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College football preseason bible
just week away
June 06, 2005
By Sun Herald - June 14 is the day Street & Smith's college football
annual hits the newsstands.
It has been more than five months since the end of the 2004 college
football season. It has been almost two months since most colleges ended
spring practice. It's another two months before college teams return to
campus to begin preparations for the 2005 season.
We college football junkies need our fix.
And since 1940, better than any other magazine, Street & Smith has been
providing it.
Growing up, I remember my father bringing home a copy, particularly when
it had a Notre Dame player prominently displayed on its cover. In 1965,
Irish tight end Phil Sheridan was on the cover of the magazine, which
cost 50 cents.
Forty years later on June 14, Street & Smith will unveil 17 regional
covers -- didn't know we had 17 regions in the United States -- and new
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis shares the inset photo in Region 10
(Midwest) with former Florida head coach Ron Zook, who is now at
Illinois (the main photo is Ted Ginn Jr. of Ohio State).
The Sunshine State carries so much weight in college football that it is
designated its own region and Florida quarterback Chris Leak is the main
photo with running back Leon Washington of Florida State in an inset.
The Comeback Kid of the Southeastern Conference -- ex-Florida ball coach
Steve Spurrier -- finds himself on the Region 5 (South Atlantic) cover.
No matter the region, this year's Street & Smith annual can be yours for
$6.99. And we college football maniacs gladly will pay it to get the
chance to see how others see the upcoming season around the nation.
Hands down, Street & Smith is the bible of the college football
preseason. It has become great reference material around sports
departments nationwide.
The covers have become collectables. On its 1963 cover featuring USC
players Pete Bethard and Hal Bedsole, the magazine asked, "When will SEC
integrate?" The following year, when the covers went regional (and
featured Dick Butkus of Illinois, Craig Morton of Cal and Roger Staubach
of Navy), the magazine answered, "Dixie starts integrating."
The regional covers in 1966 featured a pair of Heisman quarterbacks --
UCLA's Gary Beban and Florida's Spurrier. Ted "The Stork" Hendricks of
Miami appeared on a 1967 cover.
It will be interesting to see which team gets Street & Smith's nod as
its preseason pick to be No. 1. Southern California, which has won or
shared the last two national titles, certainly is in the running.
Since 1989, only four teams picked by Street & Smith to be No. 1 in the
preseason finished there when all the games were played: Florida State
(1993 and '99), Miami (2001) and USC (2004).
Street & Smith's lowest-ranked preseason No. 1? Oklahoma, which went
from 23rd to No. 1 in 2000. The worst finish by a Street & Smith
preseason No. 1? In 1998, Washington ended 18th.
If not the Trojans in 2005, how about Texas? Ohio State? Florida State?
Miami? Florida?
We'll find out on June 14.
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