JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
I picked up the Athlon Big Ten Football Preview for about the 30th year in a row...or something like that.
Magazines seem to come out a few days earlier each year, and where June used to be preseason magazine month, I picked up my copy of Athlon on 5/27 this year and I think it was in stores on 5/25. Much of the content for these magazines is due to the publisher my the middle of April or thereabouts, so there are always some late breaking inaccuracies such as injuries, transfers, academic casualties, etc.
Still, this is one of the benchmark college football events for me...two months from now we'll be in Chicago for the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon which really makes things serious.
Athlon pegs Iowa for an 8-4 season, 4-4 in the Big Ten Legends Division behind Nebraska and Michigan State. They pick Iowa to have the exact same records as Michigan.
They have Ohio State beating Nebraska in the first ever Big Ten Championship game and have nine of the 12 Big Ten teams finishing with a record of 6-6 or better, eight with at least seven wins. When I did my quick and dirty predictions for the Big Ten last month, I had 10 teams 6-6 or better. However, I had not done the math on head to head games and total W-L projections to see if that was even possible.
Athlon ranks units for the conference with a 1-12 rating, with 1 being the best. Here is how they rate Iowa's units:
QB: 10
RB: 5
WR/TE: 7
OL: 3
DL: 6
LB: 5
DB: 4
They rate Iowa's offensive line as one of the ten best in college football, but behind Ohio State and Wisconsin in the league. Michigan State is a team they project good things for, and they rated their OL 9th in the league.
Here is their national preseason ranking for each of Iowa's FBS opponents, having Iowa ranked at 26th:
Iowa State: 63
Pittsburgh: 41
LA: Monroe: 102
Penn State: 30
Northwetsern: 46
Michigan: 40
Michigan State: 22
Minnesota: 70
Indiana: 84
Purdue: 64
Nebraska: 10th
Athlon also has a college football fantasy football player ratings section, and Marcus Coker rated 10th among all running backs in college football and 20th overall for all players...interesting.
There is a lot more in the magazine and I feel it's always worth picking up...Phil Steele is my 'holy grail' for college preseason magazines, being the one magazine I would buy if I could only buy one. But picking up Athlon has become a decades old tradition for me and it never disappoints.
Magazines seem to come out a few days earlier each year, and where June used to be preseason magazine month, I picked up my copy of Athlon on 5/27 this year and I think it was in stores on 5/25. Much of the content for these magazines is due to the publisher my the middle of April or thereabouts, so there are always some late breaking inaccuracies such as injuries, transfers, academic casualties, etc.
Still, this is one of the benchmark college football events for me...two months from now we'll be in Chicago for the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon which really makes things serious.
Athlon pegs Iowa for an 8-4 season, 4-4 in the Big Ten Legends Division behind Nebraska and Michigan State. They pick Iowa to have the exact same records as Michigan.
They have Ohio State beating Nebraska in the first ever Big Ten Championship game and have nine of the 12 Big Ten teams finishing with a record of 6-6 or better, eight with at least seven wins. When I did my quick and dirty predictions for the Big Ten last month, I had 10 teams 6-6 or better. However, I had not done the math on head to head games and total W-L projections to see if that was even possible.
Athlon ranks units for the conference with a 1-12 rating, with 1 being the best. Here is how they rate Iowa's units:
QB: 10
RB: 5
WR/TE: 7
OL: 3
DL: 6
LB: 5
DB: 4
They rate Iowa's offensive line as one of the ten best in college football, but behind Ohio State and Wisconsin in the league. Michigan State is a team they project good things for, and they rated their OL 9th in the league.
Here is their national preseason ranking for each of Iowa's FBS opponents, having Iowa ranked at 26th:
Iowa State: 63
Pittsburgh: 41
LA: Monroe: 102
Penn State: 30
Northwetsern: 46
Michigan: 40
Michigan State: 22
Minnesota: 70
Indiana: 84
Purdue: 64
Nebraska: 10th
Athlon also has a college football fantasy football player ratings section, and Marcus Coker rated 10th among all running backs in college football and 20th overall for all players...interesting.
There is a lot more in the magazine and I feel it's always worth picking up...Phil Steele is my 'holy grail' for college preseason magazines, being the one magazine I would buy if I could only buy one. But picking up Athlon has become a decades old tradition for me and it never disappoints.
