It can't get any clearer than last year's Orange Bowl: It takes a veteran quarterback to win a national championship.
That game, of course, featured the Heisman Trophy winner (Chris Weinke) and runner-up (Josh Heupel).
| Veteran QBs lead |
| Year |
Champion |
Quarterback |
| 1993 |
Florida St. |
Charlie Ward (2) |
| 1994 |
Nebraska |
Tommie Frazier (2)/
Brook Berringer (1) |
| 1995 |
Nebraska |
Tommie Frazier (3) |
| 1996 |
Florida |
Danny Wuerffel (3) |
| 1997 |
Michigan |
Brian Griese (2) |
|
Nebraska |
Scott Frost (2) |
| 1998 |
Tennessee |
Tee Martin (1) |
| 1999 |
Florida St. |
Chris Weinke (2) |
| 2000 |
Oklahoma |
Josh Heupel (2) |
| Number of years as starter in parentheses |
Both were seniors.
Both had started for at least two years. Both had the NFL in their future -- at least for a while.
That's the kind of quarterback that national-championship contenders need to become national champions. Usually, anyway.
In the past eight years, nine teams have won national championships (Michigan and Nebraska shared in 1997). The only non-veteran to win a title was Tennessee's Tee Martin who was a first-year starter in 1998. Taking over for Peyton Manning didn't faze Martin, who led the Vols to an undefeated season.
If you limit the argument to this year's SportsLine.com/Lindy's Football Annuals preseason Top 10, the theory holds. Eight of the Top 10 have their No. 1 quarterback returning from last season.
Oregon, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, UCLA and Miami have the luxury of solid, proven veterans under center. The starters at Texas, Florida and Tennessee shared time in 2000 but come into this season solidly entrenched.
Still, in this age of early entry to the NFL and careers delayed by redshirts, experience is experience.
Only Oklahoma and Florida State rate as Top 10 teams without returning starters at quarterback.
The quarterback skinny on SportsLine.com's preseason Top 10:
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1. FLORIDA |
| Sharing the job has worked for the better part of a decade at Florida under Steve Spurrier. The best scenario for Spurrier this year would seem to be to start sophomore Rex Grossman (21 TD passes last year sharing the job with Jesse Palmer) and have the untested Brock Berlin in his back pocket. Remember, fans (and Spurrier) always love the backup.
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2. MIAMI |
| The Heisman could land in Ken Dorsey's lap. All he has to do is hide behind the big line and pick out receivers ... and win all or almost all of the games again. Remember, he was the inexperienced guy heading into last season.
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3. TEXAS |
| The Horns have the best quarterback duo in the country, who might start by finding a way not to lose to Oklahoma by seven touchdowns. Chris Simms must get off to a good start to keep his career from stalling again. The junior started the 2000 season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette but was on the bench after one quarter having thrown an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Simms passed for 2,164 yards last year; school career passing leader Major Applewhite backs him up.
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4. TENNESSEE |
| Casey Clausen, a sophomore, enters his first season as the full-time starter. He debuted halfway through 2000 and helped the Vols to six straight victories to end the regular season. Clausen played so well that backup A.J. Suggs eventually transferred to Georgia Tech. Clausen and offensive coordinator Randy Sanders appear to be a magic match.
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5. OKLAHOMA |
| Junior Nate Hybl (16 career pass attempts) and sophomore Jason White (two attempts) are going at it this month. Both White and Hybl seem to have better arms than last year's superstar model, Heupel. Stoops talks, acts and even coaches like his mentor, Spurrier -- the Sooners could play both Hybl and White.
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6. FLORIDA STATE |
| Redshirt freshman Chris Rix is still battling junior Anquan Boldin, a converted receiver, for the starting job. Coach Bobby Bowden says he might play both, and he isn't kidding. Rix is the thrower while Boldin gives Bowden a chance to run a lot more option, a rare sight for the Seminole Nation. Athletes are athletes.
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7. NEBRASKA |
| Husker quarterback Eric Crouch is coming off his second shoulder surgery, and this team will be in real trouble if he gets hurt again. Although he's perhaps the fastest Nebraska quarterback ever, staying healthy is so important this season that he might run less and get more support from the running backs.
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8. UCLA |
| Had not Cory Paus missed almost four games due to injuries, he might have led the Pac-10 in passing efficiency. Because of the injuries, Paus' 145.8 rating did not qualify to be listed among conference leaders. Still, his 17 touchdown passes tied him for fifth-most in UCLA history.
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9. GEORGIA TECH |
| George Godsey underwent knee surgery in the offseason, and even though he turned out to preseason camp at full speed, there will be questions about his knee until he tests it against live competition. He is in charge of perhaps the best Yellow Jackets team since the 1990 team that shared the national championship.
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10. OREGON |
| The Ducks brass thinks so much of Oregon's Joey Harrington, they shelled out $250,000 to put up a giant Heisman candidate poster of his likeness in
downtown New York. The Pac-10's total offense leader now has to live up to the "Joe College" hype. The campaign has helped get his name out there, but the backlash has probably evened it out. In other words, it'll all be about whether he can lead the Ducks to an 11-0 or 10-1 season -- billboard or no billboard.
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