ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 4, 1997 TAG: 9701060067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS
SOURCE: Associated Press
The Florida Gators won their first national championship Friday by a margin as convincing as their Sugar Bowl victory over Florida State.
Hours after whipping the Seminoles 52-20 Thursday night in a rematch of two archrivals, the Fun'N'Gun Gators officially were declared No. 1 in the final Associated Press college football poll.
``God has smiled on the Gators, no question about it,'' coach Steve Spurrier said before the final poll was released.
At a press conference, Spurrier said, ``I'm just proud of our guys and realize that destiny - Texas winning [over two-time defending national champion Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game] and Ohio State winning [over previously unbeaten Arizona State in the Rose Bowl] - is the reason we're No. 1. We lost a game, but some things happened that made us No. 1.''
``We're proud of our effort and that people recognize what we did,'' said Danny Wuerffel, Florida's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. ``It's what you play for. You do the best you can as a team. It's a team game and real special.''
Florida (12-1) received 651/2 votes and 1,6731/2 points from a national panel of 67 sports writers and broadcasters. The Gators were ranked third going into the postseason behind Florida State and Arizona State.
Ohio State (11-1), which gave the Gators a chance to play for the title by beating Arizona State 20-17 in the Rose Bowl, finished second with 11/2 first-place votes and 1,5851/2 points.
Florida State (11-1) fell to third with 1,529 points, but still finished in the top five for the 10th consecutive year. Arizona State (11-1), with 1,486 points was fourth and Brigham Young (14-1) fifth with 1,360 points.
The Gators also finished on top in the USA Today/CNN coaches poll with 58 first-place votes; Ohio State was second with four firsts.
Virginia Tech finished 13th in the AP poll and 12th in the coaches poll.
The Seminoles' loss marked the 18th time the No. 1 team lost in a bowl game, and the first since No. 2 Alabama beat Miami 34-13 in the 1993 Sugar Bowl.
Rounding out the top 10 were Nebraska (11-2), Penn State (11-2), Colorado (10-2), Tennessee (10-2) and North Carolina (10-2).
Alabama was 11th, followed by Louisiana State, Virginia Tech, Miami, Northwestern, Washington, Kansas State, Iowa, Notre Dame, Michigan, Syracuse, Wyoming, Texas, Auburn and Army.
As a result of the Gators' victory, Wuerffel became only the third Heisman Trophy winner in the past 21 seasons to also win a national championship.
The Florida win also completes a state trifecta of champions in the 1990s. Miami won the national title in 1991 and Florida State won in 1993. (The Hurricanes also won in 1983, 1987 and 1989.)
And it caps one of the more improbable finishes in years. On Nov. 30, the Gators went to Tallahassee ranked No. 1, but Florida State won 24-21 and replaced them atop the poll. The loss then dropped the Gators to No. 4 behind Arizona State and Nebraska.
On Dec. 7, the Cornhuskers lost any chance to three-peat when they fell to Texas in the Big 12 title game. Meanwhile, Florida beat Alabama 45-30 for the SEC title and moved up to No. 3.
The Gators were ranked fourth in the preseason and stayed there until Sept. 21, when they beat then-No. 2 Tennessee 35-29 and Arizona State beat then-No. 1 Nebraska 19-0. Florida moved into the top spot until the loss to the Seminoles, but got all the bounces it needed to reach No. 1 in the end.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB