By Harry King
LITTLE ROCK — Headlines that tease. Color photos that fuel fantasies. Innuendoes about possible happenings in the months ahead and relationships in a state of flux.
Inside, the lowdown is there for all to read.
The slick publications will be available soon, prominently displayed where even young eyes can see.
We’re not talking about celebrity gossip; we’re talking football forecasts and forewarned is forearmed.
Rummaging through a desk drawer, there was a regional magazine from 2008 buried with outdated media guides from Arkansas opponents and a few other schools.
This one happened to get it right on the cover with the headline, “Unstoppable Gators: Tebow and Harvin.”
Inside it was a different story. Georgia was pegged as No. 1 in the country and the rest of the top 10 looked like this: USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida, LSU, Texas, Clemson and West Virginia. Those 10 teams lost a total of 30 games.
The final AP poll was Florida, Utah, USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, TCU, Penn State, Ohio State and Oregon. Georgia was No. 13.
This particular publication, which will go unnamed because it was handy and no others were available for comparison, was even further askew with particulars about the Southeastern Conference.
In the West, the pick was Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The final standings were Florida (7-1), Georgia (6-2), Vanderbilt (4-4), South Carolina (4-4), Tennessee (3-5), and Kentucky (2-6).
In the East, the magazine went for LSU, Auburn, Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Arkansas in that order. Reality was Alabama (8-0), Ole Miss (5-3), LSU (3-5), Auburn, Mississippi State and Arkansas, each 2-6.
Only an outlandish seer, or one who is uninformed, will pick against Florida this year, what with Tebow still in Gainesville and every starter back on defense.
Georgia would have been given an outside chance if Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno had played another year instead of being Nos. 1 and 12 in the NFL draft.
As it is, Tennessee or South Carolina could be a surprise second in the Eastern Division.
In the West, there is ambiguity and a chance for a team to win the division at 6-2 as LSU did in 2007.
LSU will get the support of those who believe that Jordan Jefferson is the quarterback who completed 11 of his first 12 against Georgia Tech in a bowl game and not the quarterback who was 9-of-21 vs. Arkansas five weeks earlier.
Alabama will be the pick of those who believe the defense can carry the day and that Greg McElroy need only be a caretaker.
Mississippi will be the choice of those who swear by quarterback Jevan Snead and running back Dexter McCluster.
The first publication to reveal its picks has Arkansas fourth in the division. Athlon Sports has Alabama on top in the Western Division, followed by Ole Miss and LSU. Somewhat surprisingly, Georgia is No. 2 in the Eastern Division, followed by Tennessee.
In virtually every magazine, the Razorbacks, Auburn and Mississippi State will be tabbed for the lower half of the West in one order or another. Without rose-colored glasses, it would be difficult to make a case for any of them to do better than 4-4 in the league.
A year ago, the same could have been said of Ole Miss.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.
