Talent wins.

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Break down Florida State by position, and it's clear they stack up with anybody, everywhere on the field. They've got dozens of NFL prospects, with high-end guys at virtually ever spot, even on special teams.

That's why the Seminoles are No. 1 in SportsLine's spring Top 25, followed by the team that blocked FSU's way to last year's national title -- Tennessee.

The Volunteers appear to be at least as strong as last year, and shouldn't even need the big, fat breaks that made the difference in a couple of key victories en route to the Fiesta Bowl.

But Florida State, too, is more powerful. Only two starters are gone from the FSU offense and four from the defense.

Near the top is a familiar place for the Seminoles. But for all of Florida State's top four finishes in the AP poll -- a streak that has reached an amazing 12 consecutive years -- coach Bobby Bowden has only one national championship ring.

In 1999, he'll make it two.

The offense is stocked with a gaggle of game-breakers and the defense is capable of turning quarterbacks into crumbs. Even the kicking game is special, with All-America kicker Sebastian Janikowski waiting to put the winning touches on any white-knuckled endings ... should FSU actually have any.

In fact, it looks like the Seminoles have everything it takes to run through the regular-season 11-0 before heading back to the national title game, this time in the Sugar Bowl.

THERE'S PLENTY OF EXPLOSIVENESS with receiver Peter Warrick, running back Travis Minor and quarterback Chris Weinke, who is expected to be at full strength in the fall after being sidelined by a neck injury late last season. Before the injury, he had thrown 218 passes without an interception and connected on 19 touchdown passes.

Put a healthy Weinke into last season's Fiesta Bowl (OK, Vol fans, we know that's heresy), and FSU would be trying to make it two consecutive titles right now.

The offensive line is back intact, complete with the requisite 300-pounders, including tackle Ross Brannon and guard Jason Whitaker.

The strength of the defense is the line, led by All-American tackle Corey Simon. The ends are stepping right into the recent tradition of Andre Wadsworth, Peter Boulware and Reinard Wilson. Returning starter Roland Seymour looks ready to have a bust-out season and zoom up the draft lists, and no FSU player had a better spring than rush end Jamal Reynolds.

If some juniors leave school early -- no surprise, there -- Florida State should challenge the record for most first-round picks in a draft. USC had five in 1968.

It's an interesting early schedule for FSU, which opens with three games in Tallahassee. The first is against quarterback Tim Rattay and Louisiana Tech (we said interesting, not challenging). Then comes a serious ACC test against Georgia Tech, but since it's at home, it shouldn't be close. Next is a revenge match against North Carolina State; the Wolfpack put the hiccup into the Seminoles' regular season last year, winning 24-7 in Raleigh.

THE SEASON-DEFINING GAMES come later -- at home against Miami on Oct. 9 (although FSU has won four in a row from the Hurricanes) and the finale at Florida.

Florida could have thoughts of a national title, too, if they continue to do The Swamp thing. The Gators' two most important games are at home -- Tennessee and FSU -- and, considering they have lost there only twice this decade, can't be ruled out of winning either game. Or both.

The Gators, uncomfortably young on defense, start at No. 7 in the SportsLine Top 25.

They look to be only second-best in the SEC, though, because Tennessee is a terror again.

The Vols have a couple of minor questions, such as who will replace the performance and spirit of linebacker Al Wilson (they looked at several options at middle linebacker in the spring, and were completely satisfied with none) and who will step up in an unproven receiver corps (they always have great speed). But the real challenge might be recapturing that us-against-the-world attitude.

For sure, the talent is there, especially with superb running back Jamal Lewis expected back at full strength. Tennessee can stand toe-to-toe with Florida State when it comes to potential All-Americans: Lewis, offensive lineman Cosey Coleman, defensive tackle Darwin Walker, cornerback Dwayne Goodrich, linebacker Raynoch Thompson ... and quarterback Tee Martin proved his mettle last season, as well.

About our pick at No. 3 ...

Yes, that's really Virginia Tech nestled in there behind Florida State and Tennessee. The Hokies might not be rated so high in other polls, but the Hokies have an awesome defense, a best-in-the-nation special teams, a bright young quarterback in Michael Vick and -- here's the thing -- a schedule built to go 11-0.

Games at Virginia and West Virginia will be no picnic, but aren't as daunting as the toughest road games for other top teams. And the Big East game of the year -- Virginia Tech-Miami -- is in Blacksburg.

The Hokies return 15 starters from a team that lost three games last season by a total of 10 points, all on second-half collapses. In picking Virginia Tech at No. 3, we're averting our eyes from that still-bewildering flameout at home against (yeesh) Temple. But with another year of experience and better depth in many spots, we expect the Hokies to make those leads stand up this year.

In contrast to Virginia Tech's favorable schedule, there's Purdue.

THE BOILERMAKERS HAVE LOTS TO LIKE and have put together back-to-back winning seasons, bowl victories and Top 25 finishes in Joe Tiller's first two years in West Lafayette. Junior quarterback Drew Brees, who passed for 3,983 yards and 39 touchdowns last year, leads an offense that returns nine starters.

But after a two-year grace period, Purdue has to play Big Ten monsters Michigan and Ohio State. On the road. Back to back.

Add Purdue's home games against Penn State, Wisconsin and Notre Dame, and it all seems like just a bit much. So although the Boilermakers have the talent to be higher, they just sneak into our rankings at No. 22.

Sneaking is just what Nebraska might do this year. After finishing at No. 19 last year with a 9-4 record in Frank Solich's first year at the helm, the Cornhuskers are no longer a sure-fire Top 10 team.

Nebraska is hoping, praying, for a return to health of quarterback Bobby Newcombe and running back DeAngelo Evans. No guarantees, of course, but if they do make it back, it's easy to see those four games the Huskers lost by a total of 24 points will turn into victories in 1999. So they start at No. 5.

Nebraska will have to beat Texas A&M once -- maybe twice including a rematch in the Big 12 championship game -- to achieve that ranking. The Aggies are at No. 8, followed by Georgia Tech and Michigan.

Two other top 10 teams -- No. 4 Arizona and No. 6 Penn State -- meet in a tantalizing early season game, the Pigskin Classic on Aug. 28 in Happy Valley.

One of those teams will limp away with (mostly) dashed hopes of a national title, but will have ample time to recover and climb back in the rankings via a league championship -- Penn State because of its all-star defense, Arizona because of its balanced offense that starts with job-sharing quarterbacks Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins.

Put the best parts of Arizona and Penn State together and this is what you get: Florida State.

And that's why the Seminoles are No. 1.