If the preseason ESPN/USA Today Top 25 coaches poll is any indication, the 2001 season may be one of the wildest in recent memory.

Florida opens the season No. 1 -- Miami, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Florida State round out the top five -- but it is hardly a unanimous decision. Nine of the top 10 teams received at least one first place vote.

Texas is ranked sixth, with Tennessee, Oregon, Virginia Tech and Michigan finishing the Top 10.

Kansas State is ranked No. 11 with Oregon State, Georgia Tech, Washington, UCLA, Notre Dame, LSU, Clemson, Mississippi State and Northwestern rounding out the Top 20.

Ohio State, under first year coach Jim Tressel, is No. 21 with South Carolina, Wisconsin, Colorado State and Alabama winding up the Top 25.

The last time it was this wide open -- 1997 when eight teams received first place votes -- Nebraska and Michigan split the national championship. Incidentally, Nebraska received four vote while Michigan received none.

	Ken Dorsey and Miami have a 23-game winning streak.

How wide open is this? No. 2 Miami received 15 first place votes and No. 3 Oklahoma received eight, yet still trail Florida by 52 and 87 points, respectively. What that means is many of the 60 coaches on the panel placed the Canes and Sooners much lower and there is no real consensus on the top eight teams.

By conference, the SEC placed six teams in the poll, with the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-10 placing four teams each. The ACC notched three, Big East two and the Mountain West placing one. Notre Dame, the lone independent in the poll, completes the list of 25.

But as wide open as it may be, there is plenty of reason to see why Florida received those 25 first place votes. It's the same reason Steve Spurrier had a little more intensity this spring, the same reason there was more hitting and even score kept in the scrimmages. Quite simply, this is the best Florida team since the Gators won the national title in 1996.

Eighteen starters return from last year's SEC champs, including nine from a dominating defense led by DE Alex Brown and CB Lito Sheppard. The offense is loaded as well with eight returning starters, including one of the nation's top receivers in Jabar Gaffney, QBs Rex Grossman and Brock Berlin and RB Robert Gillespie. Add in all-time Florida field goal leader Jeff Chandler and this is an explosive team.

Of course, being ranked No. 1 hasn't always worked out well for the Gators. They were preseason No. 1 in 1994 and 1997, only to lose to Auburn in the regular season and FSU in the Sugar Bowl. In 1997, they lost to LSU spoiling their chances at the title.

And the schedule doesn't do the Gators any favors. They play four of the six SEC teams ranked in the Top 25 as well as the annual war with Florida State. On the plus side, Florida does play its two biggest games -- No. 7 Tennessee and No. 5 FSU -- in Gainesville.

But some think Florida isn't even the best team in the state. Miami returns 16 starters and received 15 first place votes. Under first year coach Larry Coker, the Canes have a potent offense led by QB Ken Dorsey. The loss of WRs Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne hurts, but there is still plenty of speed and talent on offense to help offset the loss. Defensively, it will be business as usual with eight returning starters back. The Hurricanes have a tough non-conference schedule, playing at Penn State, hosting Washington and traveling to Florida State. If they survive that, the toughest conference test they face in the Dec. 1 showdown against No. 9 Virginia Tech.

	LB Rocky Calmus anchors fourth-ranked Oklahoma's defense.

Defending national champion Oklahoma is third with Big 12 rival Nebraska No. 4. The Sooners return 18 starters, but the losses of QB Josh Heupel and LB Torrence Marshall apparently scared many voters. Rocky Calmus will lead the defense and Nate Hybl is slated to start at QB, but if Hybl struggles, so could the Sooners. The schedule is tough with Kansas State, Texas in Dallas and at Nebraska.

The Huskers, who received six first place votes, return 14 starters, including QB Eric Crouch who looks healthy after offseason shoulder surgery. The Huskers catch a break in the schedule with the three toughest games -- Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Kansas State -- all at home (and yes, that's counting the Dallas OU-Texas game as a home game).

Some say No. 5 Florida State is down, but the Seminoles start the season where they've finished the last 14 years -- in the top five. FSU returns just 10 starters, but just remember when the Seminoles won their first title in 1993 they returned just nine starters.

Texas earned two first place votes with its high-flying offense led by QB Chris Simms and WR Roy Williams and is ranked No. 6, giving the Big 12 three teams in the top six.

Tennessee received one first place vote and is No. 7. Should they find a way to get past Florida at The Swamp -- and that's not exactly something the Vols have been known for lately -- the talent is there to make a run at the national championship.

Oregon leads the Pac-10 charge at No. 8. With Joey Harrington and Maurice Morris sparking the offense, the Ducks are the Pac-10's best chance to keep a team in the Rose Bowl. It is noteworthy that despite returning roughly the same talent, the Ducks are ranked below Texas, who they beat 35-30 in the Holiday Bowl last year.

Virginia Tech is the lone Top 10 team to not get a first place vote. Call it the Michael Vick factor. But with RB Lee Suggs, the offense will be fine. Michigan receives the last first place vote to snag the 10th spot in the poll. Considering many were counting No. 20 Northwestern as the early Big Ten favorite, this is a major surprise.

There were other surprises as well. Most notably, the fact Penn State is missing. After recording just the second losing season in Joe Paterno's 35 years as Penn State head coach, the Nittany Lions earned only 31 points. This marks the first time since USA Today took over the coaches' poll that Penn State was absent. Before this season, the lowest the Nittany Lions ever started the season was 17th.

Joe Wojciechowski is the college football editor at ESPN.com.