Among his projections, Steele forecasts the 2021 National Champion will be Oklahoma, the Most Improved Team will be Penn State, and QB Spencer Rattler will win the Heisman
(CLEVELAND) – Proven as the most accurate college football magazine for the last 23 years, Phil Steele’s 2021 College Football Preview has become one of the top-selling books at Barnes and Noble in 2021. Steele spoke to 110 head coaches out of the 130 FBS schools to compile 352 pages of analysis, predictions, and unmatched information for every team.
“The season officially starts, every year, when I get my copy of Phil Steele’s preseason magazine,” said ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit. “Really appreciate the hard work and relevant material.”
Steele is a member of the Heisman Voting Committee and 14 other prestigious award committees in college football. His loyal readers and over 133,000 Twitter followers anticipate his preseason predictions. Here are a few highlights and excerpts from the 2021 edition:
- National Champion: Oklahoma Sooners
- Most Improved: Penn State Nittany Lions
- Heisman Trophy winner: Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler
- Surprise team of the year: Washington Huskies
- Largest margin of victory per game: Alabama Crimson Tide (+28.6 PPG differential)
- Team projected to lose games by the largest amount: Bowling Green (-25.8 PPG differential)
- Largest yards per game differential: Clemson Tigers (+257.1 YPG differential)
- Worst yards per game differential: UMass Minutemen (-241.2 YPG differential)
Steele’s analysis and predictions go well beyond the Power Five conferences. He projects the Cincinnati Bearcats will be the top non-Power Five team in 2021, followed by the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, and the UCF Knights. He believes the Minnesota Golden Gophers have the 11th best offensive line unit and the Wyoming Cowboys have the 59th best linebacking crew. The magazine boasts hundreds of predictions across all conferences and player groupings.
“The magazine has come a long way from the 1995 black and white first edition that covered just 86 FBS teams,” said Steele. “I appreciate all of my followers and readers who look forward to my magazine every year. It’s not only for the diehard fans but also the casual fans. With the legalization of sports betting in states across the country, many fans are looking to increase their knowledge of the teams and the data across all 130 teams.”
On Friday, Aug. 27, Steele and his team will update their projected stats and forecasts after factoring in injuries, suspensions, and transfers that have taken place since the book went to print. Updates are available via the digital version of the magazine at https://philsteele.com/digital-magazine-links/. This year, Steele tapped LEARFIELD to assist with production and distribution for the magazine, as well as sales promotion for both the print and digital formats.
Once the season is underway, Steele’s work continues through Phil Steele Plus, a digital platform where Steele and his staff pour in countless hours to revise stats, analysis, power ratings, and individual team grades for all 130 teams after every game. Phil Steele Plus provides full access to his innovative color-coded stats system that is not available anywhere else.
According to Chris Stassen (Stassen.com), Phil Steele’s College Football Preview is the most accurate preseason college football magazine over the last 23 years. Stassen uses simple, judgment-free mathematical scoring systems to assess the accuracy of the leading college football preseason magazines.
About Phil Steele
Phil Steele is nationally known as one of the best football analysts in the entire country. His superior knowledge of the game has landed him on the voting committee for every major post-season award including the prestigious Heisman Trophy. Phil is known for his preseason magazine, which has been dubbed “the college football bible” by many experts in the industry. The magazine gives a complete breakdown of every team in the country and predicts how they will do in the upcoming season. Find more information about Phil at PhilSteele.com and follow him on Twitter.