Football Preseason Poll

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Southern Cal
5. Alabama
6. Ohio St.
7. Virginia Tech
8. Mississippi
9. Oklahoma St.
9. Penn St.
11. LSU
12. California
13. Georgia
14. Boise St.
15. Georgia Tech
16. Oregon
17. TCU
18. Florida St.
19. Utah
20. BYU
21. North Carolina
22. Iowa
23. Notre Dame
24. Nebraska
25. Kansas

Others receiving votes: Oregon St. 122, Illinois 105

My prediction for the championship game on Jan. 7 in Pasadena:

USC Trojans turn back the Crimson Tide of Alabama in a close one.

Two Big 10 teams in the top 10, that's surprising, but six from the
SEC and Big 12 is not. Wayne Knight's Bayou Bengals are ranked 11th
and Wayno's Tarheels 21st. Good luck, boyos. My Illini are 27th based
mainly on the strength of our returning offense led by senior QB Juice
Williams and a supposedly stellar receiving corps. We'll see, I'm always
nervous to see the Illini anywhere near the preseason polls.

--
Ken Fortenberry