The best thing about the preseason in college football is that coveted day when the preview magazines hit the bookshelves.

It is also the worst thing.

Those publications predict what will happen seven months down the road and not even Nostradamus would be able to foresee what has transpired this season.

Preseason darlings Arkansas and Auburn are afterthoughts. Preseason nobodies Memphis and Toledo are knocking off SEC opponents.

So which teams have not lived up to the hype and which have exceeded expectations? Here is a sample:

FIVE MOST OVERRATED TEAMS:

  • Ohio State (7-0). Why not start at the top? The Buckeyes’ signature win so far is a 42-24 win at Virginia Tech. The Hokies have also lost to East Carolina, Pitt and Miami. Not really a statement win for the top-ranked team.
  • Notre Dame (6-1). If the Fighting Irish did not have the media machine at its fingertips, it would be Southern Mississippi. Notre Dame did beat Georgia Tech and Rudy may be able to suit up for the Yellow Jackets this season. Other than that, a win over USC the week after the Trojans’ coach found bus tire tracks on his chest. The only saving grace for the Irish is they lost to Clemson who has a chance to win the ACC.
  • Iowa (7-0). Talk about the schedule gods smiling on a team. The Hawkeyes play in probably the worst division in any big five conference and in the crossover, miss the big boys. Iowa did beat Northwestern 10-6. Color us impressed.
  • Michigan (5-2). If Jim Harbaugh was not coaching there, would anyone outside Ann Arbor care? The Wolverines are 5-2 but still referred to as powers. A crushing loss to Utah and a near miss against Michigan State does not make a power.
  • Ole Miss (5-2). Not so long ago, the Rebels were in the conversation for the playoffs. Now not so much. A loss at Florida was acceptable, but losing at Memphis was crushing. If the Rebels don’t pull themselves out of this funk, four or five losses are possible.

FIVE MOST UNDERRATED TEAMS:

  • Utah (6-0). The Utes are more than just the way Joe Pesci pronounced “youths” in My Cousin Vinny. They are a bona fide good team. Utah has handled each team methodically this year and shows no sign of weakness. In July, if anyone had Utah in the Top 5, they now have a larger bank account.
  • Alabama (6-1). After the hiccup against Ole Miss, the naysayers had a field day. But since then, the Tide has been rolling, pun intended. After crushing Texas A&M in College Station, a win over LSU and against an SEC East team in Atlanta, has Bama in the playoffs.
  • Florida. Speaking of the SEC East. Florida was picked to be near the bottom of the division in the preseason. Then it beat Ole Miss when the Rebels were hot. Still not a lot of respect was given to the Gators. After the suspension of the starting quarterback, even less respect was given. But if not for a trick play by LSU, Florida may just be undefeated. They are in the catbird seat for the division.
  • Memphis. The Tigers have won like a zillion games in a row. After falling behind to Ole Miss last week, Memphis made the Rebels look like Mississippi Valley State. This team is good and will play in a New Year’s Day Bowl.
  • Toledo. Yes, it is more than the hometown of Klinger in MASH. The Rockets won at Arkansas — and though the Hogs are down this year — that is no easy feat. Toledo should keep winning and will be a tough choice to keep from a big bowl this year. It will be an injustice to have Toledo in the GoDaddy.com Bowl, it deserves better.