Athlon Sports, publisher of the No. 1-selling college football magazine, has announced that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been named the No. 8 team in its preseason Top 25 poll. The countdown commences every year at AthlonSports.com in early May and leads to the on-sale date of Athlon’s category-leading college football preseason annuals on May 28.
To celebrate Notre Dame being named No. 8, AthlonSports.com will be highlighting the program, including a look at the greatest players since 1967 and a 2013 team preview.
Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish appear on the countdown with three preseason All-Americans.
“Notre Dame was not a one-hit wonder,” says Athlon Sports executive editor, Mitch Light. “Everett Golson is back at quarterback, and the Irish should be very strong on both the offensive and defensive line. The schedule is challenging, but Brian Kelly’s club will be in the hunt for a BCS bowl.”
Three standout players were named as preseason All-Americans, with defensive end Stephon Tuitt and defensive tackle Louis Nix III being voted to the first team, and offensive tackle Zack Martin to the third team.
In addition, the defensive line unit was rated No. 2 in the country, the linebackers unit was ranked No. 6, and the defensive backs unit was rated No. 10.
Last year, Athlon Sports was the most accurate preseason magazine in prediction accuracy.
Athlon Sports’ preseason magazines hit retail locations May 28, with the entire selection of regional editions and team-specific covers available for pre-order at athlonsports.com/store.
Nashville-based Athlon Sports is a 46-year-old integrated media company. It remains a leader in sports prediction accuracy and creating the most sought-after preseason content online and in magazines at the newsstand. The company serves business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients as a publisher, content provider and sports marketer through its portfolio of websites, sports magazines, direct marketing services and events.
