We told you all along that FSU was the one

Sporting News, The, Dec 23, 1996 by Ivan Maisel

This is the time of year when many people like to reflect on the past. With that said, here is a look back at how TSN's preseason picks fared:

1. Florida State: Need we say more?

2. Nebraska: Didn't count on the bottom Calling out of the offense; inexperience, injuries to blame.

3. Florida: See Florida State.

4. Tennessee: To quote the preview. "Will Peyton Manning run for his life?" The answer was yes. The young offensive line never matured.

5. Colorado: Buffs beat themselves against Michigan; rain and cold nipped whatever chance they had against the Huskers' defense.

6. USC and 7. Notre Dame: They belong together. The Trojans never found an offense; Notre Dame lost its hard drive at crucial moments. Irish fans may think that overtime turned a 10-1 team into an 8-3 team. More likely, it turned an 8-3 team into an 8-3 team.

8. Miami: Lack of depth caused by NCAA probation caught up to the 'Canes on offense. Defense and special teams made Miami Big East co-champ.

9. Texas: An awful start, but by the end of the season, the Longhorns made this pick look good. No team is hotter going into January 1.

10. Auburn: Too young for this ranking. A green defense spent this season learning Bill Oliver's complex scheme. Watch the Tigers next year.

11. Iowa: No, really, we know what we are talking about. See Florida, Florida State.

12. Penn State: And we quote, "No Roses, perhaps, but no funeral bouquets, either." The Nittany Lions went 3-0, all against bowl teams, in November.

13. Syracuse: The Orangemen did the cheap-suit routine when it counted. Don't blame them for the loss to North Carolina. They'll remember the losses to Minnesota and Miami for a long time.

14. Ohio State: No one could have predicted the way the Buckeyes reassembled their offense. Too many people predicted the Buckeyes' collapse against Michigan.

15. Arizona State: We blew this one. The Sun Devils turned themselves around in mid-1995, drew confidence from their upset of Nebraska in September and never slowed down. Too bad the Super Alliance is two years too slow. A Seminoles-Sun Devils game remains a dream.

16. Texas A&M: The secondary never came together. The rest of the defense fell apart. It will be a long winter and spring practice in Aggieland.

17. Virginia: As usual, the Cavaliers are a 300-meter runner in a 400-meter race. Nice win over North Carolina, though.

18. LSU: Right on the money. Need to work on that Florida/Alabama game plan, though. The Tigers lost their two big games by a combined 82-13.

19. Virginia Tech: The Hokies battled through too many off-field problems and a tough November schedule to go 10-1. A deserving Alliance team.

20. Oregon: Injuries consumed the Ducks, and their defense really missed coordinator Charlie Waters. A fourth-quarter collapse at Stanford in October cost the Ducks a bowl bid.

21. Kansas State: The Wildcats are used to being underestimated. Still, they've got to score more than three points combined against Colorado and Nebraska to be taken seriously. Congrats on the Cotton Bowl.

22. Alabama: Coach-elect Mike Dubose would like to take this time to announce that the quarterback position is wide open.

23. Michigan: How can the team that won at Colorado and Ohio State be the team that lost at Purdue and lost its nerve in the fourth quarter at Northwestern?

24. Clemson: Slow start, fast finish. To quote the preview: "The year will end better than it began." Hear, hear.

25. Northwestern: Owe you another apology, Gary.

Picks we wish we had back

30. North Carolina

35. Brigham Young

83. Army (83?)

90. Navy

Picks that peaked in August

27. Kansas

40. Boston College

55. Indiana

The Big 12

Following are the dozen biggest events of 1996:

1. Arizona State 19, Nebraska 0: The Kings are husked.

2. The departures, en masse of some of the sport's best coaches. Lou Holtz left Notre Dame after 11 seasons, saying over and over, "I do not feel good about this at all. I do feel it's the right thing to do." Gene Stallings got off the pedestal Alabama fans placed him on after he coached the Crimson Tide to the 1992 national title.

Others couldn't leave on their own terms: Minnesota's Jim Wacker, Indiana's Bill Mallory, Kentucky's Bill Curry and Pittsburgh's Johnny Majors left or were asked to leave before they were ready. With Glen Mason's decision last weekend to leave Kansas for Minnesota, there will be, in all, 23 Division I-A schools with new coaches in 1997. It may be the greatest drain on coaching talent in the history of the sport.

And it would have been worse had Grambling forced out Eddie Robinson after 54 seasons and 400 wins. University president Raymond Hicks reportedly asked Robinson to step down after the 77-year-old legend went 3-8 this season, the school's worst mark since 1951. But Robinson asked for one more season and was granted his wish.

3. Tremain Mack blocks a punt at West Virginia--and saves Miami's season. The Hurricanes escaped Morgantown with a 10-7 victory when, with 29 seconds left, Mack blocked a punt that Jack Hallmon picked up and handed to Nate Brooks, who finished the 20-yard return by scoring a touch down. With the win, the Hurricanes were able to tie for their fifth Big East title in the league's six seasons.