Jan. 4, 2001
MIAMI - There's nothing fluky about Oklahoma's national championship season. After polishing off a perfect season with a 13-2 victory over No. 5 Florida State in Wednesday night's Orange Bowl, the Sooners merely added to their list of highly regarded victims. In finishing as the only unbeaten team in the country, Oklahoma (13-0) also beat No. 8 Nebraska, No. 9 Kansas State twice and No. 12 Texas. The Sooners won their first national title in 15 years and seventh overall in unanimous fashion, receiving all 71 first-place votes in the final Associated Press media poll. "Our players recognize that the history of Oklahoma is winning championships," second-year Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "We already had six, now we have seven. We have a great history in the Orange Bowl." In the final tally of the AP poll, the No. 1 votes from the sports writers and broadcasters gave the Sooners 1,775 points. Miami (11-1), which had hopes of claiming the AP title if Florida State had beaten Oklahoma, finished No. 2 with 1,690 points. The Hurricanes, who beat the Seminoles earlier this season, beat Florida 37-20 in Tuesday night's Sugar Bowl. Washington (11-1), a 34-24 winner over Purdue in the Rose Bowl, was No. 3, followed by No. 4 Oregon State (11-1) and No. 5 Florida State (11-2). This was the Seminoles lowest finish in the AP poll since being unranked in the final poll in 1986. In Oklahoma's glory days of the 1970s and '80s, the Sooners won three national titles under Barry Switzer (1974, '75 and '85) to go with three under Bud Wilkinson (1950, '55 and '56). But after Switzer left in 1989, Gary Gibbs, Howard Schnellenberger and John Blake combined for a 61-50-3 record and three minor bowls before Stoops took over in 1999. Virginia Tech (11-1), a 41-20 winner over Clemson in the Gator Bowl, was No. 6, followed by No. 7 Oregon (10-2), No. 8 Nebraska (10-2), No. 9 Kansas State (11-3) and No. 10 Florida (10-3). Michigan, with its 31-28 win over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl, moved up six places to No. 11, followed by No. 12 Texas, No. 13 Purdue, No. 14 Colorado State, No. 15 Notre Dame, No. 16 Clemson, No. 17 Georgia Tech, No. 18 Auburn, No. 19 South Carolina and No. 20 Georgia. The Irish, 41-9 losers to Oregon State in the Fiesta Bowl, fell five places. TCU was No. 21, followed by No. 22 LSU, No. 23 Wisconsin, No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 25 Iowa State, making its first appearance in the poll since 1981. In the final USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, the top five were Oklahoma, Miami, Washington, Florida State and Oregon State. Tennessee, 35-21 losers to Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl, fell out of the AP Top 25. Also dropping out were Northwestern, Ohio State, Louisville and Toledo. The newcomers were South Carolina, LSU, Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Iowa State. The Big 12 Conference had the most impressive showing, with five teams in the Top 25 - four in the top 12 - in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas State, Texas and Iowa State. The SEC also had five teams in the Top 25, while the Pac-10, Big Ten and ACC had three each in the final rankings. The Pac-10 finished impressively, with its three teams among the top seven.
By RICHARD ROSENBLATT
The Final Top 25
Record Pts Pvs
1. Oklahoma (71) 13-0 1,775 1
2. Miami 11-1 1,690 2
3. Washington 11-1 1,634 4
4. Oregon St. 11-1 1,539 5
5. Florida St. 11-2 1,488 3
6. Virginia Tech 11-1 1,432 6
7. Oregon 10-2 1,299 8
8. Nebraska 10-2 1,282 9
9. Kansas St. 11-3 1,258 11
10. Florida 10-3 1,128 7
11. Michigan 9-3 1,061 17
12. Texas 9-3 894 12
13. Purdue 8-4 765 14
14. Colorado St. 10-2 640 23
15. Notre Dame 9-3 611 10
16. Clemson 9-3 563 16
17. Georgia Tech 9-3 545 15
18. Auburn 9-4 498 20
19. South Carolina 8-4 486 -
20. Georgia 8-4 430 24
21. TCU 10-2 406 13
22. LSU 8-4 340 -
23. Wisconsin 9-4 208 -
24. Mississippi St. 8-4 197 -
25. Iowa St. 9-3 188 -
Others receiving votes: Tennessee 187, Toledo 173, Northwestern 103, Ohio
St. 62, Louisville 53, Southern Miss. 47, Air Force 40, Boise St. 24, N.C.
State 13, East Carolina 8, Boston College 4, Texas A&M 2, UNLV 1, West Virginia
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