It's getting warmer outside

Spring, not the "football spring" but the real season when allergies run rampant, temperatures rise and college football previews start rolling off the fingertips. Not much real action is going on, so we're all faced with the ever daunting task of filling the next three months with fluff, fluff that's so entertaining, it's almost as good as the season itself. I love preview magazines.

I don't believe CFN gets its fair share of praise among college football outlets. Granted, I hate Fox, but CFN is the top dog when it comes to accuracy and thorough analysis of college football. They don't need a summer magazine because, as smart as it is, they string it out, each day releasing one or two new team previews. This morning, when the Auburn and Louisiana-Monroe previews were posted, I was like a kid on Christmas morning.

But recently around the Penn State world, the buzz is about Athlon's running preview of the top-25. Penn State came in at 23, which is total bull. Athlon is about as accurate as having my dog pick the top-25, so I'll let this go. Hey, at least Penn State was ranked. On almost a yearly basis, Athlon grossly underestimates the Nittany Lions... almost.

Heading over to Lindy's, I noticed their poll today asked which team would win the Big Ten. As if on cue, Penn State was left off as a real contender. Looks like the only people who think Penn State really has a shot at the conference title are the Nittany Lion fans. The last time Penn State was ranked this low during the preseason, the team went 11-1. We'll see.

And finally, I took a gander at College News today. It's written by students apparently, and has one of the more interesting preseason top-25's out there. Most conventional wisdom would put Georgia at No. 1. Nearly all of the mainstream media outlets were crowning them as soon as the Sugar Bowl was over--not at CN, my friends. They went with USC at the top spot, followed by (gasp!) Ohio State. Then comes the Bulldogs. Florida is No. 5, and LSU's at No. 7, with Auburn rounding out the top-10. I like that, giving the SEC no more respect than it deserves. Teams shouldn't be rewarded in the preseason rankings just because they play in the SEC.

*Be sure to check back tomorrow or Thursday, as I'll break down why Penn State's problems have nothing to do with recruiting, and why the star-rating system used in college football recruiting sucks, and should be taken with a huge grain of salt.