Sharing is good, isn’t it?
College football fans have plenty to quarrel about after voters proclaimed Michigan No. 1 in The Associated Press poll and Nebraska No. 1 in the coaches poll Saturday.
If you like relentless defense, savvy offense and the ability to beat four Top 10 teams, no matter how close the score, your team is the Wolverines (12-0).
If you go for the guys with the overpowering running game, crunching defense and softer schedule–then add the sentimental factor–the Cornhuskers (13-0) are your champions.
But if you prefer to have the national title decided on the field, sharing isn’t so hot, since there are no plans for a college football playoff just yet.
The end of the 1997 season came down to this: The only two teams with perfect records ended their seasons perfectly.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said Saturday, a few hours after the Huskers beat Tennessee 42-17 in the Orange Bowl, his farewell game as coach. “Who knows why people vote the way they do? You hope someone doesn’t vote for someone because one team hasn’t won the national championship for a while or because another team’s coach is retiring.
“It certainly is very gratifying. From our standpoint, it couldn’t have worked out any better. It’s just sad we’re still dealing with polls. You wish there was just one (poll) or a playoff.
He also said: “I’m really pleased for the University of Michigan, strangely enough. They very much deserve to be national champions. I thought we did, too.”
For the third time in the 1990s, the national title was split.
In the AP poll, Michigan won its first national title since 1948 after beating Washington State 21-16 in the Rose Bowl on Thursday.
Michigan received 51 1/2 first-place votes and 1,731 1/2 points from a national panel of 70 sportswriters and broadcasters to win by a convincing margin over Nebraska, which totaled 18 1/2 first-place votes and 1,698 1/2 points.
The margin of victory was 33 first-place votes and 33 points. Seven voters split their ballots. Before the bowl games, Michigan led Nebraska by 68 first-place votes and 68 points.
In the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, Nebraska jumped ahead of Michigan by the narrowest of margins, getting 32 first-place votes and 1,520 points to Michigan’s 30 first-place votes and 1,516 points.
Before the bowl games, Michigan led the Huskers by 45 first-place votes and 47 points.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said that while he was disappointed with the split, “we’re still thrilled to be honored by The Associated Press. When you consider all the great teams that we’ve had at Michigan, and the fact it’s been 50 years in a rich football tradition since we’ve won it, I think every guy who has played at Michigan takes great pride in this.”
The other split polls occurred in 1990 and 1991; Miami was the AP champion and Washington No. 1 in the coaches poll in ’91; Colorado was No. 1 in the AP poll while the coaches had Georgia Tech in ’90.
The rest of the AP poll had Florida State (11-1), a 31-14 winner over Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, No. 3, followed by No. 4 Florida and No. 5 UCLA. The Gators (10-2) beat Penn State 21-6 in the Citrus Bowl and the Bruins (10-2) beat Texas A&M 26-23 in the Cotton Bowl. The Seminoles finished in the top four for an 11th consecutive season.
North Carolina (11-1), a 42-3 winner over Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl, was No. 6, followed by No. 7 Tennessee (11-2), No. 8 Kansas State (11-1), No. 9 Washington State (10-2) and No. 10 Georgia (10-2). Kansas State beat Syracuse 35-18 in the Fiesta Bowl, and Georgia topped Wisconsin 33-6 in the Outback Bowl.
Auburn was No. 11, followed by Ohio State, LSU, Arizona State, Purdue, Penn State, Colorado State, Washington, Southern Mississippi, Texas A&M, Syracuse, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech.
The Wolverines, coming off four straight four-loss seasons, were ranked No. 14 in the preseason poll and steadily moved up, reaching No. 8 after opening the season with a 27-3 win over Colorado and climbing to No. 4 after a 23-7 victory over Michigan State on Oct. 25.
Until the final poll, the biggest day of the season occurred Nov. 9, when the Wolverines jumped over Nebraska into the top spot. On Nov. 8, Michigan beat No. 2 Penn State 34-8, and No. 1 Nebraska beat an unranked Missouri 45-38 in overtime after tying the game on a miracle TD catch by Matt Davison at the end of regulation.
Unlike 1994, when Penn State lost out on a national title to an undefeated Nebraska team despite a perfect season of its own, the Huskers of ’97 captured a share of the title by routing a No. 3 team, while the Wolverines barely beat a No. 8 team.
Osborne is eager to see how next season’s bowl alliance–one that includes every team–will work. He also would support a computer ranking system that picks teams for a playoff format.
Osborne, true to his nature, showed hardly any emotion in the last hours of his 25-year career.
The 60-year-old coach calmly watched his Huskers close out their third perfect season in four years, giving him a 255-49-3 record. He accepted congratulations in the locker room from Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning and his dad, Archie, and left the stadium for the last time as a coach.
Osborne already had won two national championships, but was not sure whether Nebraska would be able to sway enough votes for a third title.
“I thought it was 50-50,” he said.
FINAL AP TOP 25 POLL
First-place votes in parentheses, records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking: %%
Team Rec Pts Pv
1. Michigan (51 1/2) 12-0 1,731 1/2 1
2. Nebraska (18 1/2) 13-0 1,698 1/2 2
3. Florida St. 11-1 1,599 4
4. Florida 10-2 1,455 6
5. UCLA 10-2 1,413 5
6. North Carolina 11-1 1,397 7
7. Tennessee 11-2 1,320 3
8. Kansas St. 11-1 1,302 10
9. Washington St. 10-2 1,259 8
10. Georgia 10-2 1,121 12
11. Auburn 10-3 1,025 13
12. Ohio St. 10-3 975 9
13. LSU 9-3 856 15
14. Arizona St. 9-3 773 16
15. Purdue 9-3 715 17
16. Penn St. 9-3 706 11
17. Colorado St. 11-2 673 18
18. Washington 8-4 617 21
19. Southern Miss. 9-3 490 22
20. Texas A&M 9-4 421 20
21. Syracuse 9-4 331 14
22. Mississippi 8-4 255 —
23. Missouri 7-5 175 19
24. Oklahoma St. 8-4 72 24
25. Georgia Tech 7-5 64 —
%% Others receiving votes: Arizona 59, Oregon 50, Air Force 37, Marshall 33, Virginia 31, Clemson 27, Louisiana Tech 20, Mississippi St. 15, Michigan St. 9, Wisconsin 8, New Mexico 6, Cincinnati 5, Notre Dame 3, Iowa 2, Virginia Tech 1.
FINAL USA TODAY/ESPN TOP 25
First-place votes in parentheses, records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking: %%
Team Rec Pts Pv
1. Nebraska (32) 13-0 1,520 2
2. Michigan (30) 12-0 1,516 1
3. Florida St. 11-1 1,414 4
4. North Carolina 11-1 1,292 5
5. UCLA 10-2 1,239 6
6. Florida 10-2 1,209 8
7. Kansas St. 11-1 1,192 9
8. Tennessee 11-2 1,122 3
9. Washington St. 10-2 1,076 7
10. Georgia 10-2 1,007 11
11. Auburn 10-3 854 13
12. Ohio St. 10-3 826 10
13. LSU 9-3 786 15
14. Arizona St. 9-3 667 18
15. Purdue 9-3 666 16
16. Colorado St. 11-2 646 17
17. Penn St. 9-3 585 12
18. Washington 8-4 512 23
19. Southern Miss. 9-3 462 22
20. Syracuse 9-4 380 14
21. Texas A&M 9-4 359 19
22. Mississippi 8-4 188 NR
23. Missouri 7-5 114 20
24. Oklahoma St. 8-4 103 24
25. Air Force 10-3 74 21
%% Others receiving votes: Clemson 58, Georgia Tech 55, Iowa 32, Louisiana Tech 31, Oregon 25, Cincinnati 24, Arizona 23, Mississippi St. 20, Michigan St. 16, New Mexico 13, Wisconsin 13, Tulane 10, Virginia 9, West Virginia 7, Marshall 4, Notre Dame 1.
