The 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

being crowned National Champions after defeating rival

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

in 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 ...

, which was the season's designated

Bowl Alliance The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games (specifically the Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta Bowls) for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship game and to provide quality bowl game match ...

national championship game. Florida had faced Florida State earlier in the year, when they were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, and lost 24–21. However, unranked

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

's upset of No. 3

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

in the first ever Big 12 Championship Game set up the rematch of in-state rivals in New Orleans. In the Sugar Bowl, Florida's

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 ...

-winning senior quarterback Danny Wuerffel and head coach Steve Spurrier led the Gators to a 52–20 victory and their first national championship. Because the

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

and

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Conferences were not yet part of the Bowl Alliance, their champions met in the Rose Bowl as they had for decades. In 1996, these conference champions were potential national title contenders in No. 2

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

and No. 4

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

. In a close Rose Bowl contest, Arizona State's

Jake Plummer Jason Steven "Jake" Plummer (born December 19, 1974) is a former professional American football player, a quarterback for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 1997 ...

ran for a touchdown with 1:40 left to play to give his team the lead, but Ohio State responded with its own touchdown drive led by backup quarterback

Joe Germaine Joseph Berton Germaine (born November 16, 1975) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft after playing college football at Ohio State. Germaine earned a Super Bow ...

and won 20–17. Ohio State finished No. 2 in the final AP poll behind No. 1 Florida, and Arizona State finished No. 4 behind Florida State. The poll results helped push the Pac-10 and Big Ten to give up their Rose Bowl tradition. Before the 1998 season, they both agreed to join an expanded Bowl Championship Series (BCS) agreement, giving their programs a chance to play in a national championship game. Another controversy that led to the creation of the BCS was that No. 5

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

was not invited to a major bowl game but were snubbed in favor of lower ranked teams from Bowl Alliance conferences. The 1996 season saw ongoing realignment of many conferences. One of the most notable developments was the creation of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

, which consisted of programs from the old Big 8 along with four former members of the dissolved

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

, namely

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

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 ...

, and Baylor. The Big 12 began play as a two division conference, with

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 ...

and

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

joining the South Division, breaking up the classic Nebraska–Oklahoma rivalry, but renewing the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry, known as the

Red River Shootout The Oklahoma–Texas football rivalry is a college football rivalry game between border rivals Oklahoma and Texas. The two teams first played each other in 1900, and the rivalry has been renewed annually and uninterrupted since 1929 for a tota ...

. The first Big 12 football game featured Texas Tech and Kansas State. Kansas State won by a score of 21–14. The 1996 season was also notable as it marked the end of ties in college football, as an

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

system was put into place across all of Division I. Though it has been modified slightly, the "Kansas Playoff" overtime rules have been used ever since. (The

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

season also had overtime rules, but only for postseason games, and they were not used since none of the affected games ended regulation play in a tie.)

Rule changes

* The

system adopted in the 1995 season for bowl games was expanded for all Division I-A games. * On punts and field goal attempts, the defense cannot touch the center/long snapper for one second after the snap. Violators are penalized 15 yards and an automatic first down. * Officials were instructed to more strictly enforce intentional grounding rules.

Conference realignment

Four teams upgraded from Division I-AA prior to the season and one university dropped its football program. As such, the total number of Division I-A schools increased to 111. *The

began play this season after a merger between the

Big 8 Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

and four members of the former

(

, and Baylor). The new 12-member conference was divided into two, six-team divisions. * Conference USA was formed prior to the season after a merger between two conferences that had previously not sponsored football, the Metro Conference and the

Great Midwest Conference The Great Midwest Conference was an NCAA Division I athletics conference that existed from 1991 to 1995. History It was formed in 1990 with six members: Cincinnati and Memphis State (now Memphis) from the Metro Conference, UAB from the Sun Bel ...

. Members of the new league included SWC member

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

(from the former Southwest Conference) and five long-time independents: Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Miss, and Tulane. **C-USA was given a tie-in with the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...

for its league champion. *The

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

, in turn, accepted TCU, SMU, and

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

from the SWC,

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

and

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

from the Big West, and independent

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. These moves pushed the WAC's membership to 16 and resulted in the creation of two divisions (Pacific and Mountain) and a league championship game. *The

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

also saw

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage l ...

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by t ...

, and Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana–Lafayette) depart to become independents. All four teams had joined the Big West in football only in 1993, remaining in more geographically-appropriate conferences for other sports. *

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

dropped their football team after the 1995 season. The Tigers had been a member of the Big West. *Four teams upgraded from Division I-AA prior to the season: Alabama–Birmingham (UAB), Boise State,

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

, and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. **Boise State, Idaho, and previously independent

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wo ...

joined the Big West, while UAB and UCF became Division I-A independents.

Conference changes

Regular Season

August-September

Two-time defending champion

was heavily favored to win a third straight national title, and the Cornhuskers were followed in the preseason AP Poll by No. 2

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, No. 3

, No. 4

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and No. 5

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. August 31: No. 1 Nebraska and No. 3 Florida State had not begun their schedules. No. 2 Tennessee overwhelmed UNLV 62-3, No. 4 Florida defeated Southwestern Louisiana 55-21, and No. 5 Colorado beat Washington State 37-19. The top five remained the same in the next poll. September 7: No. 1 Nebraska opened with a 55-14 win over Michigan State, No. 2 Tennessee beat UCLA 35-20, No. 3 Florida State defeated Duke 44-7, No. 4 Florida prevailed 62-14 over Georgia Southern, and No. 5 Colorado won 48-34 at Colorado State. The top five again remained the same. September 14: The only top-five team active this weekend was No. 5 Colorado, who committed 14 penalties (one of which nullified a game-tying touchdown) in a 20-13 loss to No. 11

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. No. 6

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 ...

shut out Northern Illinois 49-0 and moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Florida, and No. 5 Penn State. September 19-21: No. 1 Nebraska took a 26-game winning streak into their matchup with No. 17

, a team they had defeated by 49 points the previous year. However, the Sun Devils completely neutralized the Cornhuskers’ offense in a 19-0 shutout win, Nebraska’s first loss since the 1993 national title game. In a matchup of SEC contenders, No. 4 Florida took a 35-0 second-quarter lead over No. 2 Tennessee and held off a Volunteers comeback for a 35-29 victory. No. 3 Florida State won 51-17 at North Carolina State, No. 5 Penn State shut out Temple 41-0, No. 7

blanked Pittsburgh 72-0, and No. 9 Notre Dame beat No. 6

27-24 on a field goal as time expired. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Notre Dame. September 28: No. 1 Florida dominated Kentucky 65-0, and No. 2 Florida State shut out No. 11

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

13-0. No. 3 Penn State earned a 23-20 win at Wisconsin, but No. 4 Ohio State was more impressive in a 29-16 victory at No. 5 Notre Dame. No. 6 Arizona State beat Oregon 48-27 to move into the top five: No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Penn State, and No. 5 Arizona State.

October

October 5: No. 1 Florida won 42-7 at Arkansas, and No. 2 Florida State defeated Clemson 34-3. In their second top-five matchup in two weeks, No. 3 Ohio State looked dominant in a 38-7 rout of No. 4 Penn State. No. 5 Arizona State beat Boise State 56-7, and No. 7 Nebraska overwhelmed No. 16

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

39-3 to move back into the top five: No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Arizona State, and No. 5 Nebraska. October 12: No. 1 Florida defeated No. 12

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

56-13. After two straight wins over highly-ranked opponents, No. 2 Ohio State needed a fourth-quarter comeback to escape unranked Wisconsin 17-14. No. 3 Florida State visited No. 6

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and beat their rivals 34-16. No. 4 Arizona State came back from a 21-point deficit to win 42-34 at UCLA. No. 5 Nebraska shut out Baylor 49-0, and the top five remained the same in the next poll. October 19: No. 1 Florida dominated another ranked SEC opponent, winning 51-10 over No. 16 Auburn. No. 2 Ohio State won 42-14 at Purdue. No. 3 Florida State was idle. No. 4 Arizona State fell behind again and again in their game against USC but made three game-tying drives in regulation and another one in overtime. After taking their first lead of the game in double overtime, the Sun Devils put the game away with an 85-yard fumble return for a 48-35 final score. No. 5 Nebraska defeated Texas Tech 24-10, and the top five again remained the same. October 26: No. 1 Florida was idle. No. 2 Ohio State visited No. 20

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

for a 38-26 win. No. 3 Florida State faced No. 14

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, who had defeated them in a major upset the previous year, and the Seminoles got their revenge with a 31-24 victory. No. 4 Arizona State won 41-9 at Stanford, and No. 5 Nebraska beat Kansas 63-7. The top five again remained the same.

November-December

November 2: No. 1 Florida defeated Georgia 47-7, No. 2 Ohio State blanked Minnesota 45-0, No. 3 Florida State won 49-3 at Georgia Tech, No. 4 Arizona State visited Oregon State for a 29-14 victory, and No. 5 Nebraska blasted Oklahoma 73-21. The top five were the same yet again. November 9: With all of the top-ranking teams on long winning streaks, several conference races were effectively over by early November. No. 1 Florida had an unexpectedly hard time with last-place Vanderbilt, but held on for a 28-21 win which clinched the SEC Eastern Division title for the Gators. No. 2 Ohio State posted their second straight shutout, 48-0 at Illinois. No. 3 Florida State wrapped up the ACC title with a 44-7 victory at Wake Forest, while No. 4 Arizona State earned the Pac-10 crown with a 35-7 defeat of California. No. 5 Nebraska beat Missouri 51-7, and the top five continued to stay the same. November 16: No. 1 Florida defeated South Carolina 52-25, No. 2 Ohio State clinched the Big Ten title with a 27-17 win at Indiana, and No. 3 Florida State beat No. 25

Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...

54-14. No. 4 Arizona State was idle, while No. 5 Nebraska won 49-14 at Iowa State. The top five remained unchanged for the fifth consecutive week. November 23: No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Florida State were idle as they prepared for their upcoming game against each other. For the third time in four years, No. 2 Ohio State was undefeated going into their season-ending contest with archrival Michigan. In both 1993 and 1995, the Wolverines had spoiled the Buckeyes’ perfect record—and the result was the same in 1996, as No. 21 Michigan held OSU without a touchdown in a 13-9 come-from-behind victory which dropped Ohio State coach John Cooper’s career record against Michigan to 1-7-1. No. 4 Arizona State, soon to be the Buckeyes’ opponent in the Rose Bowl, did manage to complete a perfect regular season with a 56-14 win at Arizona. No. 5 Nebraska and No. 6 Colorado, who would play each other the following week, were both idle. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Arizona State, No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 5 Colorado. November 29-30: No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Florida State, both undefeated, met with a spot in the national title game seemingly on the line. The Seminoles jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and held off a late Gators comeback to earn a 24-21 victory. No. 3 Arizona State, the only other undefeated team, had finished their schedule. No. 4 Nebraska and No. 5 Colorado, both with one loss, faced each other for the championship of the new Big 12 Northern Division, and the Cornhuskers prevailed 17-12 on a rain-soaked field. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Arizona State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Florida, and No. 5 Ohio State. No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Arizona State, the only two undefeated teams at the end of the regular season, could not play each other for the national title; as the winner of the Pac-10, Arizona State was contractually obligated to meet Big Ten champ Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. In previous years, No. 3 Nebraska would have been the next team in line to face Florida State. However, due to the recent merger between the Big 8 and SWC, the Cornhuskers needed to play one more game before heading into the bowls. In the first-ever Big 12 Championship Game on December 7, Nebraska faced off against Texas. The unranked Longhorns trailed in the fourth quarter, but scored two late touchdowns to pull off a 37-27 upset. Later that day, No. 4 Florida beat No. 11

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

45-30 in the

SEC Championship Game The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...

to move back ahead of Nebraska in the final pre-bowl poll. No. 6

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

, with a 28-25 overtime defeat of No. 20

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

in the WAC Championship Game, also moved up: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Arizona State, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Brigham Young. Therefore, just a month after their previous meeting, Florida State and Florida were set for a rematch in the

. The Rose Bowl between Arizona State and Ohio State would also have national title implications, especially if the Seminoles lost and the Sun Devils won. The major games were rounded out by No. 5 Brigham Young and No. 14 Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl, No. 6 Nebraska and No. 10

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

in the

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, and No. 7 Penn State and No. 20 Texas in the Fiesta.

Conference standings

Bowl Alliance first and seconds

The Bowl Alliance did not include the

Pacific-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

and Big 10 conferences, whose champions played in the Rose Bowl. Thus,

and

(who met in the Rose Bowl) were excluded from the Bowl Alliance championship.

Bowl games

Final AP Poll

# Ohio St. # Florida St. # Arizona St. #

# Penn St. #

Miami (FL) Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...

# Northwestern #

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

# Kansas St. #

# Notre Dame #

# Syracuse #

# Auburn #

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Others receiving votes: 26.

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

; 27.

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

; 28.

; 29.

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

; 30.

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

; 31. San Diego St.; 32.

; 33. Clemson

Final Coaches Poll

# Ohio St. # Florida St. # Arizona St. #

# Penn St. #

# Northwestern # Kansas St. #

# Syracuse #

# Notre Dame #

# Auburn

Heisman Trophy voting

''The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the year''
Winner: Danny Wuerffel,

, Quarterback (1363 points) *2.

Troy Davis Troy Anthony Davis (October 9, 1968 – September 21, 2011) was a man convicted of and executed for the August 19, 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia. MacPhail was working as a security guard at a Burger King re ...

, Iowa St., RB (1174 points) *3.

, Arizona St., QB (685 points) *4.

Orlando Pace Orlando Lamar Pace (born November 4, 1975) is a former American football tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams. Pace played college football at Ohio State, where he twice recei ...

, Ohio St., OT (599 points) *5.

Warrick Dunn Warrick De'Mon Dunn (born January 5, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1997 ...

, Florida St., RB (341 points)

Other major awards

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

(College Player of the Year) - Danny Wuerffel,

Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information directo ...

(Player of the Year) - Danny Wuerffel,

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) - Danny Wuerffel,

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is given annually in the United States to the nation's top upperclassmen quarterback in college football. Candidates are judged on accomplishments on the field as well as on their character, scholastic achievemen ...

(Senior Quarterback) - Danny Wuerffel,

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football Le ...

(Running Back) -

Byron Hanspard Byron Courtnay Hanspard, Sr. (born January 23, 1976) is a former American college and professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons during the 1990s. He played colleg ...

Fred Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

(Wide Receiver) - Marcus Harris,

* Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Defensive Player) -

Pat Fitzgerald Patrick William Fitzgerald Jr. (born December 2, 1974) is the current head coach of the Northwestern University Wildcats football team. He was selected after the unexpected death of Randy Walker and announced at a press conference on July 7, 2 ...

, Northwestern *

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) -

Matt Russell Matthew Jason Russell (born July 5, 1973) is an American football executive who currently serves as a Senior Personnel Executive for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He formerly served as the Director of Player Personne ...

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lomba ...

(Lineman or Linebacker) -

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

(Interior Lineman) -

, OT,

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Payco ...

(Defensive Back) -

Lawrence Wright Lawrence Wright (born August 2, 1947) is an American writer and journalist, who is a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, and fellow at the Center for Law and Security at the New York University School of Law. Wright is best known as th ...

Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns player Lou Groza. It has be ...

(Placekicker) - Tony DeGiovanni,

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Paul "Bear" Bryant Award The American Heart Association (AHA) Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards are an annual awards banquet that is hosted each year in January, in Houston, Texas, by the AHA.For a list of American Heart Association offices, by state, go to: There are two aw ...

Bruce Snyder Bruce Fletcher Snyder (March 14, 1940 – April 13, 2009) was an American football player and coach. After playing college football at the University of Oregon in the early 1960s as a fullback, Snyder embarked on a coaching career. He was the h ...

, Arizona St.

References

{{NCAA football season navbox