Florida State is No. 1 in the Scripps Howard preseason football poll. Michigan nudges out defending national champion Alabama for second.
Seven other familiar names - Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Syracuse, Florida and Washington - round out the top 10.Teams that earn places in this weekly poll will have impressed some impressive judges. Scripps Howard has changed selectors, from sportswriters to a bright blue-ribbon panel of football celebrities:
Wayne Duke, former commissioner of the Big Ten; Barbara Dooley, distinguished commentator, wife of Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley; Jim "Hoss" Brock, consultant, Cotton Bowl; Dick MacPherson, former coach of Syracuse and the New England Patriots, now a businessman in New York.
Archie Griffin, two-time recipient of the Heisman Trophy, assistant athletic director, Ohio State; Pat Edwards, former football writer, wife of Brigham Young coach LaVell Edwards; Herman Matthews, math professor, Lincoln Memorial University, originator of Scripps Howard power ratings; Art Spander, columnist, San Francisco Examiner.
Volney Meece, executive director, Football Writers of America; Judy Sweet, past president of the NCAA, athletic director at University of California-San Diego; Steve Sloan, former coach at Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Duke, now athletic director at Central Florida; Lee Corso, former coach, analyst for ESPN.
Each panelist voted for 25 teams. Twenty-five points were awarded for a first-place vote, 24 for second, etc. Florida State received eight firsts. Alabama got two and Michigan and Nebraska one each.
Throughout the season, we'll also ask voters to explain their picks. MacPherson, who selected old team Syracuse fourth, was not shy to talk about his preseason selections.
"Look at my top six (Florida State, Notre Dame, Alabama, Syracuse, Michigan, Miami)," says MacPherson. "They all have a chance, but I will be very surprised if anyone outside of my top six finishes No. 1. They are the only ones with any chance.
"If any one else does? Well, being an old coach, let me say that if any of the ones that aren't in my top six finish No. 1, then that will have been the coaching job of the year. I don't want to put that kind of pressure on (Syracuse coach Paul) Pasqualoni, but then there you are."
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(Chart)
Scripps poll
School points
1. Florida State(8) 294
2. Michigan (1) 278
3. Alabama (2) 277
4. Miami 259
5. Nebraska (1) 228
6. Texas A&M 226
6. Notre Dame 226
8. Florida 220
9. Syracuse 216
10. Washington 184
11. Colorado 173
12. Tennessee 172
13. Georgia 139
14. Ohio State 113
15. Penn State 112
16. Arizona 111
17. Stanford 95
18. Clemson 76
19. Southern Cal 72
20. Boston College 61
21. North Carolina 59
22. BYU 56
23. Mississippi State 42
24. Oklahoma 38
25. UCLA 29
Others: Iowa, Texas, N.C. State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Louisville, Baylor.
First-place votes are in parentheses.