Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Finally, it's time for the games to begin.
By JOSH DUBOW
ASSOCIATED PRESS
College football was living high in January: A thrilling championship game with no controversy about its participants capped a season full of excitement.
Then came the offseason.
Two prominent coaches lost their jobs -- Rick Neuheisel for gambling, Mike Price for allegedly partying with strippers.
Ohio State's title was called into doubt with questions about the academic eligibility of its standout running back, Maurice Clarett, and then an NCAA investigation into his claim that he had thousands of dollars of stereo equipment stolen from a car.
Most importantly, civil war broke out when the ACC lured Miami and Virginia Tech away from the Big East, altering the balance of power in the sport and leaving one of the six major conferences fighting to maintain its prominence.
Games to begin
Finally, it's time for the games to begin.
"It's great to get a chance to talk football again," Miami coach Larry Coker said at his final Big East media day. "Once the games begin, all this fire and brimstone will wane a little bit."
The impact of last year's championship game and the off-season's chaos will be felt all season.
Hours after a 31-24 double-overtime loss in the Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State, Miami's players were eager to eliminate the bitter taste from the game.
Every time they watched the tape, every time they practiced, almost everywhere they went, the Hurricanes couldn't help thinking about the missed opportunities that cost them a repeat championship.
"All those two-a-days, all those practices, all those seven-on-sevens, the team meetings, were for nothing, and we only had 2 yards to go," Miami tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. said.
Five turnovers, blown assignments, a bit of overconfidence and a questionable pass interference call helped Ohio State snap Miami's 34-game winning streak and give hope to many teams that they, too, have a title chance.
Sooners are No. 1
Oklahoma begins the season No. 1 in The Associated Press poll for a record ninth time, beating out Ohio State in voting released Saturday.
"I appreciate the fact that people view us that way," Sooners coach and Youngstown native Bob Stoops said. "I don't want to undervalue that. We appreciate that people view us as one of those teams that can win it all. But in the end, they don't hand out any trophies in August."
There are many other teams hoping to become this year's Buckeyes -- a team that came off a five-loss season to run the table and win the championship.
"How many people really did give Ohio State a chance last year?" said North Carolina State coach Chuck Amato, whose team begins the year at No. 16. "You've got to dream about it, you've got to talk about it, so if it happens, we just don't faint."
This year's top contenders are missing some usual names. Nebraska, Florida State and Florida -- which together won at least a share of the national title every year but one from 1993-99 -- all began the season outside the Top 10. Florida State is 13th, while Nebraska and Florida are outside the poll entirely. It's the first time the Cornhuskers are out of the preseason poll since 1969.
There are plenty of teams poised to dethrone the Buckeyes, including Oklahoma, No. 3 Miami, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Auburn, No. 7 Kansas State, No. 8 Southern California and No. 9 Virginia Tech.
Shula at Alabama
There are 18 new coaches in Division I-A. None will receive as much scrutiny as Mike Shula at Alabama.
Shula took over in May from Price, who was fired without coaching a game for the Crimson Tide after reports that he spent hundreds of dollars at a Pensacola, Fla., topless bar and that a woman ordered about $1,000 in food and charged it to his hotel bill the next morning.
The passionate 'Bama fans, still stung by coach Dennis Franchione's defection to Texas A & amp;M in December and a bowl ban, will be patient with Shula, unless the losses start piling up.
"I'm going to work as hard as I can to get this team ready to play," Shula said. "We're at Alabama. We should go out and take the field thinking we can win every week. If we don't, we shouldn't be here."
Change at Washington
The other big coaching change came at Washington, where Keith Gilbertson took over in June when Neuheisel was fired.
Gilbertson has more talent to work with in quarterback Cody Pickett and receiver Reggie Williams and a more patient fan base, which should ease the transition.
But he doesn't get help from the schedule makers, who send him to Columbus, for his opener against the defending champions.