Polls Produce a Split Decision : Football: AP voters select Colorado as No. 1, but UPI coaches pick Georgia Tech. It’s first divided choice since 1978.

It took five downs and a penalty flag to get Colorado a national championship. It took 59 coaches and eight hours to take part of it away.

In a twist of fate as unpredictable as the season itself, members of the United Press International coaches poll awarded upstart and undefeated Georgia Tech, not Colorado, its national title by a single point, 847-846. The vote was a stunning reversal of the Associated Press sportswriters and broadcasters poll, which named the Buffaloes the No. 1 team by a slim, but comfortable, 34-point margin earlier Wednesday.

The split decision marked the first time since 1978, when Alabama and USC shared the championship, that the wire services couldn’t agree on the same No. 1 team. And since 1954, there have been only eight dual champions.

Even more remarkably, no team has finished the regular season ranked first, as Colorado had, won its bowl game, as Colorado did against Notre Dame Tuesday night, and dropped in a final poll.

Until now.

The panel of 59 coaches, obviously impressed by Georgia Tech’s 11-0-1 record and its convincing 45-21 victory over Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl, gave the Yellow Jackets 30 first-place votes, compared with Colorado’s 27. Miami finished third with two first-placeballots and 763 points, followed by Florida State with 677 and Washington with 664.

The AP poll awarded the Buffaloes 39 first-place votes and 1,475 points. Georgia Tech was next with 20 first-place votes and 1,441 points, followed by Miami’s one first-place vote and 1,385 points. Completing the top five were Florida State with 1,303 and Washington with 1,246.

The AP vote was the fifth-closest since the wire service switched to a postseason final poll in 1968. And while Colorado’s margin was slim, it still fell short of Brigham Young’s 20-point advantage over Washington in the 1984 balloting.

The difference in rankings also can be linked to Colorado’s infamous “fifth-down” victory over Missouri. Despite Colorado’s best efforts to explain and justify the victory, the controversy never fully subsided.

Nor did it help when Colorado struggled to a 10-9 victory over the Irish. That game wasn’t decided until Raghib Ismail’s last-minute, 91-yard punt return for an apparent touchdown was nullified by a Notre Dame clipping penalty. After that, enough UPI coaches apparently thought that Georgia Tech, with its unbeaten record, was more deserving than 11-1-1 Colorado.

“I’m not going to take issue with the coaches,” Colorado Coach Bill McCartney told Denver’s KCNC-TV. “I think it’s kind of incredible when you consider Colorado’s schedule was ranked the most difficult in all of college football. Notre Dame had the second-most difficult schedule, and we played them and beat them. I guess people felt we needed to beat them decisively. I’m plenty satisfied to beat them by one point.”

As for the victory over Missouri, McCartney said Colorado shouldn’t be penalized for the mistake of game officials. “I still feel the same way: We don’t apologize for the victory,” he said. “I don’t feel we capitalized on the error.”

Computer rankings conducted by the New York Times, added to the day’s confusion by making Miami first, Georgia Tech second, Colorado third, Washington fourth and Clemson fifth. About the only sure thing is that next week’s NCAA convention will include discussion, formal or otherwise, of a college football playoff format.

It was Georgia Tech’s first national football title since 1952, when it won the poll conducted by the International News Service, which later merged with the United Press. Colorado, which has 12 skiing championships, earned its first in football.

Understandably enough, McCartney didn’t sleep well after the Orange Bowl. Despite the victory, he worried about the poll results. Would voters reward Colorado for overcoming the loss of two starters, quarterback Darian Hagan and linebacker Kanavis McGhee, both of whom didn’t play the entire second half because of injuries? Or would they penalize the Buffaloes for scoring only a one-point victory?

Still, McCartney didn’t learn of the final AP rankings until moments before his Wednesday morning news conference. Upon hearing the results, McCartney turned to AP reporter Rick Warner and delivered an awkward high-five.

“Right up until Rick gave me that vote, I didn’t have any guarantees,” he said. “I thought, ‘I stand before you and I’m sweating this thing out, man.’ I really did. That’s why I came in here ready to tell you that there are no guarantees. I recognize that Georgia Tech won impressively.”

Little did McCartney know what would transpire during the course of the day.

For instance, Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Frank Friedgen, speaking to reporters via a teleconference, said the AP voters erred by selecting Colorado rather than the Yellow Jackets. “In my mind, I don’t think it was even close,” he said.

All-American Ken Swilling was even more direct in his criticism, saying: “We’d beat (Colorado). Colorado’s not the best team in the country. We’d probably beat them handily.”

But the most sardonic comment came from Georgia Tech defensive coordinator George O’Leary. When asked if he could understand Colorado’s claim as No. 1, O’Leary said: “I could if we had a loss and a tie. But we don’t. If we had five downs to win one game, we’d probably be 12-0 right now.”

Georgia Tech tied North Carolina, 13-13.

ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL

No. School Record Pts. 1. Colorado (39) 11-1-1 1,475 2. Georgia Tech (20) 11-0-1 1,441 3. Miami (1) 10-2 1,388 4. Florida State 10-2 1,303 5. Washington 10-2 1,246 6. Notre Dame 9-3 1,179 7. Michigan 9-3 1,025 8. Tennessee 9-2-2 993 9. Clemson 10-2 950 10. Houston 10-1 940

First-place votes in parentheses.

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL POLL

No. School Record Pts. 1. Georgia Tech (30) 11-0-1 847 2. Colorado (27) 11-1-1 846 3. Miami (2) 10-2 763 4. Florida State 10-2 677 5. Washington 10-2 664 6. Notre Dame 9-3 548 7. Tennessee 9-2-2 449 8. Michigan 9-3 426 9. Clemson 10-2 420 10. Penn State 9-3 301