Thursday, January 6 Hokies drop in ESPN/USA Today poll
SportsTicker
ARLINGTON, Va. -- The top spot never changed hands.
Florida State finished as the unanimous No. 1 team in the country in the final ESPN/USA Today college football coaches poll released Tuesday night.
Florida State, which began the season as the top-ranked team,
concluded a 12-0 campaign with a 46-29 victory over No. 2
Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday night and received all 59
first-place votes and 1,475 points overall from a panel of
Division I coaches.
The Seminoles, who also finished atop the polls in 1993, have not
finished lower than fourth since 1987 but lost championship
showdowns to Florida in 1996 and Tennessee last season. The
loss to Florida in 1996 ended an unbeaten season.
Gunning to finish No. 1 for the first time in school history,
Virginia Tech (11-1) finished with its highest ranking in school
history but dropped to third, receiving 1,366 points.
Nebraska (12-1) moved up from third to second in the rankings
after an impressive 31-21 victory over Tennessee in the
Fiesta Bowl. The Cornhuskers, who won two outright titles and
shared another championship in the 1990s, garnered 1,390 points.
After becoming the first Big Ten Conference team to win
consecutive Rose Bowls, Wisconsin (10-2) remained fourth with
1,283 points. The Badgers posted an unimpressive 17-9 victory
over Stanford on New Year's Day.
Michigan (10-2), which rallied for a 35-34 victory over Alabama
in the Orange Bowl, moved up three spots in the rankings and
finished fifth with 1,189 points.
Coming off bowl victories, Kansas State (11-1) and Michigan
State (10-2) were sixth and seventh, followed by Alabama (10-3)
and 1998 national champion Tennessee (9-3).
Marshall (13-0), the only other unbeaten Division I-A team,
rounded out the top 10 after its impressive 21-3 victory
over Brigham Young in the Motor City Bowl.
One-time national title contender Penn State (10-3) moved up six
spots to 11th after it blanked Texas A&M 24-0 in the Alamo
Bowl. The Nittany Lions were followed by Mississippi State
(10-2), Southern Mississippi (9-3), Florida (9-4) and Miami (9-4).
Georgia (8-4), which completed the biggest comeback in bowl
history with a 28-25 overtime victory over Purdue in the Outback
Bowl, rose eight spots to 16th. Minnesota (8-4) fell to 17th
after losing to Oregon in the Sun Bowl. Ironically, Oregon (9-3)
entered the poll at 18th.
Arkansas (8-4) also entered the rankings at 19th after pounding
Texas 27-6 in the Cotton Bowl. Texas A&M (8-4) rounds out the
top 20.
Georgia Tech (8-4) fell six spots to 21st and is followed by
Mississippi (8-4), Texas (9-5), Stanford (8-4) and Illinois (8-4).
Dropping out of the rankings were East Carolina (9-3), Purdue
(7-5), Boston College (8-4) and Brigham Young (8-4), all of whom
lost bowl games.
