Preseason Football Magazines; Student-Athletes Are Paid Players

By Ed Peak

I really love being told things by people who claim to be experts.

For instance, the USA Today coaches college football preseason poll. How many coaches really study other teams other than an upcoming opponent? None. None. None.

They will tell you, "I know nothing about them."  Then how can we have a preseason poll by coaches?

I like polls only because it sparks interest. How can anyone watch every team before or during the regular season?

I read the preseason magazines which I give a little bit of credit to especially Phil Steele's College Football Preview. He breaks down everything. He has a staff of people that watch a lot of games during the season on television. They have some idea how teams play.

Steele's, Athlon and Lindy's, along with USA Today, have Texas No. 1. I can give credit to that. They have Ohio State at No. 2. Not sure about that.

Penn State, Oregon and Notre Dame, I'm told, are really good. How many voters have watched these teams in preseason or even last year?

The SEC is king. It has 16 teams including No. 1. The Big10 has OSU, Penn State and Illinois.

In the ACC the championship lives in Clemson. The voters give no one else a chance except the Tigers.

The Big12??? No idea.

Why did Texas and Oklahoma leave the Big 12. Money. Money. You want another reason? Money.

The college presidents and athletic directors will push the phrase "student-athletes." These are paid players. I'm not against paying these guys, but some of the amounts are ridiculous.

I'm guessing and it's a guess Texas wins the championship. How they get there is a guess.

Ed Peak is a longtime sportswriter from Louisville.