COLLEGE FOOTBALL ’88 : WHO’S NO. 1? : Preseason Football Publications Vary Widely in Their Predictions

Anyone who is eager for a prediction on how USC and UCLA will fare during the college football season would be advised to read Sport magazine.

The publication has already designated USC as the No. 2 team in Los Angeles, with quarterback Rodney Peete just a backup to UCLA’s Troy Aikman in the preseason hype of Heisman Trophy prospects.

Sport reports: “Peete’s biggest problem is that he’s the second-best quarterback on the second-best team in town. The City of Angels will belong to UCLA and Troy Aikman in 1988.”

Well, that takes care of that. Or does it?

Sport is just one of many publications spraying predictions at random, and they vary widely.

For example, USC is ranked as high as second nationally by Street & Smith’s and Inside Sports, but as low as 16th by Sport.

UCLA is regarded as the nation’s third-best team by Sport and Football News, and Sport has a yellow sticker on its cover proclaiming that the Bruins will maul the Pacific 10.

Such an assessment would usually provide bulletin-board material for rival Pacific-10 teams and make UCLA Coach Terry Donahue edgy. However, The Sporting News and Athlon have relegated UCLA to No. 13 in the preseason ratings.

The news services have taken a middle-ground approach. The Associated Press, the writers and broadcasters’ poll, ranks UCLA fifth, USC sixth. United Press International, the coaches’ poll, projects USC eighth and UCLA ninth.

What’s going on here? Does anyone really have any insight, or are blindfolded people sticking pins in a list of teams?

Some samplings:

--The Sporting News ranks Michigan as the nation’s No. 1 team, saying that “the talent and intangibles are in place for the Wolverines to capture the national crown.”

--Sport selects another Big Ten team, Iowa, as the nation’s best, giving the nod to the Hawkeyes mainly on the basis of their relatively easy nonconference schedule. Michigan? Sport dismisses Bo Schembechler’s team as No. 12.

--Athlon isn’t as high on Iowa, which it gives a No. 16 rating, and it has Michigan a strong No. 5. It ranks Florida State as the top team, concurring with the AP and UPI.

Those who have some doubts about Michigan or Iowa can bear in mind that a Big Ten team hasn’t won a national championship in 20 years. And the Pac-10? USC is the last team to have a No. 1 postseason ranking; it shared the honor with Alabama in 1978.

Even though UCLA ranks as high as No. 3 nationally in two publications, six magazines pick USC to finish first in the Pac-10.

Asked to comment on the range of predictions for his team in the national magazines, USC Coach Larry Smith said:

“It’s like throwing darts. But it helps creates interest in college football, and that’s super. But as far as accuracy, it’s like throwing money down the drain in Las Vegas.

“I don’t pay a lot of attention to it, and I don’t think most coaches and players do. It does provide interesting reading.”

More interesting reading:

UCLA, with 11 of 13 first-place votes, was the overwhelming choice of the Pac-10 skywriters to win the conference championship this season. USC was the second choice with one first-place vote.

UCLA has been the choice of the writers from Pac-10 cities for four of the last five years--and it has yet to win a title when favored. UCLA won in 1985, though, when the skywriters overlooked the Bruins.

Perhaps, the skywriters will get it right this time. They haven’t accurately picked the conference champion since they tabbed USC in 1979. That’s hardly a comforting precedent for Donahue.