Michigan had moved up to 3rd in the nation from a pre-season ranking of 4th after a 16-point win against Northern Illinois.

Their pre-season ranking of No. 7 in the nation and the fact they had made it to the national championship game in both 2003 and 2004 only served to support this assumption.

Washington does not appear in any pre-season rankings and was predicted to finish in 10th place in the Pac-10 Conference Media Poll.

After a 1st place pre-season ranking by Sports Illustrated and cover photo on the magazine, Simonton's senior season did not quite go as expected.

The Pirates were ranked high on many experts' pre-season rankings.

Heath led the team from a pre-season intercollegiate (CSA) ranking of No. 28 in 2005 to No. 3 in 2009.

Washington State did not appear in any national pre-season rankings and was predicted to finish in 8th place in the Pacific-10 Conference media poll.

The pre-season ranking of the top 5 were 1.

The flimsy distinction of a top pre-season ranking has been bestowed here twice in the past five seasons.

There was great promise as Houston was ranked to begin the 2010 season, having not seen a pre-season ranking since the early 1990s.