Florida No. 1, UCLA 17th in AP Poll

The last time Florida was the preseason No. 1 team, in 1994, the Gators lost twice, tied once and barely won the SEC title.

Seven years later, Florida is again No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25, edging No. 2 Miami by 16 points, with national champion Oklahoma at No. 3, Nebraska ranked No. 4 and Texas at No. 5.

In balloting by the 72 sports writers and broadcasters on the AP panel, Miami had 33 first-place votes and 1,700 points; Florida had only 20 first-place votes but 1,716 points.

UCLA is ranked 17th, with 639 points, and USC is unranked. The Trojans placed 29th in the balloting with 74 points.

Florida defensive lineman Ian Scott returned to practice after breathing problems caused him to leave early and go to the hospital the previous day.

Former Stanford and Granada Hills High quarterback John Elway was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., along with former USC running back Marcus Allen, former Nebraska wingback Johnny Rodgers and 22 other former players and coaches.

Other former players enshrined included Michigan offensive tackle Dan Dierdorf, Arizona State cornerback Mike Haynes, Oklahoma center-linebacker Kurt Burris, Notre Dame end Bob Dove, Georgia defensive back Terry Hoage, Alabama halfback Johnny Musso, Pittsburgh linebacker-fullback Joe Schmidt, Texas guard Harley Sewell, Arkansas defensive end Billy Ray Smith, Wyoming halfback Eddie Talboom, Maryland tackle Stan Jones, Navy end Dick Duden and tackle John Outland of Kansas and Penn. Coaches Terry Donahue of UCLA and Forest Evashevski of Washington State and Iowa also were enshrined.

Among six players or coaches from smaller schools who were enshrined was Occidental quarterback-defensive back Bill Redell.

Lonnie Madison, Texas A&M;’s starting tight end, is out for the season after tearing a ligament in his left knee at practice Saturday.

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Preseason Football Polls

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Team Record Points Prv. 1. Florida (20) 10-3 1,716 10 2. Miami (33) 11-1 1,700 2 3. Oklahoma (10) 13-0 1,588 1 4. Nebraska (4) 10-2 1,525 8 5. Texas (5) 9-3 1,461 12 6. Florida St. 11-2 1,441 5 7. Oregon 10-2 1,354 7 8. Tennessee 8-4 1,344 -- 9. Virginia Tech 11-1 1,169 6 10. Georgia Tech 9-3 1,005 17 11. Oregon St. 11-1 974 4 12. Michigan 9-3 919 11 13. Kansas St. 11-3 902 9 14. LSU 8-4 763 22 15. Washington 11-1 683 3 16. Northwestern 8-4 667 -- 17. UCLA 6-6 639 -- 18. Notre Dame 9-3 599 15 19. Clemson 9-3 569 16 20. Mississippi St. 8-4 521 24 21. South Carolina 8-4 350 19 22. Wisconsin 9-4 237 23 23. Ohio St. 8-4 181 -- 24. Colorado St. 10-2 179 14 25. Alabama 3-8 136 --

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Others receiving votes: Purdue 127, Colorado 105, Georgia 84, USC 74, East Carolina 65, Pittsburgh 62, Louisville 53, Michigan St. 32, Texas A&M; 28, Arkansas 22, Illinois 21, Marshall 12, Mississippi 12, Nevada Las Vegas 12, Southern Mississippi 10, Penn St. 9, Auburn 8, Stanford 8, TCU 7, Fresno St. 6, Iowa St. 5, Kansas 5, North Carolina State 3, Western Michigan 2, West Virginia 2, Arizona St. 1, Indiana 1, Syracuse 1, Toledo 1.

USA TODAY/ESPN

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Team Record Points Prv. 1. Florida (25) 10-3 1,401 11 2. Miami (15) 11-1 1,349 2 3. Oklahoma (8) 13-0 1,314 1 4. Nebraska (6) 10-2 1,292 7 5. Florida St. (1) 11-2 1,249 4 6. Texas (2) 9-3 1,164 12 7. Tennessee (1) 8-4 1,042 12 8. Oregon (1) 10-2 1,038 25 9. Virginia Tech 11-1 899 6 10. Michigan (1) 9-3 856 10 11. Kansas St. 11-3 844 8 12. Oregon St. 11-1 796 5 13. Georgia Tech 9-3 706 19 14. Washington 11-1 652 4 15. UCLA 6-6 547 3 16. Notre Dame 9-3 534 16 17. LSU 8-4 515 -- 18. Clemson 9-3 503 14 19. Mississippi St. 8-4 481 22 20. Northwestern 8-4 366 -- 21. Ohio St. 8-4 259 -- 22. South Carolina 8-4 258 21 23. Wisconsin 9-4 204 24 24. Colorado St. 10-2 168 15 25. Alabama 3-8 131 --

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Others receiving votes: Purdue 120, Georgia 109, Auburn 93, Colorado 92, East Carolina 59, Louisville 51, Texas A&M; 47, Pittsburgh 42, USC 41, North Carolina St. 39, Penn St. 31, TCU 27, Stanford 26, Marshall 23, Southern Mississippi 19, Fresno St. 15, BYU 14, Nevada Las Vegas 12, Michigan St. 11, Minnesota 9, Illinois 8, Arkansas 7, Iowa St. 7, Mississippi 7, Toledo 7, Texas El Paso 4, Texas Tech 3, West Virginia 3, Western Michigan 2, Air Force 1, Duke 1, North Carolina 1, Syracuse 1.