida State, Texas and defending champion Miami.
