State of the game

All roads in college football run through Florida

	• Storylines • Hot & Not • Looking Ahead • Revised BCS Forecast

In today's college football world, to play for a national championship, it helps to first win another title: the state of Florida's.

If that's the case, look for Miami to be playing for a lot of them in the very near future.

That the 'Canes have reclaimed their state was confirmed the night before Steve Spurrier resigned at the University of Florida. The latter event was just icing on the cake.

Because the past few years, while the Gators and Seminoles were dominating the headlines, Miami was quietly assembling an empire now ascending at just the right time. The 'Canes, as receiver Andre Johnson said after the Rose Bowl, are "pretty loaded."

FSU and Florida are loaded with talent too, but circumstances surrounding their programs aren't as perfectly aligned as Miami's.

The 'Noles are only a year removed from a flux of uncertainty, losing quarterbacks and coordinators, and questions about Bobby Bowden's age aren't soon to go away. While their 8-4 mark in 2000 will likely prove an aberration, it would be irrational to think 12-1 is right around the corner.

The Gators have suddenly become an anomaly. Their program is so catered around Spurrier's unique philosophy, it's difficult to imagine them under the guidance of anyone else. And their hopes for next season rely on a bevy of underclass superstars who now may be considering the NFL more heavily.

One person who is not leaving his job anytime soon is Larry Coker. And unlike Oklahoma last year, the national champs are not losing their star quarterback. A few key names -- Ed Reed, Bryant McKinnie, Joaquin Gonzalez, possibly others -- are gone, but a bevy of talented skill players return, as do an impressive group of young players on defense, who could be seen making big plays against Nebraska, guys like Jonathan Vilma, Vince Wilfork and D.J. Williams. And there's more on the way.

Butch Davis, the 'Canes' former coach, said prior to the Rose Bowl he estimates "38 to 42" projected NFL draft picks or free agents on Miami's roster. Cornerback Phillip Buchanon identified 15 first-round picks on the defense alone.

Granted, both men are counting some freshmen and sophomores who haven't even stepped on the field yet in college, but that's just the point. Those who follow recruiting say Miami has become possibly the most sought-after destination for youngsters hoping to parlay their college careers into NFL millions. It may sound like a case of teenagers making grandiose life plans, but it's been going on in college basketball for years.

In football, in the future, programs that hope to win national championships will have to not only accept such thinking but also cater to it. Miami already does. Look for it to pay off in the form of another ring in the very near future.

They say you want a revolution In retrospect, 2001 will go down as the year fans went from skepticism to downright unacceptance of the BCS. In the end, the right team won, but the sentiment that Nebraska didn't deserve to be in the Rose Bowl in the first place was validated by the Huskers' performance in the game. The BCS isn't going away before 2006, but chairman John Swofford hinted strongly at a meeting with reporters the morning of the Rose Bowl that more changes could be on the way. Our vote: axe the computer polls once and for all. If we're going to have controversy, let it involve solely humans, not microchips. Shame of the Irish Leave it to Notre Dame to monopolize the headlines not once, but twice in less than a month with the fallout from its coaching change(s). In fact, the media has been so busy bashing the Irish for their lax resume screening process and apparent cover-your-butt nature of the Tyrone Willingam hiring, it's easy to forget the school also has some football problems to deal with. The roster Bob Davie left behind is void of athleticism at the skill positions, quarterbacks ill-suited for a vertical passing offense and, most important, no sense of swagger that should come with playing for the Irish. Good luck, coach Willingham. Spread thin Was it really only four months ago that we were all gaga over the spread offense? Wow. That thing tanked faster than green ketchup. While a full remission isn't likely, the spread won't seem so en vogue after the ho-hum seasons of Northwestern, Purdue, Texas Tech and others. Even Oklahoma went stagnant on offense, winning 11 games because its defense was just that good. If anything, teams like Colorado, Miami and Oklahoma proved that even all these years after the Yales and Harvards first did it, sometimes running right at the other guy is still the way to go.

HOT: Joey Harrington Looking back, maybe we were smoking something. We really did give the Heisman to a quarterback who can't throw, while all the while this guy was putting on a clinic on the tight spiral, yet finished fourth. NOT: Nebraska Re: the above discussion about kids wanting a place to springboard to the NFL. Nebraska will always be that place for 350-pound corn-fed linemen, but it's becoming plain as day they will continue having trouble attracting top-notch skill athletes under their traditional system. Big Red fans have a decision to make: Which do they love more, the system or the athletes? HOT: The Stoops family Bob and Mike got their national title rings last year. Now Mark, secondary coach at Miami, has his. And now, in what would a remarkable chain of events, Steve Spurrier's resignation could make Bob the head coach at Florida and Mike the head coach at Oklahoma -- two of the nation's top five programs. NOT: Michigan That the Wolverines went 8-4 shouldn't have been surprising, considering they lost two players who now star for the playoff-bound Chicago Bears. Still, such records aren't easily accepted at Michigan, especially when it means losing to Ohio State and getting trounced by the hated SEC in a bowl game. Going into next season, fans are wondering whether John Navarre will ever become the big-time quarterback they desire. HOT: LSU Tiger fans are another bunch whose expectations are often borderline psycho. But Nick Saban is actually fulfilling them. After winning the SEC and the Sugar Bowl in just his second season -- and with Spurrier leaving Florida -- the Tigers have a chance to become permanent residents of the SEC's hierarchy. NOT: Florida For 12 seasons, Spurrier was the reason the Gators pulverized the rest of the SEC. But his ways were also the reason they never went undefeated, always seemed to lose that one they shouldn't to Auburn or Mississippi State. It will literally take a czar of a coach to keep UF even at that level, which is why Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina must be foaming at the mouth right now.

Nothing like a preseason Top 10 -- seven months and three weeks before it starts ... 1) Miami 2) Texas 3) Tennessee 4) Oklahoma 5) Florida 6) Colorado 7) Florida State 8) LSU 9) Virginia Tech 10) Washington Not to mention a gratuitously early Heisman ladder ... 1) Ken Dorsey, QB, Miami 2) Rex Grossman, QB, Florida* 3) Jabar Gaffney, WR, Florida* 4) Eli Manning, QB, Ole Miss 5) Onterrio Smith, RB, Oregon * -- if they stay

Those were the preseason rankings. Now for a wild stab at how it might end up ...
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. Virginia Tech	Rose: Ohio State vs. Washington
Sugar: LSU vs. Florida State	Orange: Miami vs. Tennessee

Stewart Mandel covers college football for CNNSI.com. Look for his updates throughout the offseason.

Related information
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.