The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned national champions, in both the AP and Coaches poll. Under the

Bowl Coalition The College Football Bowl Coalition was formed through an agreement among Division I-A college football bowl games and conferences for the purpose of forcing a national championship game between the top two teams and to provide quality bowl game ...

, undefeated Big 8 champ and No. 2 ranked Nebraska hosted ACC champ and No. 1 ranked Florida State in the Orange Bowl. This produced a clear champion in the Coaches Poll and the AP poll, despite Florida State's loss to Notre Dame 31–24 during the regular season, in a game known by many as the " Game of the Century". This much hyped clash between No. 1 and No. 2 was the site of the first ever "live" broadcast of the ESPN '' College GameDay'' show and did not fail to live up to expectations as Irish defensive back Shawn Wooden batted down a Charlie Ward pass in the end zone with three seconds left to play. Despite the win over Florida State, Notre Dame's title chances ended the very next week when the Fighting Irish lost to No. 17

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. Further controversy surrounded the inclusion of one-loss Florida State in the national title game over undefeated West Virginia, who was ranked No. 2 (ahead of Florida State) by the final regular season coaches' poll but not the AP (Nebraska was No. 2 in the AP). Despite beating Florida State in the regular season, Notre Dame finished No. 2 in the two major polls. Florida State, during the 1993 regular season played No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 15 Miami, No. 5 Florida, No. 19 North Carolina, and No. 23 Clemson. FSU went 3–1 vs top 7 teams while playing only 1 home game in the 4 contests. Florida State's Charlie Ward threw for 3,032 yards, completed 70 percent of his passes and became the first player to win the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

and the national championship in the same season since Pittsburgh's Tony Dorsett in 1976. The

Alamo Bowl The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and ...

played its inaugural game. The Sunshine Classic was no longer sponsored by Blockbuster Entertainment, and was now known as the Carquest Bowl.

Rule changes

* The distance between the hashmarks was narrowed from 53 feet, 4 inches (the same as high school football, with the exception of Texas, which is the same as College Football at 40 feet) to 40 feet (the standard used by the National Football League through the 1971 season). This cut down on severe angles for kickers who attempted short field goals, although angles would still be far greater than those encountered by kickers in the NFL, where the hashmarks are the same width as the goalposts, 18 feet, 6 inches. *The " fumblerooski" play is outlawed as intentional fumbles are now illegal. *Players who are bleeding or have open wounds are required to leave the game until the bleeding is stopped and the wound treated. *The loss of down penalty associated with offensive pass interference has been deleted. The yardage penalty remains at 15 yards. *Officials are instructed to flag players for unsportsmanlike conduct (15 yards) for actions on the field that are prolonged, excessive, or meant to bring attention to themselves (such as the " Heisman pose" and the firing of six-shooters). *On kickoffs, at least four players must be lined up on either side of the kicker. *All balls must be made of leather. Composite and rubber balls were outlawed.

Conference and program changes

Five teams changed conferences and one team dropped its football team prior to the season. As such, the total number of Division I-A schools decreased to 106. *

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

also played its first year as a member of the Big Ten Conference. * Cal State Fullerton dropped its football program, which had been a member of the Big West. *The Big West responded by adding four new programs: Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana–Lafayette) and Arkansas State which had just made the jump to Division I-A in 1990, and former independents Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech.

Regular Season

August-September

The preseason AP Poll featured Florida State at No. 1 and defending champion Alabama at No. 2, followed by No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Texas A&M, and No. 5 Miami. August 28: No. 1 Florida State shut out Kansas 42-0 in the

Kickoff Classic The Kickoff Classic was a season-opening college football game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey from 1983 to 2002. History In 1978, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), which operated and scheduled ...

. None of the other top teams had started their schedules, but Miami moved up to tie Michigan at No. 3 in the next poll, with Texas A&M falling to No. 5. September 4: No. 1 Florida State won 45-7 at Duke, No. 2 Alabama defeated Tulane 31-17, No. 3 Michigan beat Washington State 41-14, fellow No. 3 Miami visited No 20

for a 23-7 victory, and No. 5 Texas A&M shut out LSU 24-0. Miami dropped back to No. 4 in the next poll, with the other top teams remaining the same. September 11: No. 1 Florida State dominated No. 21 Clemson 57-0 and No. 2 Alabama won 17-6 at Vanderbilt, but No. 3 Michigan fell 27-23 to No. 11 Notre Dame. No. 4 Miami was idle, while No. 5 Texas A&M lost 44-14 at No. 17

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. No. 8 Tennessee beat No. 22 Georgia 38-6 and moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Miami, No. 4 Notre Dame, and No. 5 Tennessee. September 18: No. 1 Florida State visited No. 13 North Carolina and won 33-7. No. 2 Alabama defeated Arkansas 43-3, No. 3 Miami beat Virginia Tech 21-2, and No. 4 Notre Dame won 36-14 over

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. No. 5 Tennessee fell 41-34 to No. 9 Florida, who replaced them in the next poll: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Miami, No. 4 Notre Dame, and No. 5 Florida. September 25: No. 1 Florida State and No. 5 Florida were idle. No. 2 Alabama blasted Louisiana Tech 56-3. No. 3 Miami held off No. 13 Colorado 35-29 in a game which featured a benches-clearing brawl near the end of the first half. No. 4 Notre Dame shut out Purdue 17-0, and the top five remained the same in the next poll.

October

October 2: No. 1 Florida State continued their string of blowout victories with a 51-0 annihilation of Georgia Tech. No. 2 Alabama won 17-6 at South Carolina, No. 3 Miami beat Georgia Southern 30-7, No. 4 Notre Dame visited Stanford for a 48-20 victory, and No. 5 Florida defeated Mississippi State 38-24. The top five again remained the same in the next poll. October 9: No. 1 Florida State had outscored their first five opponents by a total of 228-14, but their next foe would be No. 3 Miami, who had defeated them in heartbreaking fashion in both

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

and

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

. This time, the Seminoles finally prevailed with a 28-10 victory. No. 2 Alabama was idle, No. 4 Notre Dame shut out Pittsburgh 44-0, No. 5 Florida won 58-3 at LSU, and No. 6 Ohio State was a 20-12 victor at Illinois. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Florida, and No. 5 Ohio State. October 16: No. 1 Florida State defeated No. 15 Virginia 40-14. No. 2 Alabama trailed No. 10 Tennessee late in the fourth quarter, but put together a game-ending 83-yard drive to salvage a 17-17 tie. No. 3 Notre Dame won 45-20 at Brigham Young. In another SEC nailbiter, No. 4 Florida fell 38-35 to No. 19

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

on a late field goal. No. 5 Ohio State beat No. 25 Michigan State 28-21, and No. 6 Nebraska defeated Kansas State 45-28. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 Nebraska. October 23: No. 1 Florida State was idle, No. 2 Notre Dame defeated USC 31-13, and No. 3 Ohio State won 45-24 at Purdue. No. 4 Alabama overcame an injury to quarterback Jay Barker and beat Mississippi 19-14. No. 5 Nebraska overwhelmed Missouri 49-7, but No. 6 Miami was even more impressive in a 49-0 shutout of Syracuse. The Hurricanes moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Miami, and No. 5 Alabama. October 30: No. 1 Florida State shut out Wake Forest 55-0, No. 2 Notre Dame defeated Navy 58-27, No. 3 Ohio State beat No. 12

24-6, No. 4 Miami won 42-7 over Temple, and No. 5 Alabama blanked Southern Mississippi 40-0. The top five remained the same in the next poll.

November-December

November 6: No. 1 Florida State won 49-20 at Maryland. No. 2 Notre Dame was idle. No. 3 Ohio State blocked a last-second field goal to come away with a 14-14 tie against No. 15 Wisconsin. No. 4 Miami won 35-7 at Pittsburgh. No. 5 Alabama carried a 31-game unbeaten streak into their game against LSU, but the Crimson Tide threw four second-half interceptions to enable a 17-13 victory for the Tigers. No. 6 Nebraska was taken down to the wire by Kansas, but the Cornhuskers stopped a Jayhawks two-point conversion to preserve a 21-20 win and move back into the top five: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Miami, No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 5 Ohio State. November 13: Up to this point, No. 1 Florida State had defeated all nine of their opponents by 18 points or more, but now they would face their toughest test in a “Game of the Century” against No. 2 Notre Dame. The Irish stunned the Seminoles by running off 24 consecutive points after an early Florida State touchdown, and they still led 31-17 with a few minutes left to play. But FSU quarterback Charlie Ward led the Seminoles on a rapid drive which resulted in a touchdown pass on 4th-and-20, and the Irish went three-and-out on the next possession. Getting the ball back with less than a minute left, Florida State made it all the way to Notre Dame’s 14-yard line, but Ward’s last-second desperation pass was knocked away, and the Irish prevailed 31-24. Meanwhile, No. 3 Miami defeated Rutgers 31-17, No. 4 Nebraska beat Iowa State 49-17 to clinch the Big 8 title and an Orange Bowl berth, and No. 5 Ohio State won 23-17 over Indiana. The next poll featured No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Miami, and No. 5 Ohio State. November 20: As No. 1 Notre Dame went into their season-ending game against No. 17 Boston College (a team which they had beaten 54-7 the previous year), the only uncertainty seemed to be whether their national championship opponent should be Nebraska in the Orange Bowl or Florida State in a rematch. However, the Eagles shocked the Irish by dominating the first three quarters, and BC held a 38-17 lead early in the fourth. Notre Dame responded with a frantic comeback, scoring 22 points in 11 minutes to go back on top by a single point. But, just as Florida State had done the previous week, Boston College went on one last drive into Notre Dame territory. This time the Irish were not able to make the stop, as walk-on kicker David Gordon hit a last-second field goal to give the Eagles a 41-39 win. No. 2 Florida State bounced back with a 62-3 domination of North Carolina State, and No. 3 Nebraska was idle. No. 4 Miami suffered a 17-14 loss at No. 9 West Virginia; the Mountaineers, who had started the season unranked, improved their record to 10-0. No. 5 Ohio State needed a win over unranked Michigan to clinch the Big Ten title and their first Rose Bowl berth in nine years. Instead, the Buckeyes threw interceptions on four straight possessions and failed to reach the Wolverines’ 20-yard line at any point in the game. Michigan’s 28-0 win put No. 12 Wisconsin, who held the tiebreaker advantage over Ohio State, in line for a trip to Pasadena. No. 6 Auburn defeated No. 11 Alabama 22-14 in the Iron Bowl; the Tigers finished the season with a perfect 11-0 record, but were ineligible for postseason play due to recruiting violations. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 Notre Dame, and No. 5 West Virginia. November 26-27: No. 1 Florida State won 33-21 at No. 7 Florida, and No. 2 Nebraska defeated No. 16 Oklahoma 21-7. No. 3 Auburn and No. 4 Notre Dame had finished their schedules. No. 11 Boston College almost pulled off another upset, but No. 5 West Virginia came back from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to win 17-14 and complete their undefeated season. The Mountaineers moved up in the next AP Poll: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 West Virginia, No. 4 Auburn, and No. 5 Notre Dame. The Coaches’ Poll disagreed with the AP’s ordering of the top teams, choosing Nebraska for No. 1, West Virginia for No. 2, and Florida State for No. 3. With No. 4 Auburn ineligible, No. 16 Alabama represented the SEC Western Division in the conference championship game on December 4. No. 9 Florida took revenge for the previous year’s defeat with a 28-13 victory, earning the Gators a trip to the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

. Even though the top teams had already finished their schedule, the AP voters slightly shuffled their order in the final poll of the regular season: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 West Virginia, No. 4 Notre Dame, and No. 5 Auburn. The Coaches’ Poll remained the same. Undefeated Nebraska was assured of a spot in the national championship game. The organizers chose Florida State as the Cornhuskers' Orange Bowl opponent, feeling that the Seminoles’ pattern of dominant victories outweighed Notre Dame’s head-to-head win and West Virginia’s undefeated record. (Florida State had easily beaten Miami and Maryland, two teams which the Mountaineers struggled to beat.) Notre Dame would face No. 7 Texas A&M, the SWC champion, in the Cotton Bowl, while West Virginia squared off against No. 8 Florida in the Sugar Bowl. The major bowl matchups were rounded out by No. 9 Wisconsin against No. 14 UCLA in the Rose and No. 10 Miami against No. 16 Arizona in the

Fiesta ''Fiesta'' (Spanish for "religious feast", "festival", or "party") may refer to: Events *Fiesta San Antonio, a 10-day event held every April in San Antonio, Texas *St. Peter's Fiesta, a five-day festival in Gloucester, Massachusetts *Fiestas d ...

Conference standings

No. 1 and No. 2 progress

Florida State's Seminoles were the unanimous choice for No. 1 beginning with the October 19 poll and the three after that, receiving all 62 votes. After Notre Dame's 31–24 defeat of Florida State on November 13, Notre Dame got all 62 first place votes in the next poll.

Bowl games

* Orange Bowl: No. 1 Florida State 18, No. 2 Nebraska 16 * Rose Bowl: No. 9 Wisconsin 21, No. 14 UCLA 16 *: No. 8 Florida 41, No. 3 West Virginia 7 *: No. 4 Notre Dame 24, No. 7 Texas A&M 21 * Fiesta Bowl: No. 16 Arizona 29, No. 10 Miami 0 *: No. 13

31, No. 6 Tennessee 13 *

Hall of Fame Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 t ...

: No. 23 Michigan 42, NC State 7 *: No. 15

31, Virginia 13 *: No. 18 Alabama 24, No. 12 North Carolina 10 * Peach Bowl: No. 24 Clemson 14, Kentucky 13 *

: California 37, Iowa 3 * Independence Bowl: No. 22 Virginia Tech 45, No. 21 Indiana 20 * Holiday Bowl: No. 11 Ohio State 28, BYU 21 *:

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

28, Utah 21 * Copper Bowl: No. 20 Kansas State 52, Wyoming 17 * Liberty Bowl: No. 25 Louisville 18,

7 *: No. 17 Colorado 41, No. 25 Fresno St 30 *: No. 19

41,

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

10 *:

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

42,

Ball State Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, industrialists and founders of the Ball C ...

Final rankings

Final AP Poll

# Florida State # Notre Dame # Nebraska #

# Florida # Wisconsin # West Virginia #

# Texas A&M # Arizona # Ohio State # Tennessee #

# Alabama # Miami (FL) # Colorado #

# UCLA # North Carolina # Kansas State # Michigan # Virginia Tech # Clemson # Louisville # California

Final Coaches Poll

# Florida St. # Notre Dame # Nebraska # Florida # Wisconsin # West Virginia # Penn St. # Texas A&M # Arizona # Ohio St. # Tennessee #

# Alabama #

# Miami (FL) # Colorado # UCLA # Kansas St. # Michigan # Virginia Tech # North Carolina # Clemson # Louisville # California # Southern California

Awards and honors

Heisman Trophy

''The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the year'' Winner: Charlie Ward, Florida State, Quarterback (2310 votes) *2. Heath Shuler, Tennessee, Jr.. QB (668 votes) *3. David Palmer, Alabama, Jr. WR (292 votes) *4.

Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams. He is widely regarded as one of the grea ...

, San Diego State, Jr. RB (250 votes) *5.

Glenn Foley Glenn Foley (born October 10, 1970) is a former American football quarterback. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the New York Jets from 1994 to 1998 and the Seattle Seahawks in 1999 and in the Arena Football Lea ...

, Boston College, Sr. QB (180 votes)

Other major awards

* Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) - Charlie Ward, Florida State * Walter Camp Award (Back) - Charlie Ward, Florida State *

Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Co ...

(Quarterback) - Charlie Ward, Florida State * Doak Walker Award (Running back) -

Byron Morris Byron "Bam" Morris (born January 13, 1972) is a former American football running back who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, and the Kansas City Chiefs. Early life Morris attended Texas Tech University wher ...

, Texas Tech *

Dick Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

(Linebacker) -

Trev Alberts Trev Kendall AlbertsJim Offner '' Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier'', February 6, 2013, accessed July 8, 2013. (born August 8, 1970) is an American sports administrator and former football linebacker who is the director of athletics at University o ...

, Nebraska * Lombardi Award (Lineman or linebacker) -

Aaron Taylor Aaron Taylor may refer to: * Aaron Taylor (American football, born 1972), former NFL player, sports analyst * Aaron Taylor (American football, born 1975), former college football player for the University of Nebraska * Aaron Taylor (baseball) (born ...

, Notre Dame * Outland Trophy (Interior lineman) -

Rob Waldrop Robert F. Waldrop (born December 1, 1971) is a former American college and professional gridiron football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football a ...

, NG, Arizona * Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive back) - Antonio Langham, Alabama * AFCA Coach of the Year -

Terry Bowden Terry Wilson Bowden (; born February 24, 1956) is an American college football coach, currently the head coach at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Bowden was previously head coach at Salem University (1983–1985), Samford University (1987 ...

FWAA The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...