| The Master List |
| Rank | Team (2000 Final Ranking) | 2000 Record | Returning Starters | Schedule Strength |
| 51 | Arkansas | 6-6 | 17 | 13 |
| Sophomore Cedric Cobbs and junior Fred Talley are the SEC's best running tandem |
| 52 | North Carolina | 6-5 | 15 | 21 |
| The Tar Heels open with three road games (Oklahoma, Maryland and Texas) for the first time since 1893 |
| 53 | UTEP | 8-4 | 13 | 104 |
| Senior wideout Lee Mays (70 catches, 1,098 yards and an NCAA-best 15 TDs) has NFL scouts drooling |
| 54 | Auburn (18) | 9-4 | 11 | 32 |
| The Tigers have seven senior starters, though offensive tackle Kendall Simmons is one of the SEC's best |
| 55 | Toledo | 10-1 | 18 | 113 |
| Quarterback Taveres Boldon and running back Chester Taylor form the MAC's best backfield |
| 56 | West Virginia | 7-5 | 13 | 46 |
| First-year coach Rich Rodriguez, a disciple of Tommy Bowden, brings the spread offense to Morgantown |
| 57 | Western Michigan | 9-3 | 16 | 100 |
| Early trips to Virginia Tech (Sept. 8) and Michigan (Sept. 15) will have the Broncos ready for MAC play |
| 58 | Iowa State (25) | 9-3 | 10 | 61 |
| Senior Ennis Haywood rushed for 1,237 yards last season, tops in the Big 12 |
| 59 | Mississippi | 7-5 | 11 | 67 |
| Three decades after Archie Manning won Rebel hearts, son Eli takes over at Ole Miss |
| 60 | TCU | 10-2 | 10 | 66 |
| La-la land: Junior WR LaTarence Dunbar replaces RB LaDainian Tomlinson as the main weapon |
| 61 | Minnesota | 6-6 | 13 | 27 |
| Ron Johnson, the Big Ten's best wideout, needs 29 catches to become Minnesota's alltime leader |
| 62 | Missouri | 3-8 | 16 | 54 |
| WR Justin Gage, a backup forward on Mizzou's hoops squad, led the Tigers with 44 receptions in 2000 |
| 63 | Maryland | 5-6 | 17 | 75 |
| Can first-year coach Ralph Friedgen (class of '69) end the ACC's longest postseason drought (10 years)? |
| 64 | Iowa | 3-10 | 17 | 43 |
| Senior wideout Kahlil Hill averaged 27.2 yards on kickoff returns last season, seventh in the nation |
| 65 | San Jose State | 7-5 | 15 | 71 |
| Short in stature at 5'6", senior tailback Deoncé Whitaker is long on yardage (1,577 rushing yards in 2000) |
| 66 | Temple | 4-7 | 19 | 69 |
| The lame-duck Owls, voted out of the Big East effective June 30, 2002, have 10 starters back on D |
| 67 | Boise State | 10-2 | 11 | 97 |
| Sophomore QB Ryan Dinwiddie takes over the nation's top scoring offense from a year ago (44.9 ppg) |
| 68 | Oklahoma State | 3-8 | 16 | 47 |
| LB Dwayne Levels had four games in 2000 with 10 or more tackles, including 16 against Missouri |
| 69 | Arizona | 5-6 | 14 | 10 |
| New coach John Mackovic has a good one in sophomore CB Michael Jolivette (five interceptions in 2000) |
| 70 | Idaho | 5-6 | 10 | 105 |
| The nation's eighth-best offense is led by three-year starter John Welsh (3,171 passing yards in 2000) |
| 71 | Tulane | 6-5 | 12 | 62 |
| Sophomore Mewelde Moore's 890 rushing yards were the most for the Green Wave since 1970 |
| 72 | Air Force | 9-3 | 7 | 85 |
| Senior wideout Ryan Fleming (52 catches, 930 yards in 2000) is a frequent flier for the Falcons |
| 73 | Northern Illinois | 6-5 | 13 | 110 |
| Senior Chris Finlen set a Huskies record with 1,857 passing yards last season |
| 74 | Cincinnati | 7-5 | 10 | 88 |
| Junior Jonathan Ruffin, the Lou Groza Award winner, made 26 of 29 field goals in 2000 |
| 75 | Kansas | 4-7 | 11 | 28 |
| Senior Harrison Hill needs 28 receptions and 753 yards to become the Jayhawks' career leader in both |
| 76 | Kentucky | 2-9 | 12 | 7 |
| Prodigious passer Jared Lorenzen (275 pounds) was second in the nation in total offense last year |
| 77 | Middle Tennessee | 6-5 | 13 | 111 |
| Junior running back Dwone Hicks set a school record with 21 touchdowns last season |
| 78 | Vanderbilt | 3-8 | 15 | 49 |
| Greg Zolman, the SEC's second-leading passer, threw for 2,441 yards, the most by a Commodore since '88 |
| 79 | Washington State | 4-7 | 19 | 3 |
| Senior running back Dave Minnich, a former Marine, is the Pac-10's oldest player, at 27 |
| 80 | Memphis | 4-7 | 15 | 78 |
| If RB Jeff (Sugar) Sanders has a sweet year, the Tigers won't repeat as Conference USA's worst offense |
| 81 | Indiana | 3-8 | 17 | 19 |
| Senior Antwaan Randle El, the Hoosiers' quarterback the past three years, shifts to wideout |
| 82 | Cal | 3-8 | 17 | 8 |
| A Nixon at Berkeley? Standout linebacker Matt Nixon had 15 tackles for losses last season |
| 83 | Houston | 3-8 | 13 | 70 |
| The WR corps (Brian Robinson, KeyKowa Bell, Brandon Middleton) goes by the nom de catch of Killer B's |
| 84 | Utah | 4-7 | 17 | 77 |
| The Kaufusi Brothers -- senior LT Doug and sophomore DE Jason -- are tough in the trenches |
| 85 | Ohio | 7-4 | 19 | 9 |
| The nation's No. 2 ground offense has its top three rushers back, including QB Dontrell Jackson |
| 86 | Hawaii | 3-9 | 16 | 103 |
| Native son Timmy Chang (Honolulu's St. Louis High) threw for 3,041 yards as a true freshman |
| 87 | Central Florida | 7-4 | 12 | 90 |
| Brothers Josh and Jake McKibben start side by side on the Golden Knights' defensive line |
| 88 | Utah State | 5-6 | 15 | 96 |
| Senior Emmitt White led the nation in all-purpose yards last season with 238.9 per game |
| 89 | Miami (Ohio) | 6-5 | 12 | 91 |
| Redshirt freshman QB Ben Roethlisberger, an Ohio high school legend recruited by Ohio State, will start |
| 90 | Baylor | 2-9 | 19 | 34 |
| Nine starters are back from the nation's worst offense of a year ago (221.8 yards per game) |
| 91 | New Mexico | 5-7 | 13 | 63 |
| DE Brian Johnson (280 pounds), who led the Mountain West with 9 1/2 sacks, was a 195-pound walk-on |
| 92 | Akron | 6-5 | 13 | 95 |
| Can the Zips make it back-to-back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 22 years (1977-79)? |
| 93 | Wake Forest | 2-9 | 21 | 37 |
| KR John Stone (two career TDs) was the ACC track champion in both the 100 and 200 meters |
| 94 | New Mexico State | 3-8 | 12 | 74 |
| Senior RB Kenton Keith (7.8 yards per carry) should pick up where Ravens draftee Chris Barnes left off |
| 95 | SMU | 3-9 | 21 | 86 |
| Ten defensive starters are back, led by junior linebacker Vic Viloria (WAC-best 130 tackles) |
| 96 | Tulsa | 5-7 | 17 | 99 |
| QB Josh Blackenship to WR Donald Shoals has been as good as gold for the Golden Hurricane |
| 97 | Rutgers | 3-8 | 15 | 72 |
| Thanks to its best-ever recruiting class, James Gandolfini's alma mater will whack opponents -- in 2003 |
| 98 | Ball State | 5-6 | 17 | 107 |
| MAC freshman of the year Talmadge Hill went 5-2 as the Cardinals' starting quarterback |
| 99 | North Texas | 3-8 | 13 | 92 |
| Stout sophomore Brandon Kennedy (5'10", 325) was second-team All-Big West as a true freshman |
| 100 | Duke | 0-11 | 16 | 23 |
| After six seasons of minor league baseball, freshman Jim Scharrer, 24, will start at linebacker |
| 101 | Army | 1-10 | 13 | 87 |
| Senior WR Omari Thompson is the first Cadet since Glenn Davis with two punt-return TDs in one season |
| 102 | Rice | 3-8 | 22 | 93 |
| Senior LB Dan Dawson led the Owls in tackles (88), tackles for loss (9) and interceptions (7) |
| 103 | Central Michigan | 2-9 | 18 | 98 |
| If RB Vince Webber stays healthy, the Chippewas should improve their anemic 2000 scoring average (12.4) |
| 104 | Bowling Green | 2-9 | 18 | 89 |
| New coach Urban Meyer, formerly of Notre Dame, hopes to help the Falcons (15-29 since '97) take wing |
| 105 | Wyoming | 1-10 | 13 | 68 |
| Massive T Adam Goldberg (320 pounds) leads the way for TB Nate Scott (5.9 yards per carry in 2000) |
| 106 | Navy | 1-10 | 12 | 60 |
| The Middies, 9-25 since 1997, travel to Northwestern on Sept. 15 in the year's second-worst mismatch |
| 107 | Louisiana Tech | 3-9 | 17 | 76 |
| Jack Bicknell III, whose dad coached Doug Flutie at BC, has a potential star in QB Luke McCown |
| 108 | Nevada | 2-10 | 19 | 73 |
| Senior QB David Neil will add to his school-record totals in passing yards, attempts and total offense |
| 109 | Kent State | 1-10 | 17 | 102 |
| Senior LB Rashan Hall had 10 or more tackles four times, with a season-best 14 on two occasions |
| 110 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 1-10 | 17 | 101 |
| The Ragin' Cajuns, who have won six games in the last four seasons, make their Sun Belt debut |
| 111 | Eastern Michigan | 3-8 | 12 | 115 |
| Senior WR Kenny Christian set a MAC single-game record for receptions with 20 against Temple last year |
| 112 | Troy State | 9-3 | 14 | 108 |
| Good news: The Trojans make their I-A debut. Bad news: The season-opener is against Nebraska |
| 113 | Buffalo | 2-9 | 14 | 114 |
| For homecoming the Bulls host Marshall, which has outscored them 106-17 in the last two meetings |
| 114 | Arkansas State | 1-10 | 9 | 116 |
| With alltime leading WR Robert Kilow gone, the offense revolves around tailback Jonathan Adams |
| 115 | Louisiana-Monroe | 1-10 | 18 | 109 |
| The mismatch of the year has the Indians (NCAA-worst 8.73 ppg) traveling to Florida on Sept. 8 |
| 116 | South Florida | 7-4 | 9 | 117 |
| Junior quarterback Marquel Blackwell is already South Florida's alltime leader in total offense |
| 117 | Connecticut | 3-8 | 21 | 11 |
| UConn tackles South Florida on Oct. 13 in college football's Mr. Irrelevant Game |
