It's Official - Miami Unanimous No. 1!

Jan. 4, 2002

* AP Top 25 Poll
* USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll

NEW YORK – So much for split champions. Miami made it all moot.

The Hurricanes won their fifth national title and first in 10 years unanimously, receiving all 72 first-place votes in the final Associated Press poll.

Miami (12-0) finished the season as the nation’s only major unbeaten team with a 37-14 victory over Nebraska in the Rose Bowl on Thursday night.

In the final, post-bowl AP poll, the No. 1 votes from the sports writers and broadcasters gave the Hurricanes 1,800 points.

“It’s an unbelievable honor,” Miami coach Larry Coker said. “It’s tremendously gratifying to be around such great players, to be able to coach kids at such a high level.”

Coker joined Michigan’s Bennie Oosterbaan (1948) as the only first-year head coaches to win a national title.

A Nebraska win in the Rose Bowl might have created the fourth split title since 1990. The Cornhuskers would have automatically been crowned the champion of the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll, but Oregon would have had a shot at being the AP winner, which is selected independently.

“I just would have liked to have a shot,” Ducks quarterback Joey Harrington said.

The Ducks, who beat Colorado 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl, finished No. 2 in the AP poll – their highest ranking ever. Florida was third, followed by Tennessee and Texas. The coaches had the same Top Five as the AP.

Nebraska fell from No. 4 to No. 8, behind Oklahoma and LSU. Colorado and Washington State rounded out the Top 10.

Coker took over for Butch Davis after the Hurricanes finished No. 2 last season. The Hurricanes started the season ranked No. 2 and moved into the No. 1 spot for good on Oct. 6 when Florida lost to Auburn.

The title completes Miami’s return to prominence. The Hurricanes finished with a 5-6 record as recently as 1997, but Davis rebuilt the team before leaving to coach the Cleveland Browns.

Coker took over and moved Miami into fourth place for the most AP championships ever, trailing only Alabama (six), Oklahoma (seven) and Notre Dame (eight). The Hurricanes also won titles in 1983, ’87, ’89 and ’91.

Maryland, which lost the Orange Bowl 56-23 to Florida, finished 11th, followed by Illinois, South Carolina, Syracuse and Florida State.

The Seminoles’ streak of 14 straight Top Five seasons ended with their lowest finish since being unranked in the final poll in 1986.

Stanford, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Washington, Michigan, Boston College, Georgia, Toledo, Georgia Tech and BYU were the final 10 teams.

Boston College and Georgia Tech moved into the final poll after bowl wins, while Ohio State and Fresno State dropped out after bowl losses.

The Southeastern Conference led the way with five teams in the Top 25, while the Big East, Pac-10 and Big 12 all had four.

By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer

The Final AP Top 25 Poll

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The Top Twenty Five teams in The Associated Press final college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, final records, total points based on 25 points for a first place vote through one point for a 25th place vote and previous ranking:

Others receiving votes: Marshall 117, Fresno St. 104, Hawaii 95, Ohio St. 59, North Carolina 56, Texas A&M 41, Michigan St. 37, Arkansas 31, Clemson 9, Utah 9, Mississippi 6, Alabama 4, Pittsburgh 4, UCLA 4, Iowa 1.

Final USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Poll

The Top Twenty Five teams in the USA Today/ESPN college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Jan. 3, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking:

Also receiving votes: Georgia Tech 112, North Carolina 84, Fresno State 81, Ohio State 66, Texas A&M 57, Michigan State 45, Hawaii 36, Arkansas 13, Alabama 12, Utah 9, Pittsburgh 8, Auburn 5, Iowa 5, Clemson 4, Iowa State 2, Texas Tech 1, UCLA 1.