OK, so the ES scoured the Internet and found preseason rankings from about a good dozen credible sources... and averaged them out to compile a list of ranked teams. Note that many of the major preview magazines (Athlon, Lindy, Phil Steele, Street & Smiths, etc.) have yet to publish, and will do so by early June. But, there is still good data out there, and the ES gave the appropriate ranking per team -- if a team wasn't included in a poll, they were given a score of 26 in the poll.

Predictions included: nationalchamps.net, about.com, Mark Schlabach/ESPN, scout.com, rivals.com, San Jose Mercury News, SI.com, College FB Saturday, Associated Content, College Foot Blog.

Big Ten teams in bold.

Rank	School (first pl. votes)	Avg.
1	Alabama (9)	1.18
2	Ohio State (1)	2.27
3	Boise State (1)	3.45
4	Oregon	5.36
5	Texas	6.73
6	Iowa	8.55
7	Virginia Tech	8.64
8	TCU	8.73
9	Florida	8.82
10	Nebraska	10.55
11	Wisconsin	10.91
12	Oklahoma	12.45
13	Georgia Tech	13.00
14	Miami-Florida	15.00
15	Southern Cal	15.64
16	LSU	17.55
17	Penn State	18.00
18	Arkansas	18.36
19	Oregon State	18.91
20	Pittsburgh	20.00
21	North Carolina	21.18
22	Cincinnati	21.45
23	Georgia	22.91
24	Florida State	23.64
25	Houston	24.18
26	West Virginia	24.27
27	Connecticut	24.45
28	Stanford	24.64
29	Navy	24.82
30	South Carolina	24.82
31	Utah	24.82
32	Auburn	25.09
33	BYU	25.09
34	Missouri	25.09
35	Tennessee	25.27
36	California	25.45
37	Texas Tech	25.45
38	Arizona	25.73
39	Michigan	25.82
40	Temple	25.91
41	Nevada	25.91

So, what stands out?

1. Yes, Boise State at #3.
   
2. The Big Ten looks to be the Big Four (Ohio St #2, Iowa #6, Wisconsin #11, Penn St #17) and Little Seven.
3. The Big 12 is the Big Three (Texas #5, Nebraska #10, Oklahoma #12) and Little Nine.
4. Only the top 14 teams were included in every single poll.
   
5. Nebraska is back (#10).
6. Notre Dame is not.
7. With all the talk of giving non-BCS teams a better shot at the national title game, only three made it in the preseason Top 25: Boise State #3, TCU #8, and Houston #25.
8. Conferences with most teams in Top 25? ACC and SEC each have five teams.
9. The death of the Big Least? Pittsburgh led that sad conference at #20, Cinci at #22, and West Virginia just out at #26. Why would the Big Ten raid the Big Least? Certainly not for football.
10. Oregon at #4 is ranked ahead of Southern Cal (#15).

Big non-conf games to watch:

TCU at Oregon State (Sep 4)
Boise State at Virginia Tech (Sep 6)
Penn State at Alabama (Sep 11)
Miami-Fla at Ohio State (Sep 11)
Miami-Fla at Pitt (Sep 23)
Oregon State at Boise State (Sep 25)
West Virginia at LSU (Sep 25)

Interesting non-Notre Dame, Big Ten non-conference matchups:

Northwestern at Vanderbilt (Sep 4). All-brains bowl.
Illinois vs Mizzou (Sep 4). When-will-Illinois-compete-in-this-rivalry? bowl.
Penn State at Alabama (Sep 11). Wisdom vs. Lack-of-integrity bowl.
Miami-Fla at Ohio State (Sep 11). All-cheaters bowl.
Southern Cal at Minnesota (Sep 18). 180-degree weather bowl.
CMU at Northwestern (Sep 25). Spread-offense bowl.
Arizona State at Wisconsin (Sep 28).
Illinois at Fresno State (Dec 3).

Indiana's non-conference schedule is one of shame:

Towson (Sep 2)
at Western Kentucky (Sep 18)
Akron (Sep 25)
Arkansas State (Oct 16)