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1990 Miami crowned; FSU 2nd, Irish 3rd By LISA HARRIS UPI Sports Writer
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Miami, 11-1, beat Alabama 33-25 in the Sugar Bowl in the final game of the 1989 season and was the only team in the nation to defeat Notre Dame. Miami's only loss came to No. 2 Florida State, which won 10 straight games after losing its first two games of the season.
The No. 3 Fighting Irish finished 12-1, the best record in the country, and beat the former No. 1 Buffaloes 21-6 in the Orange Bowl. But Notre Dame's only loss, 27-10 to Miami in the regular-season finale Nov. 25 undoubtedly weighed heavily with the 49 coaches who participated in the final balloting. Notre Dame entered the bowl ranked No. 4.
Miami captured 36 first-place votes and 707 of 735 possible points, 46 more than Florida State, to give former Washington State coach Dennis Erickson the title in his first season with the Hurricanes. Miami entered the postseason ranked second.
"Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl Nov. 25 was the beginning and the was the end," Erickson said. "This championship was won by two groups: first the assistant coaches and secondly, and most importantly, the football players, especially the seniors. This football team deserves the national championship."
The UPI Coach's Trophy was presented to Erickson by Bill Proulx of the Genius Pepsi-Cola Foundation, which also presents a $32,000 scholarship to a non-athlete attending the university that wins the title.
Florida State, with a 41-17 Fiesta Bowl rout of Nebraska, had little hope for the national championship after a two-game setback to start the season. The Seminoles ended the regular season rated fifth.
"I guess it's definitely the best we could have hoped for," Seminoles Coach Bobby Bowden said. "I kind of had (No.) 3 in my mind but I feel like we probably have the best team in America. Notre Dame and us played the two toughest schedules in the country."
Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz argued that his team's 15 -point victory over the former No. 1 team, plus the difficulty of Notre Dame's schedule, should count more than head-to-head competition with Miami.
"The coaches generally haven't been as kind to Notre Dame... it doesn't surprise me, based on past experience," Holtz said. "We had the best record with the best schedule and then (the final outcome) is based on who was best on Nov. 25." Notre Dame was bidding to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since the 1969-70 Texas teams.
Colorado was seeking its first national football crown. The Buffaloes, 11-1, finished fourth, with Tennessee rounding out the top five. The Volunteers upended Arkansas 31-27 in the Cotton Bowl to also finish 11-1 and jump three places. Tennessee was followed by its Southeast Conference co-champions, No. 6 Auburn and No. 7 Alabama. The Alabama arch-rivals both were 10-2, but Auburn derailed Alabama's national title drive in their regular season finale and won its bowl game, the Hall of Fame 31-14 over Ohio State, to improve four spots. The Crimson Tide, which won its first 10 games to contend for the national title until the final week of the regular season, rose one place despite the Sugar Bowl loss.
Michigan, 10-2 after losing the Rose Bowl to Southern Cal 17-10, dropped five places into eighth but still finished one spot ahead of its bowl victor, with the Trojans ninth at 9-2-1. Illinois, 10-2 after beating Virginia 31-21 in the Citrus Bowl, moved up two places to round out the Top 10.
No. 11 Clemson rose two spots with a 27-7 rout of West Virginia in the Gator Bowl, and finished the season 10-2, as did No. 12 Nebraska and No. 13 Arkansas, respectively falling six and four places. Penn State, 8-3-1, jumped four places into 14th after beating Brigham Young 50-39 in the Holiday Bowl, and Virginia, 10-3, slipped a spot into 15th.
Co-No. 16 Texas Tech, 9-3, improved three places with a 49-21 All American Bowl victory over Duke and was tied in the ratings by returnee Michigan State, 8-4 after a 33-13 Aloha Bowl triumph over Hawaii. Brigham Young, 10-3, was 18th, followed by returnees Pittsburgh and Washington. The No. 19 Panthers, 8-3-1, beat Texas A&M 31-28 in the John Hancock Bowl, and the No. 20 Huskies, 8-4, demolished Florida 34-7 in the Freedom Bowl.
Leaving the rankings were bowl losers Texas A&M, West Virginia and Hawaii. Schools ineligible for the Top 20 are Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
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NEW
YORK (UPI)- The University of Miami, parlaying a Sugar Bowl victory with
Colorado's loss to defending champion Notre Dame, Tuesday won its third
United Press International Board of Coaches college football
championship in seven years.