A Chance at Redemption: A College Football Timeline

5 STAR QB NEWTON WAFFLING WITH DECISION

The five star quarterback from Atlanta, Georgia is wavering with his commitment to Florida.

After the arrival of new Alabama coach Rich Rodriguez, the opportunity to start early instead of being groomed as the incumbent’s successor (i.e. Tebow at Florida) has lured Newton into considering the Tide. Alabama is now, according to his father Cecil, tied for second behind the Gators with Mississippi State and with Alabama’s archrivals, the Auburn Tigers.

Cecil stated “Cam is just rethinking everything… it’s only… what, now… a couple weeks before signing day? Cam just wants to make sure that he’s going to the right university for him, and we don’t want to get hasty, and just pick Florida. He wants to play now, and he deserves to play now, and we’re looking at all options to see what will be the best choice for the future of my son’s football career.”

While Newton had dismissed West Virginia before, he is now likely considering Rodriguez’s school because of two factors: First, he can play immediately, and with another top tier freshman in RB Noel Devine, who nearly immediately decommitted from West Virginia to follow Rodriguez to Alabama. Newton has talked to Devine, and is very interested in playing for three plus years with such a talent. The second reason is because Newton wants to play near home – that being somewhere in the SEC - so that his parents can watch him play. West Virginia is obviously much further from Atlanta than Tuscaloosa.

Don’t expect Newton to play as run-oriented of an offense as West Virginia’s Pat White has over the past couple seasons. Newton comes in as a strong overall quarterback, and can throw the ball already about as well as White and run extremely well, being such a big and fast kid. Rodriguez, if he gets Newton, will likely tailor his offense slightly to fit Newton’s skill set, rather than run the exact offense that he did at West Virginia.

For now, the 28th rated prospect by rivals.com is projected to stay committed to Florida, but anything could happen over the next couple weeks.
 
Rivals.com Team Rankings (1-25)

1. Florida
2. Tennessee
3. USC
4. LSU
5. Texas
6. South Carolina
7. Michigan
8. Auburn
9. Alabama
10. Notre Dame
11. Georgia
12. Oregon
13. Nebraska
14. Oklahoma
15. Illinois
16. Ohio State
17. Clemson
18. North Carolina
19. Georgia Tech
20. Miami
21. Florida State
22. California
23. Penn State
24. Virginia
25. Pittsburgh
 
RIVALS.COM 5 STAR PLAYER COMMITMENTS

1. Jimmy Clausen.............. QB CA Notre Dame
2. Joe McKnight............... RB LA USC
3. Eric Berry...................... DB GA Tennessee
4. Ryan Mallett.................. QB TX Michigan
5. Carlos Dunlap................ DE FL Florida
6. Everson Griffith.............. DE AZ USC
7. Marvin Austin................ DT DC North Carolina
8. Ronald Johnson............. WR MI Michigan
9. Torrey Davis.................. DT FL Florida
10. Josh Oglesby................ OL WI Wisconsin
11. Chris Galippo............... LB CA USC
12. James Wilson............... OL FL Florida
13. Terrance Toliver ...........WR TX LSU
14. Chad Jones ...................ATH LA LSU
15. Noel Devine.................. RB FL Alabama
16. Tray Allen..................... OL TX Texas
17. Marc Tyler.................... RB CA USC
18. Chris Donald................. LB TN Tennessee
19. Chris Culliver................ WR NC South Carolina
20. Ben Martin.................... DE OH Tennessee
21. Curtis Brown................. DB TX Texas
22. Dwight Jones..................WR NC North Carolina
23. Ryan Miller.....................OL CO Colorado
24. Arrelious Benn............... WR DC Illinois
25. Donovan Warren........... DB CA Michigan
26. Martez Wilson............... DE IL Illinois
27. Tyrod Taylor................. QB VA Virginia Tech
28. Cameron Newton.......... QB GA Alabama
29. Kristofer O’Dowd.......... OL AZ USC
 
Signing Day Recap

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Cam Newton's flip was one of this year's biggest stories on National Signing Day

Here are the biggest winners and losers from the 2007 College Football Signing Classes:

The two biggest winners of the day have to be the University of Alabama and the University of Illinois, easily. We’ll start with the Crimson Tide.

Head Coach Rich Rodriguez inherited a program in shambles merely two months ago, fresh off of another fine season with his alma mater, the Mountaineers of West Virginia University. Alabama had an average recruiting class going – for an SEC school – being commonly rated a top twenty class by major recruiting sites, such as Rivals, Scout, and ESPN. But, over the course of two months, Rodriguez proved himself a better recruiter than expected. He managed to persuade the five star verbal commit to Florida, Cam Newton, to join him in Alabama, convincing the young man that he could prepare quarterbacks for the NFL, and promising to utilize Newton’s skill set immediately – which is ultimately what convinced Newton to spurn Urban Meyer and Florida, as he would have to wait behind young Tim Tebow. He also managed to convince several key West Virginia commits, namely five star running back Noel Devine, into joining him at Alabama. With Newton and Devine in the backfield, and with the strong leadership of Rodriguez, Alabama could be a force to be reckoned with quickly within not only the SEC, but upon a national scale.

Many in the Big Ten are perplexed at how Ron Zook’s Fighting Illini managed to gain such a staunch recruiting class, getting a top fifteen class despite Michigan and Ohio State’s national championship bout just a month ago. In fact, the Illini out-recruited the feared Buckeyes, being one spot ahead of them according to rivals.com. Illinois came off of a 2-10 season, and Zook has won only four games in two years there, making this all the more surprising – Michigan and Ohio State combined for 24-2 last season. Zook even managed to secure two five star recruits – compare that to Ohio State’s zero! Illinois looks a bit suspicious to many around the nation, and we will have to wait and see exactly what comes out of this, and what Zook can do with such a fine class.

Other winners from this year’s signing day include Florida, Michigan, and Tennessee. Florida pulled off the top class, Tennessee had both great quantity and quality, and Michigan managed to gain the number eight overall player, in Ronald Johnson, surprising Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans.

By far and away this year’s biggest signing day loser was West Virginia, who, with Rich Rodriguez, witnessed a large exodus of players leaving to instead go to Alabama with Rodriguez, all eager to be the next Pat White, or Steve Slaton – even while Slaton and White are in school. It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been though. Holliday was in part chosen because he is well considered to be a solid recruiter – perhaps better then Rodriguez – and did manage to convince fine players such as Terence Kerns (4 star RB), Pat Lazear (4 star LB), and Bradley Starks (4 star QB) to stay committed to West Virginia. Nevertheless, the Mountaineers dropped to the 31st ranked class of the year, and that can’t be a great start for Holliday.

UCLA also had a dismal class this year – at least when compared to their cross-town rivals, the USC Trojans, as UCLA only managed eleven recruits to keep up. USC had the number three class, and had seventeen recruits. That’s not to say that the Bruins had a terrible class – many were quality players – just depth would’ve helped the Bruins out tremendously to compete with the Trojans in the years to come. We’ll have to see if Dorrell can exceed his team’s high expectations this year. If not, UCLA might be looking to someone else to lead them to football glory.
 
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Illinois Has Rivals Fuming About Its Recruiting Coup
(Copied from a real New_York_Times_Article)

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Many are perplexed as to how Coach Ron Zook, winner of four games in two seasons, has pulled off a top twenty recruiting class.

Illinois, one of the worst teams among the major conferences in college football in recent seasons, has astounded experts and enraged rivals by putting together one of the nation’s best recruiting classes.

When recruits make their final commitments on national signing day today, Illinois Coach Ron Zook is expected to have collected one of the strongest groups in the Big Ten and among the country’s top 15. In several cases, the Illini won head-to-head recruiting battles against traditional powers like Notre Dame, Michigan and Ohio State.

Among those likely to sign with Illinois are Martez Wilson, a defensive end from Chicago who is seen as the country’s top prospect at the position, and Arrelious Benn, a wide receiver from Washington who is considered among the three best players at his position. Benn is already enrolled and taking classes on campus in Champaign. Both players had suitors like Notre Dame, Southern California and Ohio State.

The success at Illinois has left the world of college football abuzz with a question: How did a program that went 4-19 the past two seasons, including 1-15 in its conference, persuade so many top players to sign?

John L. Smith, who was recently dismissed as the head coach at Michigan State, expressed a view shared privately by many rival coaches and recruiters: “If they had a winning program and all of that, it would be a different deal. If they had the greatest facilities in the world, then maybe they could sell them. But what are they selling?”

He added, “Where there’s smoke, there’s probably fire.”

But Jim Delany, the commissioner of the Big Ten, made an unsolicited call to a reporter for The New York Times to say that “blogosphere smoke” was the reason for any suspicion surrounding the Illinois class. “Around signing day,” he said, “smoke does not equal fire.”

Tom Lemming, a longtime recruiting expert now with CSTV, said a recruiting class this good at a university like Illinois, with little recent tradition, was virtually unprecedented. “I’ve never seen anything like it in 28 years,” he said.

Neither have the assistant coaches who recruit in Chicago, the center of Big Ten recruiting and a city where the Illini have done well.

“If something is going on, they’ll get theirs,” said the Wisconsin assistant coach Randall McCray, who recruits in Chicago for the Badgers. “But if nothing is going on, it’s just jealous people that are getting beat in recruiting. I don’t know.”

Illinois has a long history of National Collegiate Athletic Association violations in basketball and football predating the arrival of Zook and his staff before the 2005 season. University officials dismissed complaints about this year’s class as the product of envy, and they said Illini coaches had thrived with a pitch of playing time and potential.

“Illinois is a pretty darn good place,” said Ron Guenther, the university’s athletic director. “And we’re going to roll up our sleeves and battle with the heavyweights.”

In a telephone interview Monday, Guenther said the university hired an outside law firm to investigate anonymous tips and complaints about suspected recruiting improprieties, and to determine the source of rumors about the program. He said the investigation had cost the university thousands of dollars.

Guenther also said he and Illinois coaches were convinced that another university’s coaching staff had leaked unflattering personal information about recruits to a Web site. He would not name the Web site or the university, other than to say it was not a Big Ten program.

“I take this stuff so seriously,” he said. “I have an interest in the coach’s and the program’s reputation. It’s defamation of character, and it’s got to be challenged.”

Illinois knew it was getting a strong recruiter, if not a top football strategist and disciplinarian, when it hired Zook. While he was the coach at Florida, he signed 20 of the 22 players who would become starters on the Gators’ recent national championship team. Zook declined interview requests, saying he would not comment until after signing day.

But with only three Big Ten titles since 1964, Illinois does not have nearly the recent tradition or the built-in fan support that the Gators enjoy. Nor does it have nearly the same fertile recruiting ground.

Still, Zook is once again showing how adept he is at navigating the murky world of attracting high school prospects.

For every blockbuster signing at Illinois, there is a logical link.

Benn, for instance, is from Washington, where the Illini’s offensive coordinator, Mike Locksley, has strong ties. Locksley recruited the same area for Maryland, including as its recruiting coordinator from 1998 through February 2003. (Locksley was still the recruiting coordinator at Maryland when an assistant coach was caught giving cash to a high school prospect, Victor Abiamiri, who ended up going to Notre Dame. Locksley was not accused of wrongdoing.)

Benn’s decision to join Illinois was considered a huge surprise outside Champaign. He had talked eagerly throughout his recruitment about playing at Notre Dame with the country’s top-ranked quarterback prospect, Jimmy Clausen. Instead, he chose to play in the Big Ten’s worst pass offense with Isiah Williams, who completed less than 40 percent of his passes last season and was statistically one of the country’s worst passing quarterbacks.

In the case of Wilson and other Chicago-area prospects, Zook landed him partly because of the strong local connections of the assistant coach Reggie Mitchell. When Zook was hired, he lured Mitchell from Smith’s staff at Michigan State.

The Illini also landed a player who originally committed to Florida, D’Angleo McCray, from Jacksonville. The Illini assistant coach Dan Disch was a high school coach in that city for years.

In attracting McCray and Benn, the Illinois staff first received commitments from high school teammates who were not nearly as highly regarded as a way to help show their interest.

“There’s no real formula outside of just plain, hard work,” Guenther said. “He gets in early, and the staff has contacts in different areas. And he’s just so darn competitive.”

On the field, however, Zook’s teams have not been so competitive. He was fired halfway through his third season at Florida after a loss at Mississippi State in October 2004. Along the way, he lost twice to the University of Mississippi and finished with a 23-14 record.

Perhaps his defining moment was when he had a verbal altercation with members of a Florida fraternity in September of his final season. That year, seven of his players had brushes with the law. Of the 70 players Zook recruited at Florida, 32 left the program, transferred, or were kicked off the team. That does not include players who left for the N.F.L.

Florida’s coach, Urban Meyer, stressed off-the-field discipline from the moment he stepped on campus.

The most highly regarded player in the Illini’s recruiting class from last season, defensive lineman Melvin Alaeze, left the university for personal reasons in the fall. Alaeze was charged with attempted murder in December in his native Maryland. Illinois took Alaeze after Maryland rescinded his scholarship offer following a marijuana-related arrest and his struggles to qualify academically.

Guenther said allowing Alaeze a scholarship was a “character risk.”

Kevin Johns, an assistant coach at Northwestern, said: “We’re recruiting two different types of character, two different types of kids. They can get in almost any kid that they want. We have to go through academic admissions.”

To recruits who have committed to, visited and considered Illinois, much of the appeal comes down to the opportunity to play right away and to the allure of turning around a losing program. None of the eight recruits interviewed for this article said they had been offered anything illegal by Illinois coaches or staff members.

“A lot of people think just because they’re getting big-name recruits in that there’s got to be something dirty going on,” said Josh Brent, a defensive tackle from Bloomington, Ill., who picked Illinois over Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin. “Me, speaking personally from going through the recruiting process at Illinois, I have never been offered anything. I have never seen anything of that sort.”

Marvin Austin, a defensive tackle from Washington considered among the best at his position, visited Illinois but has since narrowed his list to North Carolina and Florida State.

Austin said numerous recruits from the Washington area had taken an interest in Illinois because of Locksley. Austin said that the Illini had done a good job of recruiting in urban areas and that recruits were realizing they could go to less successful programs, where they could earn playing time early and more exposure.

“People are scared of what they don’t understand,” Austin said. “And I don’t think they understand why kids are going to Illinois.”
 
COACHING CAROUSEL, 2006-2007
Team .............................Out ..................Years..................... In
Air Force................. Fisher DeBerry........ 23 ..............Troy Calhoun
Alabama ..................Mike Shula ...............4 ...............Rich Rodriguez
Arizona State ...........Dick Koetter ............6 ...............Dennis Erickson
Army....................... Bobby Ross .............3 ...............Stan Brock
Boston College ........Tom O’Brien ...........10 ..............Jeff Jagodzinski
Central Michigan..... Brian Kelly............... 3................ Butch Jones
Cincinnati ................Mark Dantonio......... 3................ Brian Kelly
Florida International. Don Strock.............. 5 ................Mario Cristobal
Idaho ......................Dennis Erickson....... 1................. Robb Akey
Iowa State ...............Dan McCarney ........12 ..............Gene Chizik
Louisiana Tech ........Jack Bicknell............. 8 ................Derek Dooley
Louisville .................Bobby Petrino ...........4 ...............Steve Kragthorpe
Miami (Fl)............... Larry Coker .............6 ................Randy Shannon
Michigan State ........John L. Smith ............4 ...............Mark Dantonio
Minnesota ...............Glenn Mason ............10 .............Tim Brewster
North Carolina......... John Bunting............ 6 ................Butch Davis
NC State ................Chuck Amato ...........7 .................Tom O’Brien
North Texas ............Darrell Dickey ..........9 ................Todd Dodge
Northwestern ..........Randy Walker* .........7................ Pat Fitzgerald
Rice ........................Todd Graham ...........1................ David Bailiff
Stanford ..................Walt Harris ..............2 ................Jim Harbaugh
Tulane .....................Chris Scelfo.............. 8................ Bob Toledo
Tulsa .......................Steve Kragthorpe .....4 .................Todd Graham
UAB .......................Watson Brown ........12 ................Neil Callaway
West Virginia........... Rich Rodriguez........ 6 .................John Holliday

* Coach Walker died of a heart attack at the age of 52
 
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BCS Announces Changes:

Earlier today, the BCS announced that they would make the following changes to its policy on the admittance of teams into BCS bowl games, which the BCS was under fire for after they two of the top six teams (Florida and Wisconsin) weren’t allowed into BCS Bowls. These are the new qualifications for BCS bowl teams:

1. All BCS conference champions are guaranteed a spot in a BCS bowl, unless they are outside of the BCS Top 25.

2. All teams in the top four in the BCS standings are guaranteed a spot in a BCS bowl.
 
August 27, 2007

PRESEASON AP POLL

1. Southern California (33) 1489
2. Michigan (21) 1408
3. Louisiana State (10) 1345
4. Arkansas (1) 1255
5. Wisconsin 1201
6. Florida 1164
7. Oklahoma 1043
8. Virginia Tech 1039
9. Louisville 1007
10. Texas 946
11. Ohio State 921
12. West Virginia 833
13. Auburn 770
14. UCLA 717
15. Tennessee 694
16. California 639
17. Texas Christian 591
18. Georgia 486
19. Penn State 480
20. Texas A&M 448
21. Rutgers 445
22. Hawaii 396
23. Boston College 365
24. Oregon State 357
25. Notre Dame 332

Others Receiving Votes: Boise State 289, Nebraska 176, South Florida 103, Florida State 81, Wake Forest 55, South Carolina 26, Alabama 13, Miami (Fl) 7, Georgia Tech 2, Brigham Young 1, Iowa 1
 
Preseason Heisman Watch (in alphabetic order)

· John David Booty, SR, QB, USC
· Colt Brennan, SR, QB, Hawaii
· Brian Brohm, SR, QB, Louisville
· Michael Hart, SR, RB, Michigan
· PJ Hill, SO, RB, Wisconsin
· Darren McFadden, JR, RB, Arkansas
· Colt McCoy, SO, QB, Texas
· Ray Rice, JR, RB, Rutgers
· Steve Slaton, JR, RB, West Virginia
· Tim Tebow, SO, QB, Florida
· Patrick White, JR, QB, West Virginia
 
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FIRST TEAM PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

QB: Brian Brohm, SR, Louisville
RB: Darren McFadden, JR, Arkansas
RB: Steve Slaton, JR, West Virginia
WR: Jarrett Dillard, SR, Rice
WR: Mario Mannigham, JR, Michigan
TE: Travis Beckham, SR, Wisconsin
OL: Jake Long, SR, Michigan
OL: Sam Baker, SR, Southern California
OL: Jonathon Luigs, SR, Arkansas
OL: Will Arnold, SR, Louisiana State
OL: Cody Wallace, SR, Texas A&M
DE: Derrick Harvey, JR, Florida
DE: Tommy Blake, SR, Texas Christian
DT: Glenn Dorsey, SR, Louisiana State
DT: Sedrick Ellis, JR, Southern California
LB: Rey Maualuga, JR, Southern California
LB: James Laurinitus, JR, Ohio State
LB: Dan Connor, SR, Penn State
DB: Aqib Talib, JR, Kansas
DB: Malcolm Jenkins, JR, Ohio State
DB: Antoine Cason, JR, Arizona
DB: Jonathon Hefney, SR, Tennessee
K: Art Carmody, SR, Louisville
P: Durant Brooks, SR, Georgia Tech
KR: Marcus Thigpen, JR, Indiana
PR: DeSean Jackson, JR, California


SECOND TEAM PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS


QB: John David Booty, SR, Southern California
RB: Michael Hart, SR, Michigan
RB: P.J. Hill, SO, Wisconsin
WR: Darius Heyward-Bey, JR, Maryland
WR: Harry Douglas, SR, Louisville
OL: George Bussey, SR, Louisville
OL: Jeremy Perry, JR, Oregon State
OL: Steve Justice, SR, Wake Forest
OL: Adam Kraus, SR, Michigan
OL: Louis Vasquez, SR, Texas Tech
DE: Chris Long, SR, Virginia
DE: Calais Campbell, JR, Miami (Fl)
DT: Frank Okam, SR, Texas
DT: B.J. Raji, SR, Boston College
LB: Xavier Adibi, SR, Virginia Tech
LB: Vince Hall, SR, Virginia Tech
LB: Ben Moffitt, SR, South Florida
DB: Brandon Flowers, JR, Virginia Tech
DB: DeJuan Tribble, SR, Boston College
DB: Dwight Lowery, SR, San Jose State
DB: Nic Harris, JR, Oklahoma
K: Jeremy Ito, SR, Rutgers
P: Chris Miller, JR, Ball State
KR: Damon Nickson, SR, Middle Tennessee
PR: Sammie Stroughter, SR, Oregon State
 
PRESEASON CONFERENCE PREDICTIONS

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE

Atlantic:
1. Boston College Eagles
2. Florida State Seminoles
3. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
4. Clemson Tigers
5. Maryland Terrapins
6. North Carolina State Wolfpack

Coastal:
1. Virginia Tech Hokies
2. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
3. Miami (Fl) Hurricanes
4. Virginia Cavaliers
5. North Carolina Tar Heels
6. Duke Blue Devils

BIG EAST CONFERENCE

1. Louisville Cardinals
2. West Virginia Mountaineers
3. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
4. South Florida Bulls
5. Pittsburgh Panthers
6. Cincinnati Bearcats
7. Connecticut Huskies
8. Syracuse Orange

BIG TEN CONFERENCE

1. Michigan Wolverines
2. Wisconsin Badgers
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
4. Penn State Nittany Lions
5. Iowa Hawkeyes
6. Purdue Boilermakers
7. Minnesota Golden Gophers
8. Illinois Fighting Illini
9. Michigan State Spartans
10. Northwestern Wildcats
11. Indiana Hoosiers

BIG XII CONFERENCE

North:
1. Nebraska Cornhuskers
2. Missouri Tigers
3. Kansas State Wildcats
4. Kansas Jayhawks
5. Colorado Buffaloes
6. Iowa State Cyclones

South:
1. Oklahoma Sooners
2. Texas Longhorns
3. Texas A&M Aggies
4. Oklahoma State Cowboys
5. Texas Tech Red Raiders
6. Baylor Bears

PAC-10 CONFERENCE

1. USC Trojans
2. UCLA Bruins
3. California Golden Bears
4. Oregon State Beavers
5. Oregon Ducks
6. Arizona State Sun Devils
7. Arizona Wildcats
8. Washington State Cougars
9. Washington Huskies
10. Stanford Cardinal

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE

East:
1. Florida Gators
2. Tennessee Volunteers
3. Georgia Bulldogs
4. South Carolina Gamecocks
5. Kentucky Wildcats
6. Vanderbilt Commodores

West:
1. LSU Tigers
2. Arkansas Razorbacks
3. Auburn Tigers
4. Alabama Crimson Tide
5. Mississippi State Bulldogs
6. Ole Miss Rebels

CONFERENCE USA

East:
1. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
2. UCF Knights
3. ECU Pirates
4. Marshall Thundering Herd
5. Memphis Tigers
6. UAB Blazers

West:
1. Houston Cougars
2. Tulsa Golden Hurricanes
3. SMU Mustangs
4. Rice Owls
5. UTEP Miners
6. Tulane Green Wave

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

East:
1. Ohio Bobcats
2. Akron Zips
3. Kent State Golden Flashes
4. Bowling Green Falcons
5. Miami (Oh) Redhawks
6. Temple Owls
7. Buffalo Bulls

West:
1. Central Michigan Chippewas
2. Western Michigan Broncos
3. Northern Illinois Huskies
4. Ball State Cardinals
5. Toledo Rockets
6. Eastern Michigan Eagles

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE

1. TCU Horned Frogs
2. BYU Cougars
3. Utah Utes
4. Air Force Falcons
5. Colorado State Rams
6. New Mexico Lobos
7. Wyoming Cowboys
8. UNLV Rebels
9. San Diego State Aztecs

SUN BELT CONFERENCE

1. Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
2. Troy Trojans
3. Florida Atlantic Owls
4. Arkansas State Indians
5. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
6. North Texas Mean Green
7. U-L Monroe Warhawks
8. Florida International Golden Panthers

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

1. Hawaii Warriors
2. Boise State Broncos
3. San Jose State Spartans
4. Nevada Wolf Pack
5. Fresno State Bulldogs
6. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
7. New Mexico State Aggies
8. Idaho Vandals
9. Utah State Aggies

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2. Navy Midshipmen
3. Army Black Knights
4. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
 
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