Street & Smith's 2022 college football mag comes in at a hefty $20 price tag.

By Ed Peak

Guess who’s a sucker for those preseason college football magazines. So when I wandered into a local bookstore last week, there it was. Phil Steele’s 2022 College Football Preview. All 353 pages. Only 20 bucks during this inflationary cycle.

Like a kid in a candy store, I purchased one and have been digesting it ever since. It will probably take the rest of the summer to do so. Steele and his staff cover football 24/7 365 days a year.
The reason I like Steele’s publication is his staff breaks everything down, including  team ratings, individual rankings and just about everything there is to know about college football. He claims his magazine has had the most accurate ratings the past 27 years.

Steele has always seemed to be bullish on Cardinal football. His preseason ratings put Louisville at No. 33. Higher that than both Athlon (44th) and Lindy’s (61st).

I like a good honest opinion about things. Steele and his staff do that. They are bullish on the Atlantic Coast Conference, listing the ACC behind only the Southeastern Conference and the Big10 this season. Steele lists Clemson, Pitt, Miami, Florida, North Carolina State, Wake Forest and the University of Louisville (33rd) in his top 40. His list includes seven SEC teams and six from the Big10. The Lexington, Ky., school comes in at 35.

UofL’s Malik Cunningham, transfer Tyler Evans and Jalen Mitchell, Tyler Hudson, Marshon Ford, Caleb Chandler (Second Team All-American) are the offensive players mentioned in Steele’s top player list. Defenders Yasir Abduliah, Kendrick Duncan Jr.m Mono Sanogo, Ke’tel Clark, Quincy Riley and Nicardo Harper are also listed. Punt returner Braden Smith was listed as well.

Steele’s Magazine picks Louisville tied for third with Wake Forest in the Atlantic Division. Clemson, to no ones surprise is the top dog with NC State second. In the Coastal Pitt and Miami are tied for first, with North Carolina third.

The Cards have one of the toughest league schedules at Syracuse, Florida State, at Boston College, at Virginia, Pitt, Wake Forest, at Clemson and North Carolina State. UofL opens on Friday, September 3rd, 8 p.m. at Syracuse.

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The annual ACC football media days will be Tuesday, July 19, Wednesday, July 20th and Thursday July 21st at Charlotte, North Carolina. I will be monitoring these meetings and hope to deliver some fresh insights into the upcoming season.  More than ready for some football.

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By Ed Peak

Ed Peak has covered UofL sports since 1973, as a student reporter, as a correspondent for the Courier-Journal, a freelancer for the Associated Press and United Press International, as well as ScoreCard, Fox Sports and CBS radio.

One thought on “College football arrives at local news stands and it’s not cheap”
  1. Thanks for the good info, Ed. Steele may not have considered that Satterfield will be adding new input from new Offensive and Defensive Co-ordinators. It could give the Cards more surprises on both sides of the ball that haven’t been seen before.

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