All The Rest Our Rankings from 26 to 117

2001 RETURNING SCHEDULE
RANK TEAM (FINAL RANK) RECORD STARTERS STRENGTH
THE SKINNY

26 N.C. STATE 7-5 14 74
Senior safety Terrence Holt, brother of NFL wideout Torry Holt,
averaged nearly 10 tackles a game

27 UTAH 8-4 15 75
Junior QB Lance Rice is the grandson of donor Bob Rice, whose
name adorns Rice-Eccles Stadium

28 MICHIGAN STATE 7-5 16 66
QB Jeff Smoker fired 21 TD passes and just eight INTs last
season as a sophomore

29 BOSTON COLLEGE (21) 8-4 18 76
With William Green opting for the NFL, the Eagles' four-year
streak of 1,000-yard rushers will end

30 CLEMSON 7-5 16 16
Don't be surprised if junior QB Willie Simmons, successor to
Woody Dantzler, throws for 3,000 yards

31 ALABAMA 7-5 12 9
The SEC's best rushing team (226.4 yards per game) has its top
four ground gainers back

32. KANSAS STATE 6-6 12 69
Sophomore tackle Tank Reese (5'11", 280 pounds) was the Big 12's
defensive newcomer of the year

33 ARKANSAS 7-5 13 41
The DWI suspension of All-America junior safety Ken Hamlin
leaves the secondary hog-tied

34 TEXAS TECH 7-5 19 4
Senior Kliff Kinsgbury ranks among the nation's top five
returning QBs in completions, yards and TDs

35 OREGON STATE 5-6 17 57
No preseason No. 1 this year, with sophomores replacing QB
Jonathan Smith and RB Ken Simonton

36 BYU (25) 12-2 12 80
Junior QB Bret Engemann takes over an offense that had an
NCAA-best 543 yards per game

37 WISCONSIN 5-7 13 23
Senior WR Lee Evans smashed David Boston's Big Ten receiving
yards record last year, with 1,545

38 UCLA 7-4 13 2
Coach Bob Toledo, who's 17-17 over the past three seasons, is on
the hottest of hot seats

39 NOTRE DAME 5-6 14 14
Ty Willingham's first five games: Maryland, Purdue, Michigan,
Michigan State, Stanford. Good luck

40 IOWA 7-5 14 55
The Hawkeyes have lost four straight to in-state rival Iowa
State; they get another shot on Sept. 14

41 PURDUE 6-6 17 51
Sophomore WR Taylor Stubblefield (73 catches, 910 yards) is
questionable after a July 4 skull fracture

42 MISSISSIPPI 7-4 16 32
Eli Manning's second-year stats (2,948 yards, 31 TDs) look
awfully close to Peyton's (2,954, 22)

43 STANFORD 9-3 10 13
Junior WR Luke Powell tops the Cardinal record book in yards per
reception (22.3)

44 SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 6-5 18 67
Can Derrick Nix return to the form that saw him rush for more
than 1,000 yards in 1998 and '99?

45 PITTSBURGH 7-5 16 58
Following a 1-5 start, the Panthers won six straight, including
a Tangerine Bowl victory over N.C. State

46 BOISE STATE 8-4 15 112
Senior S Quintin Mikell had 87 tackles in '01, junior RB David
Mikell (no relation) 1,441 total yards

47 IOWA STATE 7-5 15 34
Seneca Wallace, the Big 12's top offensive newcomer in 2001,
could be its best signal-caller

48 GEORGIA TECH (24) 8-5 16 25
QB A.J. Suggs, who started four games for Tennessee in 2000,
takes over the offense

49 SYRACUSE (14) 10-3 10 40
The Orangemen lost nine starters on offense, though not speedy
junior QB R.J. Anderson

50 COLORADO STATE 7-5 15 39
With RB Cecil Sapp healthy, Henri Childs (841 rushing yards)
will see time at H-back

51 VIRGINIA 5-7 13 10
Groh as in throw: The Cavs tossed a school-record 451 passes in
2001, Al Groh's first season as coach

52 CINCINNATI 7-5 17 73
QB Gino Guidugli (2,573 yards, 16 TDs) was the first freshman to
win Bearcats MVP honors

53 FRESNO STATE 11-3 17 77
Junior Jeff Grady, the successor to David Carr, has thrown just
23 career passes

54 MISSISSIPPI STATE 3-8 16 17
Senior LB Mario Haggan has had double-digit tackles in 13 of his
20 regular-season starts

55 LOUISIANA TECH 7-5 18 78
Junior QB Luke McCown has passed for 300 or more yards in 12 of
his 19 games as a starter

56 CENTRAL FLORIDA 6-5 11 98
QB Ryan Schneider is ahead of Daunte Culpepper's two-season
pace, with 5,257 yards and 38 TDs

57 BOWLING GREEN 8-3 14 116
Junior Josh Harris (1,022 passing yards) and senior Andy Sahm
(1,326 yards) will see time at QB

58 WAKE FOREST 6-5 17 45
Defensive Demon: Senior end Calvin Pace has 19 sacks over the
past two seasons

59 MEMPHIS 5-6 17 87
QB turned WR Travis Anglin, a 6'4" senior, caught five passes
for 131 yards in the spring game

60 OKLAHOMA STATE 4-7 18 24
Junior WR Rashaun Woods led the Big 12 in receptions (80) and
yards (1,023) as a sophomore

61 NEW MEXICO 6-5 15 82
Junior QB Casey Kelly started the final seven games of the
season, leading the Lobos to a 5-2 finish

62 MISSOURI 4-7 14 7
All-Big 12 wideout (and Tigers b-baller) Justin Gage caught 74
passes last year as a junior

63 ARIZONA 5-6 17 20
Junior TB Clarence Farmer led the Pac-10 in rushing, with 1,229
yards (5.9 per carry)

64 HAWAII 9-3 15 110
QB Timmy Chang (medical redshirt in 2001) threw for 3,041 yards
as a freshman in '00

65 NORTH CAROLINA 8-5 10 8
The Tar Heels are still looking for a force to replace '01
Lombardi winner Julius Peppers

66 MINNESOTA 4-7 16 56
Not-so-Golden Gophers start only one senior on defense, CB Mike
Lehan

67 WEST VIRGINIA 3-8 17 28
Senior RB Avon Cobourne aims for a Mountaineers first: four
straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons

68 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 8-3 16 114
RB Dwone Hicks set school records for rushing TDs (20) and
points (148) in 2001 as a junior

69 NORTHWESTERN 4-7 11 49
Sophomore Tony Stauss has the tough task of replacing
record-setting QB Zak Kustok

70 EAST CAROLINA 6-6 14 83
All-Conference USA T Brian Rimpf held his own in games against
Julius Peppers and Dwight Freeney

71 NORTHERN ILLINOIS 6-5 18 106
Senior RB Thomas Hammock (1,096 yards in 2001) carries a 3.50
GPA in marketing

72 ARIZONA STATE 4-7 12 26
Neither QB--freshman Chad Christensen or sophomore Andrew
Walter--inspires confidence

73 TOLEDO (23) 10-2 12 102
Freshmen Quinton Broussard and Astin Martin vie to replace MAC
No. 2 alltime rusher Chester Taylor

74 KENTUCKY 2-9 11 12
Junior Jared Lorenzen is the Wildcats' No. 2 career passer
(behind Tim Couch), with 5,866 yards

75 TCU 6-6 15 89
Senior LB LaMarcus McDonald had a conference-best 25 tackles for
losses, fourth in the nation

76 MIAMI (OHIO) 7-5 15 64
Top 2001 MAC freshman Ben Roethlisberger led all freshman QBs in
yards (3,105) and TD passes (25)

77 UNLV 4-7 14 71
Senior QB Jason Thomas is fully recovered from shoulder woes
that thwarted his '01 Heisman hopes

78 VANDERBILT 2-9 14 22
New coach Bobby Johnson faces his old team, Furman, in Vandy's
second game, on Sept. 7

79 UAB 6-5 12 68 S
Chris Brown and CB Dio Hill are the only starters back from the
nation's top rushing D (57.3 yards)

80 KANSAS 3-8 12 46
From OU to KU: Former Sooners offensive coordinator Mark Mangino
is the new head man in Lawrence

81 INDIANA 5-6 15 29
New coach Gerry DiNardo's last gig was with the XFL's Birmingham
Thunderbolts

82 BALL STATE 5-6 17 101
Senior Marcus Merriweather is only the second Ball State RB with
back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons

83 SMU 4-7 16 107
New coach Phil Bennett was Kansas State's defensive coordinator
for the past three years

84 SOUTH FLORIDA 8-3 18 88
Senior QB Marquel Blackwell has the name and the game for a
dark-horse Heisman run

85 CALIFORNIA 1-10 18 33
Coach Jeff Tedford, formerly the offensive coordinator for rival
Oregon, has a massive rebuilding job

86 AIR FORCE 6-6 10 84
Senior RB Leotis Palmer (516 yards) is one of three returning
starters on offense for the Falcons

87 SAN DIEGO STATE 3-8 13 44
New coach Tom Craft is the first former Aztec player to head the
team since Bob Breitbard in 1945

88 BAYLOR 3-8 15 37
The Bears have lost 29 straight Big 12 games; best shot this
year is against Kansas at home on Oct. 5

89 WESTERN MICHIGAN 5-6 11 81
Senior LB Bryan Lape led the MAC with six forced fumbles in 2001

90 TROY STATE 7-4 16 104
The road to perdition? Away games: Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri,
Iowa State and Mississippi State

91 KENT STATE 6-5 14 105
QB Joshua Cribbs became the first I-A freshman to rush and pass
for more than 1,000 yards

92 TULANE 3-9 18 92
Junior RB Mewelde Moore surpassed 1,250 rushing yards and 60
catches in 2001, a I-A first

93 RUTGERS 2-9 17 60
The Scarlet Knights scored just 36 points in Big East play, five
fewer than Miami's per-game average

94 AKRON 4-7 10 85
If senior Brandon Payne's knee is 100%, he'll be one of the best
backs in the MAC

95 TEMPLE 4-7 17 42
Senior lineman Dan Klecko (6 1/2 sacks in 2001) follows in the
footsteps of his dad, former NFLer Joe

96 NORTH TEXAS 5-7 20 108
All-conference safeties Craig Jones and Jonas Buckles combined
for 128 tackles and seven INTs

97 NEW MEXICO STATE 5-7 9 103
Senior Robert Canidate, younger brother of St. Louis Rams RB
Trung Canidate, starts at left corner

98 WYOMING 2-9 16 54
Junior QB Casey Bramlet must improve on last season's numbers:
nine TD passes, 20 INTs

99 ARMY 3-8 10 99
Senior end Clarence Holmes is Army's sack leader for a career
(nine) and a season (seven in 2001)

100 NEVADA 3-8 17 72
RB Chance Kretschmer (1,732 yards) became just the second
freshman to lead the nation in rushing

101 UTEP 2-9 16 97
Sophomore LB Robert Rodriguez (a WAC-best 137 tackles) is one of
10 returning defensive starters

102 RICE 8-4 8 93
The top five rushers (but only one O-line starter) are back for
last year's No. 2-ranked ground attack

103 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 3-8 18 94
Sophomore safety James King blocked seven punts and one extra
point in 2001

104 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 3-8 16 96
Junior WR Fred Stamps is a first-class deep threat, with 43
catches for 663 yards last year

105 EASTERN MICHIGAN 2-9 10 109
Five candidates battle to replace QB Kainoa Akina, who
transferred to Hawaii

106 HOUSTON 0-11 13 79
Mismatch of the year: the Cougars in Austin against the
Longhorns on Sept. 21

107 SAN JOSE STATE 3-9 7 50
CB Melvin Cook is the only starter back from the nation's No.
115-ranked D (500.8 yards per game)

108 DUKE 0-11 12 18
College football's longest active losing streak (23 straight
entering '02) could end on Sept. 28 at Navy

109 BUFFALO 3-8 12 111
The Bulls have never been favored in a I-A game; that should
change Sept. 14 when they host UConn

110 OHIO 1-10 9 90
Senior CB David (Bop) White is the MAC's active leader in
interceptions, with 11

111 TULSA 1-10 15 86
The Golden Hurricane hosts No. 1 Oklahoma in the season opener;
last year the Sooners scored 58

112 LOUISIANA-MONROE 2-9 18 115
Sonnier days ahead? Junior LB Maurice Sonnier (79 tackles, 5
sacks) is a Butkus Award candidate

113 UTAH STATE 4-7 15 63
Former walk-on Kevin Curtis, a senior wideout, led the nation
last year with 9.1 receptions per game

114 NAVY 0-10 12 95
Hosting UConn on Nov. 16 assures the Midshipmen that they won't
have another winless season

115 CONNECTICUT 2-9 18 100
After traveling to Miami on Oct. 5, the Huskies may want to
reconsider joining the Big East in 2005

116 ARKANSAS STATE 2-9 16 117
Average age of the coaching staff is 35 years, four months, tied
with Tulane for the nation's youngest

117 IDAHO 1-10 10 91
The Vandals travel to Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 21 for college
football's Mr. Irrelevant game

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY AL TIELEMANS BADGERED Opposing DBs will try to prevent Wisconsin's Evans (3) from putting up more record numbers this season.

COLOR PHOTO: HELENA HAU/TEAM COYLE NO COUCH POTATO Lorenzen, entering his third season, has his sights set on Kentucky's career passing marks.

COLOR PHOTO: JOE ROBBINS WE HAVE A PROBLEM Houston is coming off a winless season, and Brian Robinson and the Cougars will again find the going tough.