The 2001 college football season ended on Thursday night with the Miami Hurricanes leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind who the best team in America was. Although they were nearly upset a time or two, the Hurricanes won the games they were supposed to, which happened to be every single on of them. This was a college football season like no other in the history of this great nation. Never before had there been a Saturday between September and November when there was not one major college football game played. But the weekend following September 11, we had just that. There were also great finishes and unbelievable plays and performances. And when you take a look ahead to what the 2002 college football season has to offer, we can expect next year to be just as great as this one.

RB Clinton Portis says that the 2001 Miami Hurricane football team was the best ever in the wonderful history of the University of Miami. I don’t know if they are or not; I haven’t been around long enough to know about that. But they were pretty darn good. Whenever they faced a challenge, they stood up and were winners in the end. And when the end was near, they showed the entire country who was number one; and they left no doubts. Some people were hoping Nebraska would pull the upset and create a little controversy. So much for that. The game was close for one quarter (Miami led 7-0 after one quarter), but it was all Hurricanes from then on. The option did not work consistently from the very first series right until the final whistle. The Huskers would break one for 15 or 20 yards every now and then, but for the most part, the Miami defense was just too fast. That forced QB Eric Crouch to throw the ball more, but that didn’t work. And all the while, Miami was forcing turnovers and getting points off of those turnovers. And one thing that may be overlooked is the fact that the ‘Canes very rarely miss a tackle. When they get to you, they tackle you. This forces the opponents to consistently go down the field to score, not letting the other team cash in on a big play. Are they the best team in Miami history? Who knows! Were they the best team in 2001? No doubt!

Now that the 2001 college football season is in the books, we can take a look ahead to 2002 to see what it will have to offer. Things like great comebacks, the heart-warming stories, and surprise teams are often hard to see in the preseason. Luckily, though, there are some things we can see coming are way in 2002.

Several teams will be looking for new coaches. Here is a list of who is out and who is going to be taking their spot: