L.A. Times college football writer ranks Iowa No. 1 in preseason football ... Oops, not quite ... Wisconsin and Illinois to play each other in December

I was all set to forward you good people the news that Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times has Iowa No. 1 in his preseason college football Top 10.

Dufresne always has stuff that I call readable. What that means is you never have to slog through certain parts. It's informative and entertaining.

Anyway, on Tuesday Dufresne wrote this as part of his 10 juicy topics for summertime college football chatter:

2. Spring top 10

Listed in random order so as to not spoil our late-summer countdown to No. 1: Iowa, Texas Christian, Texas, Alabama, Boise State, Oregon, Nebraska, Ohio State, Florida, Virginia Tech.

Anyone who reads slowly and carefully would have thought, "Oh, Iowa's in his Top Ten. Nothing unusual there. Iowa is in a lot of preseason Top Tens."

But for someone with a twitchy eye that jumps ahead (like me), I briefly saw Iowa listed first and began racing to tell you.

That doesn't mean Dufresne won't put Iowa No. 1.

I think I'm again going to be an Associated Press Top 25 voter this fall. Which is guaranteed to put me in a bind. If I rate Iowa lower than you think I should, some of you will be unkind. If I rate Iowa higher than the rest of the nation thinks I should, some non-Iowans will be unkind.

People, people. If you don't heed me, at least obey Elvis Presley. Don't be cruel.

The only reason I vote in the poll is to post my ballot on Sundays and attract page-views. It's business, not personal. And besides, the only poll that really matters is the final one.

In other news:

The Big Ten has no more qualms about playing December football. As this story illustrates, Wisconsin and Illinois will face each other in December in 2011 and 2012. An excerpt:

Badgers coach Bret Bielema says it will give both teams more exposure in the final days before the bowl match-ups are set. And he says it will help them prepare better for their bowl games later in December or January.

The 2011 Wisconsin-Illinois game will be played on December 3rd in Champaign. The 2012 contest is now set for December 1st in Madison.