Florida State Will Start Off No. 1 in Poll, Has Never Finished There

Florida State, which has never finished first in college football, is starting on top in 1991.

The Seminoles are No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason poll. They received 49 of 60 first-place votes and 1,483 of 1,500 points from a nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters.

“It really doesn’t surprise me because everyone seems to be picking us No. 1,” said Coach Bobby Bowden, who has 17 starters back from last year’s 10-2 team that finished fourth in the nation.

“But I still say there are eight or 10 teams that you can put in a hat that have as much a chance to be up there as we do.”

No. 2 is Michigan, which plays Florida State in Ann Arbor on Sept. 28. The Wolverines got five first-place votes and 1,384 points.

Miami is No. 3 with two first-place votes and 1,276 points. Washington is next with one first-place ballot and 1,252 points, followed by Florida with one first-place vote and 1,150 points.

Rounding out the top 10 are Notre Dame, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Oklahoma. Tennessee is 11th, followed by Houston, Colorado, Texas, Nebraska, USC, Auburn, Iowa, Brigham Young, Michigan State, Texas A&M;, Alabama, Ohio State, UCLA and Syracuse.