LOS ANGELES (FWAA) – The Miami Hurricanes, capping a perfect 12-0 season with a 37-14 victory over Nebraska in the Rose Bowl, were named the 2001 winners of the Grantland Rice Trophy on Friday.
Football Writers Association of America president Kelly Whiteside of USA Today made the presentation to Miami coach Larry Coker at a news conference on Friday morning after a unanimous vote by the five-person panel.
Miami won the Grantland Rice Trophy for the fourth time. The Hurricanes also won the Trophy in 1983, '87 and '89.
The FWAA has presented the Grantland Rice Trophy to its national championship team since 1954. Oklahoma won last year, Florida State in 1999, and Tennessee in 1998. The last controversial winner was Michigan in 1997, which won the trophy in a split national championship. Nebraska won the coaches' poll, but the Wolverines won the writers' poll that season.
The five voters on the FWAA panel this season were: Andy Bagnato, Chicago Tribune; Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Mark Blaudschun, Boston Globe; Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times; and Richie Rosenblatt, Associated Press.