COLLEGE FOOTBALL ’88 : National Preview : At Least for Openers, the Teams to Watch Are in Florida

The college football season begins with a wild bi-coastal symmetry. To judge from the magazines, which is more than enough for us to go on, the two best quarterbacks play in the Los Angeles basin, punching holes in the September smog.

Yet the two best teams are in Florida. Well, maybe not the two best. The magazines can’t agree on that. But you’d do better on a Florida State-Miami parlay than a UCLA-USC ticket.

Of course, some say, we’re overlooking Oklahoma-Nebraska, the bludgeoning powers of the heartland. But where’s symmetry there?

Symmetry, incidentally, is key this year. Haven’t you noticed that Bruin Troy Aikman and Trojan Rodney Peete have shared the cover of every preseason magazine? As far as that goes, the two best running backs--well, maybe not the two best --are named Smith, and not a cough drop between them. That’s symmetry!

Herewith our annual Q&A; format, with apologies to anybody looking for clip-and-save material. To those folks we say: Buy the magazines, just as we do.

1. Quickly now, who will be No. 1?

Quickly is how you’ll find out. Florida State, everybody’s preseason pick after finishing behind national champion Miami in the polls last season, meets Miami Saturday. This is considered the earliest in a season for college football’s annual Game of the Century. Ever.

The Seminoles, to talk about them in a clip-and-save kind of way, aren’t missing much from last season, when they missed the national championship by a failed conversion. In their game with Miami, they went for the two to win. Danny McManus is gone, but his golden arm is replaced by Chip Ferguson’s. Ferguson somehow has already thrown for 2,000 yards as a backup. Sammie Smith averaged more than 7 yards a carry last year, and defensive back Deion Sanders batted .280 in the rookie league.

More on Deion later.

The thing about Florida State, aside from the fact that alum Burt Reynolds annually annoys us by haunting its sideline--now he’s listed as a drama coach so his elbow-rubbing is legal--is that its first month of play includes not only Miami but Clemson and Michigan State, all on the road. A lot of bad things would have to happen but this could conceivably be the best 1-3 team--we’re sure it beats Southern Mississippi--going into October. Of course if it happens to be 4-0, Florida State can book a bowl early; only South Carolina and Florida stand in its way.

2. What about this Los Angeles odd couple?

So far, and there is at least one preseason magazine yet to come, UCLA’s Troy Aikman enjoys a slight edge over his cross-town rival, USC’s Rodney Peete. Including the covers they’ve shared--regional and national editions--Aikman leads, 8-6. Inside Sports, not out yet, has photographed them together, presumably for its cover.

Their pairing is irresistible. The two seniors are just 15 miles apart but share more than a county line. They are the best of this year’s passers. Peete was fourth in the nation in passing efficiency, and Aikman, the Oklahoma transfer with the funny first name, was second.

Come Nov. 19, when USC and UCLA meet again, they will likely be posed together again.

3. What’s all this talk about Super September?

Football powers have taken a lot of criticism over the years for soft scheduling, especially in their non-conference games. Yet, for some reason--Cal State Fullerton can’t play everybody?--the best teams this season are playing each other. This month.

Take Sept. 10: Nebraska-UCLA, Michigan-Notre Dame and Syracuse-Ohio State.

Then the next week it gets really interesting. Here’s Sept. 17: Florida State-Clemson, Miami-Michigan, Notre Dame-Michigan State, Ohio State-Pitt, Alabama-Texas A&M;, Louisiana State-Tennessee.

It doesn’t stop there. On Sept. 24, there are Oklahoma-USC, Louisiana State-Ohio State, Michigan State-Florida State and Tennessee-Auburn for what looks like the Southeastern Conference title.

4. What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve heard this summer?

Well, there’s the Miami recruiter who told us he promises prep quarterbacks a million dollars and the cover of Sports Illustrated. A cover he won’t have to share with Peete or Aikman.

It’s all on the up and up, though. Quarterback coach Gary Stevens says: “Look at our last three quarterbacks (Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde). They’ve all been No. 1 draft picks, all been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It’s history. You quarterback Miami your senior season, you’ll get rich.”

Steve Walsh is no slouch, as he proved in leading the team past Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. He threw for 19 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. But without flanker Michael Irvin and other talented receivers this year--in all, 16 Hurricanes have gone on to the National Football League, three receivers in the top two rounds alone--he’s not likely to follow in the tradition of Miami lottery winners.

5. You said you’d tell us more about Deion Sanders.

Absolutely. The All-American cornerback, who happens to be a good student, blew off algebra in the summer session for the chance to play minor league baseball. Sanders was paid something like $60,000 to play in the New York Yankees’ system and so did his own math: “I don’t know why I need to know all that x-squared-equals-y stuff, anyway. I made a little money this summer and I can add and subtract that just fine.”

The school administration had some trouble with that and made him take a test earlier this month. It was easily the most famous test ever taken in Florida. Sanders passed and then showed up wearing a headband that said, “Better late than never.”

Sanders, in the great tradition of Florida football players, will say anything. When he shook hands with quarterback Kerwin Bell before the Florida game last year he said, “Throw me one today.” After Florida State beat Michigan State, he told Andre Rison, the Spartans’ top receiver, “I watched you on film and thought you were great. I guess the film lied.” He didn’t spare Lorenzo White after that game either. “I don’t know who showed up in his uniform,” he said.

6. Here’s our annual rule-change question. Any?

Yes, and it’s a dandy. While you were watching the Super Bowl, the extra point went and got interesting. Now, when the offense fluffs that kick or even the two-point try after touchdown, it may lose more than a point or two. The defense can now turn it into points of its own. By returning blocked kicks, passes or fumbles in the air the length of the field, the defense can score two points.

The first time this happens, be sure to look behind you into the press box where a lot of people will be standing up with their palms out and wondering what the heck just happened.

7. There was a reference to the Smith Brothers earlier. Explain.

They’re not brothers, not even teammates. But they are Florida halfbacks, and pretty good ones at that. Florida State’s Sammie, a junior, gained 1,230 yards in 10 games. Florida’s Emmitt, made a splash in his first collegiate game last year, rushing for 224 against Alabama. He followed with games of 173, 184 and 175 before cooling some, but still finished with 1,341 yards, big for a freshman. These two are tops in a region rich in running backs--Alabama’s Bobby Humphrey is another.

For a real brother act, incidentally, you need to look at Toledo where identical twins Todd and Tim Olsen are starting guards.

8. Isn’t there anything happening outside Florida?

Oh, sure. Here are some of those things. Texas El Paso will continue one of the game’s most amazing turnarounds this year. This is a team that lost 129 of its 143 games until Bob Stull arrived two years ago. Last year UTEP went 7-4 and crowds doubled to 42,000 per game. Watch ‘em.

Then there’s Ohio State, where a turnaround is anticipated. Earle Bruce, chased from Columbus for wearing a stupid fedora--we guess that’s the reason; didn’t he win a lot of football games there?--has been replaced by John Cooper, most recently of Arizona State. Cooper is charismatic and cuts a better figure on the sideline. But at Arizona State, seems to us, he had trouble with the annual big game with Arizona. You say something, Bo?

No big turnaround at Columbia, though. Losing streak stands at 41, which wasn’t enough to stop the team from coming up with a 15-minute highlight film. Streak could go some more although alums are cheered by fact that this year’s team is sprinkled with players from last year’s 6-0 freshman team.

9. What about the heartland, Oklahoma-Nebraska?

They’ll be good. Real good. But it always comes down to this: Oklahoma beats undefeated Nebraska in November and then Miami beats Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. Every year.

Oklahoma, which is usually top-ranked this time of year, has won 33 of its last 36 games, but its wishbone offense has been solved by Miami in all three of their meetings. Right after last season’s Orange Bowl, Barry Switzer was making noises about more sprint-out passing, etc., to cope with the Miamis of this world. But that talk has cooled. Jamelle Holieway, or Charles Thompson if Holieway’s knee isn’t entirely mended, is back running the complicated pitch, which is good enough to beat Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers seem similarly unequipped to deal with life outside the Big Eight. Since Tom Osborne took over 15 years ago, they’ve been 12-18 in Oklahoma-bowl games. Still, they rule their conference.

Their pre-showdown complacency could be rocked this year. One of these years, after all, a Pac-10 team is going to win one of these games. USC vs. Oklahoma and UCLA vs. Nebraska this season.

10. Why is college football making such a case of heredity over environment?

There are a number of famous sons blossoming this season, the most exciting of them being Eric Metcalf at Texas. Terry’s boy rushed for 1,161 yards last season and gained 1,925 all-purpose yards. He could be this year’s Tim Brown.

Other sons of the rich and famous: Jason Simpson follows O.J. in tailback footsteps at USC and Terry Rodgers mimics dad Johnny at Nebraska. That’s symmetry!