^[1] Cost is higher (including shipping) when ordered from the web site.

Overview: The Sporting News is similar in format and content to last year's. The total page count is the same as last year, but the coverage has been shifted to BCS-conference teams and away from non-BCS teams. (More BCS teams get 2 full pages this year, but some low-ranked non-BCS teams have been reduced from ½ page last year to as little as 0.2 pages this year.) The per-conference coverage is good (2-4 pages per conference). The information does not appear to account for the results of spring football. After improving for a couple of years, their preseason predictions have fallen off recently. TSN stands second in prediction accuracy over the last five years -- but only middle-of-the-pack over the last three years.

Per-team information: A full page for many I-A teams. Roughly half of the page is devoted to discussion of prospects for the coming season, three paragraphs each for offense and defense. Also on the page is a projected two-deep roster, schedule, and previous year's results.
For teams that only get a half-page, the discussions are shorter, and the projected roster is only one-deep. For those teams which get two pages, much of the second page is filled with a large color picture; the textual coverage is not much different than for those teams which get one page. For teams which get a tiny fraction of a page, the coverage isn't too different from those which get a half-page, but the projected starters are not given.

Per-conference information: There are four pages devoted to coverage of the BCS conferences. The information includes: ranking of all of the teams' units; a two-deep all-conference team; offensive and defensive players of the year; individual and team statistical leaders. (For non-BCS conference, the coverage is reduced to two pages; there is only a one-deep all-conference list, there is less recruiting information, and the discussion text is shorter.)

National information: A ranking of all 119 I-A teams. There is some overall discussion of the rankings. Two-deep all-America list (with a separate list of the top 10 players at each position); top 5 national unit rankings; ranking of the I-A conferences by strength; two pages of recruiting information (aside from a small amount of recruiting information in each conference section).

Recap (previous year) information: Last year's TSN had pretty solid recap information -- all game scores, conference standings, final polls, bowl results. Most of that information is missing this year -- only in the teams which have schedules shown (all BCS teams and some non-BCS) are given the game scores of opponents on this year's schedule also played the previous year.

Division I-AA information: None. (Prior to 2000, TSN had a pretty good I-AA section, but it was dropped to "make room for more feature articles," according to the 2000 issue.)