John G. Zimmerman1927-2002John Zimmerman, who died last Saturday of lymphoma in Monterey, Calif., shot 107 covers for SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, including five swimsuit issues. Noted for his technical...

Bolstered by one of the best offensive lines in the country, the Bulldogs look to muscle in on the SEC title

2001 RECORD: 8-4 (5-3, T3 in SEC East)FINAL RANKING: No. 22 AP, No. 25 coaches' poll

With their rodeo quarterback throwing ropes, the Huskies will score big, keeping the heat off an unproven defense

2001 RECORD: 8-4 (6-2, T2 in Pac-10)FINAL RANKING: No. 19 AP, No. 19 coaches' poll

After tackling their one defensive weakness, the Buckeyes are ready to claim the Big Ten championship

2001 RECORD: 7-5 (5-3, 3rd in Big Ten)FINAL RANKING: not ranked

Coming off a surprising SEC title, the Tigers plan to climb even higher—and you can quote their coach on that

2001 RECORD: 10-3 (5-3, 1st in SEC West)FINAL RANKING: No. 7 AP, No. 8 coaches' poll

After their humiliating finish to the 2001 season, the Cornhuskers are looking to restore their good name

2001 RECORD: 11-2 (7-1, 2nd in Big 12 North)FINAL RANKING: No. 8 AP, No. 7 coaches' poll

After too many months spent knee-deep in injuries, the Hokies hope to show that they're on the road to recovery

2001 RECORD: 8-4 (4-3, T3 in Big East)FINAL RANKING: No. 18 AP, No. 18 coaches' poll

Now that everyone is committed to the program, the Terps are ready to prove that last season was no shell game

2001 RECORD: 10-2 (7-1,1st in ACC)FINAL RANKING: No. IIAP, No. 10 coaches' poll

The high-flying Herd must round up a decent defense if it expects to earn an invitation to the BCS dance

2001 RECORD: 11-2 (8-0, 1st in MAC)FINAL RANKING: Not ranked AP, No. 21 coaches' poll

Lou Holtz proved he could take the Gamecocks to the elite level—now the job, just as tough, is to stay there

2001 RECORD: 9-3 (5-3, T3 in SEC East)FINAL RANKING: No. 13 AP, No. 13 coaches' pol

With stars on both sides of the ball, the Cardinals and their adventurous coach are in for an exciting ride

2001 RECORD: 11-2 (6-1, 1st in Conference USA)FINAL RANKING: No. 17 AP, No. 16 coaches' poll

A dominating defense will keep the Wolverines in games, but their supersized running backs must also come up big

2001 RECORD: 8-4 (6-2,2nd in Big Ten)FINAL RANKING: No. 20 AP, No. 20 coaches' poll

This season will determine whether the five-year investment in a potentially perfect quarterback pays off

2001 RECORD: 6-6 (5-3, 5th in Pac-10)FINAL RANKING: not ranked

For the Aggies, a touch of family values and a heaping helping of healthy living will add up to big improvement

2001 RECORD: 8-4 (4-4, T3 in Big 12 South)FINAL RANKING: not ranked

With their powerful sophomore back finally repaired, the Tigers look to ride Cadillac to the top of the SEC West

2001 RECORD: 7-5 (5-3, T1 in SEC West)FINAL RANKING: not ranked

The key to the season in Champaign: finding the right replacement for the winningest passer in school history

2001 RECORD: 10-2 (7-1, 1st in Big Ten)FINAL RANKING: No. 12 AP, No. 12 coaches' poll

After back-to-back losing seasons, the Nittany Lions are hanging their hopes on sophomore quarterback Zack Mills

2001 RECORD: 5-6 (4-4, T4 in Big Ten)FINAL RANKING: not ranked

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

Nothing would ever match his days playing college football. So why did the author hide from the team, and the teammates, who meant everything to him?

Motor Sports

Old Man WinnerDown and nearly out in 2000, Bill Elliott, 46, is the Brickyard champ and a title threat

For all the talk of a youth movement in NASCAR, Bill Elliott's victory at the Brickyard speaks to the contrary: a significant decrease from last season in the percentage of races won by drivers in...

There are few surer things in sports than a Michael Schumacher victory in Formula One—and few reasons to believe that's going to change

Almost HeavenThe Angels are in the playoff hunt thanks to players like lefthander Jarrod Washburn

NEXT UP IN THE WEEK AHEAD

Goodbye, TedI am not a Red Sox fan, I have never been to Fenway, and I am too young to have seen Ted Williams play. I live in Phoenix, where it was 114° as I pulled the latest issue of SI out of...

LETTERS

If you're a black pro athlete who owns a sweet ride and lives in a ritzy neighborhood in this country, chances are good you've been busted for DWB.

NOVEMBER 7, 1955

Baseball likes euphemism. And so the game is again enduring "labor difficulties" (in the way that Mrs. Powell, when giving birth to Boog, endured "labor difficulties") and may soon weather a...

An alleged fix at Salt Lake is the latest link between organized crime and Russian athletes

Star trainer Bob Baffert gets hitched—and enriched—over the weekend

A BLIND BROADCASTER EYES THE MAJORS

$1,639.20Payoff to former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf on the winning $3 trifecta ticket he placed at Del Mar Race Track outside San Diego, two days after he'd announced his retirement.

A year later, pitching phenom Danny Almonte owns up to his age

WHO WAS THE FIRST MAN TO DUNK?

DiedAfter undergoing two operations for brain hemorrhaging, Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn, 85. Hearn, the only full-time play-by-play announcer the Lakers have had since moving from Minneapolis...

(Tap, tap) Is this thing on?

The legendary pro wrestler (a.k.a. the American Dream) is now 53 and co-hosting Turner South's Hey, the Braves Are Next, the pregame show for Atlanta Braves baseball.

How does a 2020 Wimbledon final between Jaden Gil Agassi and Joshua Patrick Rafter sound? Well, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf had a son last October, and now Patrick Rafter and his girlfriend, Lara...

Sportsvision Inc. has launched a website (www.lovetheline.com) for fans to express their affection for the yellow, electronic first-down marker that the company has developed for TV coverage of...

GERARD WARRENThe Browns' second-year defensive tackle on whether he feels like a seasoned NFL veteran: "Maybe not a seasoned vet, but a marinating one."

Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe won six gold medals at the XVII Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, but the honor for outstanding athlete went to South Africa's Natalie du Toit, 18, who lost...

AUG. 9-15

Jonesing for a Job, Abandoned All-Stars, Cameras on a Crash

Pam Reed, TUCSONUltramarathonReed, 41, won the 25th annual 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon in 27:56:47, finishing almost five hours ahead of her next competitor, a man. The race starts in Death...

Role Models

MOONLIGHTING: a. Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, never appeared on The Brady Bunch. He's been in movies such as Fletch, Airplane! and D2: The Mighty Ducks.

Still battling for a job at the age of 39, perennial underdog Doug Flutie is facing one more duel—this time with up-and-comer Drew Brees

Outside of San Diego, here are the most intriguing position battles in NFL camps

By snaring assist king Andre Miller to play the point, the hapless Clippers hope to duplicate the Nets' stunning turnaround with Jason Kidd

Six weeks after the death of team leader Darryl Kile, Matt Morris and the Cardinals are chasing a division title with heavy hearts

Oklahoma has constructed the most devastating defense in the country, a scary assemblage of superathletes ready to take the national title

The Sooners aren't the only team with defensive players boasting otherworldly combinations of speed, strength and athleticism. A slew of players have arisen who can single-handedly kill off drives...

Here's what state of-the-art football looks like at three schools

Arizona State players are pumped about pumping iron at their gleaming new temple of strength

SI's Kelley King tackles several tough topics with our cover subject, Oklahoma DT Tommie Harris. Catch that Q&A and more at cnnsi.com/football/college.

Vanderbilt isn't dominant on the field, but the Commodores are fed like champs at the training table

Treatment centers like Michigan State's are a second home for Saturday's warriors

NFL teams always seem to find top quarterbacks in unexpected places. How do talents like Marshall's Byron Leftwich and Louisville's David Ragone slip through the grasp of the big-time schools?

The Heisman Trophy race is always part talent show, part popularity contest—with big-name favorites, middle-of-the-pack players who need some breaks, and lower-profile guys who put up big numbers....

1 OKLAHOMA2 MIAMI3 TENNESSEE4 TEXAS5 FLORIDA STATE6 COLORADO7 WASHINGTON STATE8 FLORIDA9 OREGON10 GEORGIA11 WASHINGTON12 OHIO STATE13 LSU14 NEBRASKA15 VIRGINIA TECH16 MARYLAND17 MARSHALL18 SOUTH...

If the revamped offense runs as efficiently as the D, the Sooners will win their second national title in three years

2001 RECORD: 11-2 (6-2, 2nd in Big 12 South)FINAL RANKING: No. 6 AP, No. 6 coaches' poll

Unfinished business is the theme as the Vols address the breakdowns that kept them out of last year's title game

2001 RECORD: 11-2 (7-1, list in SEC East)FINAL RANKING: No. 4 AP, No. 4 coaches' poll

For two of Austin's biggest names—Mack Brown and Chris Simms—it's time for all that potential to pay off

2001 RECORD: 11-2 (7-1, 1st in Big 12 South)FINAL RANKING: No. 5 AP, No. 5 coaches' poll

Coming off their worst season in a decade, the Seminoles can't wait to prove they belong among the nation's elite

2001 RECORD: 8-4 (6-2, 2nd in ACC)FINAL RANKING: No. 15 AP, No. 15 coaches' poll

The surprising Big 12 champs will rely on a high-powered offense guided by Boulder-bred quarterback Craig Ochs

2001 RECORD: 10-3 (7-1,1st in Big 12 North)FINAL RANKING: No. 9 AP, No. 9 coaches' poll

With a potent offense that powered a 10-win season in 2001, the Cougars are the team to beat in the Pac-10

2001 RECORD: 10-2 (6-2, T2 in Pac-10)FINAL RANKING: No. 10 AP, No. II coaches' poll

The post-Spurrier era begins with an ultra-intense new coach but the same dedication to the Fun 'n' Gun offense

2001 RECORD: 10-2 (6-2, 2nd in SEC East)FINAL RANKING: No. 3 AP, No. 3 coaches' poll

New quarterback Jason Fife has the tools, the support and the self-confidence to fill Joey Harrington's shoes

2001 RECORD: 11-1 (7-1,1st in Pac-10)FINAL RANKING: No. 2 AP, No. 2 coaches' poll