DATE: Wednesday, November 12, 1997          TAG: 9711120726

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Bob Molinaro 

                                            LENGTH:   62 lines

POLLS NO. 1 AT FUELING DEBATE, NOT FINDING CHAMP

In big-time college football at the moment, there are as many No. 1 teams as there are polls - two.

Michigan or Florida State.

Wolverines or Seminoles.

Searching for the identity of the nation's best football team is a multiple-choice question.

Having two No. 1s doubles the debate, and, one presumes, the pleasure. Arguing over No. 1 is at least as important to college football's popularity as short skirts on cheerleaders, marching bands and pre-game keggers.

The polls, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr reminded us this week, ``are tremendous for college football. They create an interest that does nothing but help our game.''

Easy for him to say. Carr's Michigan team is the choice of the Associated Press rankings, the media poll. Florida State sits atop the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll.

Both polls should be taken with a grain of salt.

But if two polls are good for the game, why stop there? By now, someone on the Internet must have his own College Football Poll web site. Maybe the collected opinions of computer wonks has Nebraska No. 1.

Would a poll of the computerized unwashed be any less valid than the media and coaches polls? Any less confusing?

It's a hoot, isn't it, the way everyone rushes to embrace the polls. I mean, some of the media and coaches who take part in these popularity contests actually see a few of the teams for which they vote.

Under the circumstances, it's not surprising that a team like Syracuse would reside in the Top 25 (21 in the AP, 19 in the coaches poll), while Virginia is relegated to ``others receiving votes.''

Syracuse is 7-3, U.Va. 6-3. But as unsteady as the Cavaliers have looked at times, their losses have been to Auburn (currently ranked 16th in both polls), North Carolina (No. 5 when the Tar Heels routed U.Va.) and Florida State.

As George Welsh noted the other day, U.Va. could be 7-2 if it had elected to open its season against a bottom feeder like Alabama Birmingham, Akron or Southwest Louisiana. Auburn was the choice, though, because it was the better game. For the players and fans.

Perhaps far cagier than U.Va., however, is Virginia Tech, which lined up out-of-conference gimmes against Arkansas State and Alabama Birmingham, and remains a frontrunner for an Alliance bowl berth.

The Hokies' faint-hearted scheduling strategy is all but endorsed by Jim Weaver, Tech's new director of athletics. And in truth, Tech may be catching the wave of a national trend.

``When it comes time for bowl selection,'' Weaver said, ``people aren't looking to see who you beat, they're looking to see how many wins you have.''

Apparently, the same goes for the poll voters.

Meanwhile, the Alliance system that is fed by the rankings is killing off interest in the bowls.

Under the Alliance, only one bowl usually matters. But this year, if the polls remain split at the top, that may change. If Michigan and Florida State share No. 1, interest will be spread over a pair of bowls - the Rose and wherever Florida State plays.

This sort of speculation, in and out of the media, helps fertilize college football. Creating debate and conversation are what the polls do best.

They are far less adequate when it comes to identifying a champion.

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