My wife looks for football preseason magazines when she’s at the grocery store this time of year.

One of her recent acquisitions was ESPN’s College Football Preview. Let this serve as a warning — don’t invest $14.99 on this edition if you’re looking for anything on East Carolina.

ESPN goes big on the Power Four teams with at least one page devoted to each, but the Group of Six section only has a condensed summary of each conference.

There is no mention of East Carolina in the American Conference segment.

There are six paragraphs total on the American.

It would seem that a publication from the network that broadcasts numerous American games would want to publicize the league to enhance viewership.

At this point, the Pirates are scheduled to play seven games on ABC/ESPN platforms.

That includes American matchups on Thursday nights at Alabama-Birmingham on Oct. 15 (ESPN or ESPN2) and at Memphis on Oct. 22 (ESPN2). Those are slots of high exposure because only a few teams are in action.

The Pirates were practically a fixture on Thursday nights last season.

Of the 14 football-playing teams in the American, the five that were mentioned by ESPN are Tulane, Navy, North Texas, South Florida and Texas-San Antonio.

In the ESPN predictions, Hawaii (Mountain West) is picked to get the Group of Six’s berth in the College Football Playoff.

The writers aren’t on the same page as far as picking the CFP winner. One has Notre Dame beating Georgia for the championship. Another ranks the Fighting Irish at No. 18.

Griffis named starter

There is much more information in other preseason publications.

Lindy’s and Athlon both have projected depth charts and both have Texas Tech transfer Mitch Griffis listed as first team quarterback for ECU.

I believe Coach Blake Harrell and new offensive coordinator Jordan Davis when they say the competition will continue during preseason camp between Griffis and Miami of Florida transfer Emory Williams.

Griffis does have more experience, having made nine starts for Wake Forest in 2023.

The magazines probably have to make some educated guesses when they go to press in the spring.

Where the Pirates are picked

ECU is rated fifth in the American by Athlon and The Sporting News. Both of those magazines are published now by McClatchy, which owns the News & Observer and other major papers across the country, under the umbrella of the hedge fund, Chatham Asset Management.

The Sporting News published a preseason football issue for the first time since 2012.

Lindy’s has the Pirates slotted ninth with concerns about the talent lost in the portal from a 9-4 team that topped Pitt, 23-17, in the Military Bowl.

Navy is the preseason favorite in the American by Athlon, Lindy’s and TSN.

Who got it right?

Looking back at the 2025 editions, Athlon correctly picked Tulane to win the American title.

Lindy’s endorsed Navy, which missed the title game.

Athlon predicted that ECU would take on South Alabama in the 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile.

Athlon and Lindy’s each picked the Pirates seventh in the American last year and ECU went 6-2 in the league to tie for fourth.

Honors

Athlon has two Pirates on its first team preseason all-conference units, Brock Spalding at wide receiver and Jasiyah Robinson on the defensive front.

Lindy’s has no ECU players on its all-league first team.

Sometimes individual honors are irrelevant. Oklahoma had nobody on the Southeastern Conference first or second team in baseball. No Sooners were on the All-Freshmen team.

But Oklahoma surged to the NCAA championship with a 13-2 win over North Carolina in the deciding third game of the College World Series on Monday night in Omaha.

Coincidentally, the Sooners topped Florida State in the Orange Bowl by the same 13-2 score for their last national championship in football in 2000.

That’ a wrap

The closing phrase on Oklahoma wins that corresponds to “Paint it Purple” at ECU is “Unhitch the wagons, put the ponies in the barn.”

Ebb Tide?

ECU starts the season at Alabama on Saturday, Sept. 5 at noon (ABC).

At this point the Crimson Tide is not regarded as highly as the Michigan team that the Pirates faced to open the 2023 season.

The Wolverines, ranked No. 2 at the time, took a 30-3 win in Ann Arbor over the Pirates and eventually won the national championship.

Alabama is in the midst of a quarterback transition after closing last season with a 38-3 loss to No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl/CFP Semifinals.

Lindy’s, which is based in Birmingham, picks the Tide fifth in the SEC.

Not sure if it’s better to take on a higher-regarded Alabama team or one with something to prove.

Bowl prediction

Athlon’s postseason destination prediction for ECU is the Cure Bowl against Western Michigan at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

Down I-95 would be a welcome change from up I-95 to the Military Bowl — like the last two seasons.

That said, wins over N.C. State and Pitt are certainly outcomes to be cherished.

Volume

Lindy’s is the biggest of the preseason volumes at 272 pages.

Athlon is 210 pages but has 2-deep depth charts.

Sporting News is 146 pages. ESPN is 128.

I don’t have Phil Steele’s comprehensive guide but maybe Barbara will see that one soon.