Phil Steele is Going Down

It's kind of you to take a break from the riveting close of the transfer season, but we've had enough soccer talk. It's time to drop the gauntlet.

I've purchased football preview magazines for as long as I can remember, and even kept many of them as mini time-capsules. That is, until I dumped them because the magazine box began to bulge (as did my waist-line) two moves ago. I think the attraction to these magazines has been a combination of following a terrible baseball team, enjoying prognostication, and light reading. I've purchased nearly every popular, as well as defunct previews without thinking much for any of their differences. There was, however, a magazine that was always more expensive than any other which I would skim before moving on to a cheaper, shinier (shinyer?) more colorful option.

Late this summer, The Herd recommended a football preview magazine as the greatest resource for college football, full of information and a must for college football junkies. I fancy myself as a bit of a college football junkie. I thought I would pay the premium just to see what all the ink was about - it is easily the highest word count for any magazine I've ever seen.

Was it all that it was billed? Phil Steele thinks so. As it turns out, most of the ink is used to talk about how great Phil Steele is. Of the space Phil isn't talking about how great he is, he gives detailed five-year summaries and statistics rather than letting me know who's good and who's bad in 2009. It's great if you love to follow college football ... and haven't done so in years.

With that being said, I'm throwing down the gauntlet! I'm picking the final standings of every conference that matters (that excludes the Big East). If I win, I'm asking for my money back. If I lose, I'll buy the magazine next year. Although I might ask Phil for the CliffsNotes version.

SEC East
1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. Tennessee
4. South Carolina
5. Vanderbilt
6. Kentucky

SEC West
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Mississippi
4. Auburn
5. Arkansas
6. Mississippi St.

SEC Champion: Florida

Big 12 South
1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Oklahoma State
4. Texas Tech
5. Baylor
6. Texas A&M

Big 12 North
1. Colorado
2. Nebraska
3. Kansas State
4. Missouri
5. Iowa State

Big 12 Champion: Texas

Big 10
1. Ohio State
2. Penn St.
3. Iowa
4. Wisconsin
5. Illinois
6. Michigan State
7. Michigan
8. Northwestern
9. Minnesota
10. Indiana
11. Purdue

Pac 10
1. USC
2. Cal
3. Oregon St.
4. UCLA
5. Arizona
6. Oregon
7. Stanford
8. Arizona St.
9. Washington
10. Washington St.

ACC Atlantic
1. Clemson
2. Boston College
3. Florida State
4. Wake Forest
5. NC St
6. Maryland

ACC Coastal
1. Georgia Tech
2. Virginia Tech
3. North Carolina
4. Miami
5. Virginia
6. Duke

ACC Champion: Clemson

MWC
1. BYU
2. TCU
3. Utah
4. Air Force
5. Wyoming
6. New Mexico
7. UNLV
8. San Siego St

National Champion: Florida over Texas
Heisman: Tebow