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Football Writers Association of America Oct. 14, 2002
For Immediate Release
Contact: Steve Richardson
972-713-6198

'Canes also named "Team of the Week"
MIAMI REMAINS NO. 1 IN
GRANTLAND RICE SUPER 16 POLL

DALLAS (FWAA) – The unbeaten Miami Hurricanes remained the unanimous choice for No. 1 in the FWAA/Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll after surviving a scare from in-state rival Florida State. The 'Canes, winners of the 2001 Grantland Rice Trophy, once again earned all 16 first-place votes from the national panel after earning their 28th straight win, 28-27.

Miami was also named the FWAA's national "Team of the Week" by virtue of its win over the Seminoles. It's the second time the Hurricanes have been given the honor. Miami previously earned the honor after its convincing 41-16 win over Florida in Gainesville on Sept. 7. The 'Canes are the first team to win the honor twice in the award's inaugural season.

The honor is also decided by the 16-member panel that votes in the organization's Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll.

Oklahoma, which dispatched Red River rival Texas for the third straight year, 35-24, moved into the No. 2 slot. The Sooners were No. 1 in the Super 16 preseason poll. Though the Big 12 retains three of the top nine positions in the poll, Texas dropped to No. 8, one point ahead of Iowa State.

LSU, Iowa and Air Force, ranked 14-16, are the new entries in the poll this week, replacing Tennessee, Penn State and Florida, which all dropped out. For Iowa and Air Force, it's their debut in the Super 16. LSU returns to the rankings after being ranked No. 16 in the preseason poll. Iowa's entry gives the Big Ten three teams in the poll, matching the number from the Big 12 to lead all conferences.

The FWAA/Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll, which has made its debut this season, will decide the winner of the Grantland Rice Trophy, the FWAA's national championship award presented since 1954. The presentation will be made on Sat., Jan. 4 in Tempe, Ariz., following the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Click here to see how and why each pollster voted

The complete poll for the week of Oct. 14 is as follows:

  School [1st Place Votes] W-L Pts.  LW Next Game
1. Miami (Fla.) [16] 6-0 256 1  Oct. 26 at West Virginia
2. Oklahoma 6-0 230 4  Oct. 19 vs. Iowa State
3. Virginia Tech 6-0 221 2  Oct. 19 vs. Rutgers
4. Ohio State 7-0 201 5  Oct. 19 at Wisconsin
5. Oregon 6-0 188 6  Oct. 19 vs. Arizona State
6. Georgia 6-0 187 7  Oct. 19 vs. Vanderbilt
7. Notre Dame 6-0 162 8  Oct. 19 at Air Force
8. Texas 5-1 113 3  Oct. 19 at Kansas State
9. Iowa State 6-1 112 13  Oct. 19 at Oklahoma
10. Washington State 6-1 110 12  Oct. 26 at Arizona
11. N.C. State 7-0 107 11  Oct. 19 vs. Duke
12. Michigan 5-1 84 14  Oct. 19 at Purdue
13. Florida State 5-2 64 10  Oct. 26 vs. Notre Dame
14. LSU 5-1 43 -  Oct. 19 vs. South Carolina
15. Iowa 6-1 42 -  Oct. 19 at Indiana
16. Air Force 6-0 33 -  Oct. 19 vs. Notre Dame
Also receiving votes: Kansas State 11, Tennessee 4, Marshall 4, Colorado State 3, Penn State 1.
Dropped out: Tennessee (9), Penn State (15), Florida (16).
By conference: Big Ten (3); Big 12 (3), ACC (2); Big East (2); Pac-10 (2), SEC (2); Independents (1), Mountain West (1).

Other teams drawing consideration for Team of the Week honors this week included Oklahoma, Georgia, LSU, Arkansas and Indiana. While OU handled Texas, Georgia held on to top Tennessee, 18-13, and remain the SEC's only unbeaten team. LSU stunned Florida, 36-7, for its first win in Gainesville since 1986 to move back into the Super 16. Arkansas rebounded from its overtime loss at Tennessee to win convincingly at Auburn, 38-17, and Indiana upset Wisconsin, 32-29, with a late rally.

The FWAA "Team of the Week" will continue to be announced each Monday with the Super 16 Poll throughout the season.

The FWAA, in conjunction with the Charlotte Touchdown Club, also awards a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week award each week.

For further information contact Steve Richardson, Executive Director of the FWAA (972-713-6198, tiger@sportswriters.net) or Ted Gangi, FWAA webmaster (214-823-7992, webmaster@sportswriters.net).

2002 Grantland Rice Super 16 Polls (No. 1 team)
Preseason: Oklahoma
Sept. 30: Miami
Oct. 7: Miami
Oct. 14: Miami
Oct. 21: Miami
Oct. 28: Miami
Nov. 4: Oklahoma
Nov. 11: Miami
Nov. 18: Miami
Nov. 25: Miami
Dec. 2: Miami


2002 FWAA Teams of the Week
Aug. 31: Duke (ended 23-game losing streak)
Sept. 7: Miami (routed Florida, 41-16, in Gainesville)
Sept. 14: California (upset Michigan State, 46-22, in East Lansing)
Sept. 21: Florida (beat Tennessee, 30-13, in Knoxville)
Sept. 28: Iowa State (beat Nebraska, 36-14)
Oct. 5: Ole Miss (upset Florida, 17-14)
Oct. 12: Miami (beat Florida State, 28-27)
Oct. 19: Arizona State (upset Oregon, 45-42)
Oct. 26: Notre Dame (beat Florida State, 34-24)
Nov. 2: Boston College (upset Notre Dame, 14-7)
Nov. 9: Texas A&M (upset Oklahoma, 30-26)
Nov. 16: Texas Tech (upset Texas, 42-38)
Nov. 23: Ohio State (finished the season 13-0)

Related Links:
FWAA to debut Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll
Grantland Rice Trophy
Grantland Rice Trophy winners

2002 FWAA/GRANTLAND RICE SUPER 16 POLLSTERS
EAST SOUTH MIDWEST WEST
Shelly Anderson
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Ron Higgins
The Commercial Appeal
Dennis Dodd
CBS SportsLine
Randy Holtz
Rocky Mountain News
Mark Blaudschun
Boston Globe
Stewart Mandel
cnnsi.com
Herb Gould
Chicago Sun-Times
Ted Miller
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Gregg Doyel
Charlotte Observer
Darryl Richards
foxsports.com
Vahe Gregorian
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Bob Moran
East Valley Tribune
Lenn Robbins
New York Post
Joe Schad
Orlando Sentinel
Keith Whitmire
The Dallas Morning News
Jay Posner
San Diego Union-Tribune
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