1975 NCAA Division I football season

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The 1975 NCAA Division I football season saw University of Oklahoma repeat as national champion in the Associated Press (AP) writers' poll and were ranked No. 1 in the final United Press International (UPI) coaches' poll, just ahead of Arizona State, runners-up in both AP and Coaches final polls. ASU finished as the only undefeated team of the season with their victory over Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl. Arizona State was recognized by the Sporting News and National Championship Foundation as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.

Contents

During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for major college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI). The AP poll consisted of the votes of as many as 63 writers, though not all voted in each poll, and the UPI poll was taken of a 25-member board of coaches.

Rule changes

In addition to the following programs the Southland Conference was also classified as University Division.

Conference and program changes

School1974 Conference1975 Conference
Ball State Cardinals D-II Independent MAC
Central Michigan Chippewas D-II Independent MAC
Indiana State Sycamores D-II Independent D-I Independent
Louisville Cardinals Missouri Valley D-I Independent
Northern Illinois Huskies D-I Independent MAC
North Texas State Mean Green Missouri Valley D-I Independent
Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panthers D-II Independent Dropped Program

Tampa Spartans (last season as independent in 1974)

September

In the preseason poll released on September 1, the AP ranked Oklahoma first, followed by Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State and USC.

September 6: Most teams had yet to open their seasons, but No. 2 Alabama lost its home opener in Birmingham to unranked Missouri, 20–7. No. 6 Penn State was the only other top 10 team to play the weekend. The Nittany Lions struggled to defeat Temple in a game in Philadelphia, winning 26–25. In the next poll, Penn State fell to 10th and Alabama dropped to 13th. The top five were No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 USC, and No. 5 Missouri.

September 13: No. 1 Oklahoma beat Oregon 62–7. No. 2 Michigan won at Wisconsin, 23–6. No. 3 Ohio State won at No. 11 Michigan State 21–0. No. 4 USC beat Duke 35–7 at home and No. 5 Missouri was idle. The top five remained the same.

September 20: No. 1 Oklahoma beat No. 15 Pittsburgh 46–10, and Michigan was tied by Stanford at home, 19–19. No. 3 Ohio State beat No. 7 Penn State 17–9. No. 4 USC defeated Oregon State 24–7. No. 5 Missouri won at Illinois, 30–20. Missouri's Big Eight rival, No. 6 Nebraska, beat Indiana 45–0, and rose into the top five. The next poll featured No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 USC, No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 5 Missouri.

September 26–27: In a Friday night game at the Orange Bowl, No. 1 Oklahoma eked out a win over Miami, 20–17. The next day, No. 2 Ohio State beat North Carolina 32–7. No. 3 USC beat visiting Purdue, 19–6. Nebraska beat TCU 56–14, and No. 5 Missouri edged Wisconsin, 27–21. The top five remained the same.

October

October 4: No. 1 Oklahoma had another narrow win, beating visiting No. 19 Colorado, 21–20, while in Los Angeles, No. 2 Ohio State had no problems in defeating No. 13 UCLA, 41–20. No. 3 USC won 27–16 at Iowa, and No. 4 Nebraska defeated the Miami Hurricanes at home, 31–16. No. 5 Missouri played its third straight game against a Big Ten team, losing at No. 12 Michigan, 31–7. After a promising start, the Tigers would go on to a 6–5 finish. No. 7 Texas, which beat Utah State 61–7, rose to the top five. Ohio State took over first place from Oklahoma with 47 of the 62 first place votes, followed by No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 USC, No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 5 Texas.

October 11: No. 1 Ohio State beat visiting Iowa 49–0. In their annual meeting in Dallas, No. 2 Oklahoma defeated No. 5 Texas 24–17. No. 3 USC beat Washington State 28–10. No. 4 Nebraska beat visiting Kansas 16–0. No. 6 Texas A&M won 38–9 at Texas Tech. The next poll featured No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 USC, No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 5 Texas A&M.

October 18: No. 1 Ohio State had a second straight shutout at home, 56–0 over Wisconsin, and No. 2 Oklahoma won 25–3 at Kansas State. No. 3 USC beat visiting Oregon 17–3. No. 4 Nebraska won 28–20 at Oklahoma State, and No. 5 Texas A&M won at TCU, 14–6. The top five remained the same.

October 25: No. 1 Ohio State won 35–6 at Purdue, No. 2 Oklahoma beat Iowa State, 39–7, and No. 3 USC won at No. 14 Notre Dame, 24–17. No. 4 Nebraska beat No. 10 Colorado, 63–21, and No. 5 Texas A&M beat Baylor at home, 19–10. USC's close game and Nebraska's blowout caused a slight change in the next poll: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 USC, and No. 5 Texas A&M.

November

November 1: No. 1 Ohio State defeated Indiana at home, 24–14, No. 2 Oklahoma won 27–7 at No. 19 Oklahoma State, and No. 3 Nebraska won 30–7 at No. 12 Missouri. Coach John McKay announced he would be leaving USC after the season to coach the NFL's expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and No. 4 USC abruptly lost 28–14 at California, beginning a four-game losing streak after a 7–0 start. No. 5 Texas A&M was idle, and No. 6 Alabama beat Mississippi State in Jackson, 21–10. The next poll featured No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Texas A&M, and No. 5 Alabama.

November 8: No. 1 Ohio State won at Illinois, 40–3, but No. 2 Oklahoma was stunned 23–3 in Norman by the visiting Kansas Jayhawks, led by quarterback Nolan Cromwell. No. 3 Nebraska won at Kansas State, 12–0. No. 4 Texas A&M beat SMU, 36–3, and No. 5 Alabama won 23–10 at LSU. No. 6 Michigan, which beat Purdue 28–0, replaced Oklahoma in the top five: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Alabama.

November 15: No. 1 Ohio State beat Minnesota 38–6, and No. 2 Nebraska beat Iowa State 52–0. No. 3 Texas A&M won 33–14 at Rice, and No. 4 Michigan won 21–15 at Illinois to extend its record to 8–0–2, while No. 5 Alabama beat Southern Mississippi at home, 27–6. The top five remained the same.

November 22: The game that determined the Big Ten championship took place in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as unbeaten (10–0) No. 1 Ohio State visited unbeaten, but twice tied (8–0–2) No. 4 Michigan in the seventh matchup of "The Ten Year War." OSU won 21–14 and got the trip to the Rose Bowl. In Norman, Oklahoma, a trip to the Orange Bowl was on the line as No. 2 Nebraska (10–0) closed its season against No. 7 Oklahoma (9–1) in a game for the Big Eight title. Oklahoma handed the Cornhuskers their first loss, 35–10, and Nebraska settled for a berth in the Fiesta Bowl. No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 5 Alabama, and No. 6 Texas were all idle, but advanced in the next poll: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 Texas.

November 29: No. 2 Texas A&M (9–0) hosted No. 5 Texas (9–1) at College Station, with the Aggies winning, 20–10. No. 4 Alabama closed its season with its tenth straight win after its opening loss, a 28–0 win over Auburn in Birmingham, and clinched the SEC title and a Sugar Bowl berth against Penn State. By defeating USC 25−22, No. 14 UCLA earned the Pac-8 championship and a Rose Bowl rematch with Ohio State, who had defeated them in early October.

The final AP poll released on December 1 was led by two undefeated teams, No. 1 Ohio State (11–0) and No. 2 Texas A&M (10–0), followed by No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 4 Alabama (both 10−1). No. 5 Michigan (8−1−2) would be Oklahoma's opponent in the Orange Bowl. No. 7 Arizona State, which was undefeated at 11−0 but had been unable to crack the top five all year, would meet No. 6 Nebraska (10−1) in the Fiesta Bowl.

On December 6, after the final AP Poll had already been taken, No. 2 Texas A&M lost in Little Rock to No. 18 Arkansas, 31–6. The Southwest Conference race finished with a three way tie between Arkansas, Texas and Texas A&M, all 6–1 in conference play. Arkansas got the Cotton Bowl berth against SEC runner-up Georgia, while Texas went to the Bluebonnet Bowl and Texas A&M to the Liberty Bowl.

Conference standings

1975 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 13 Maryland $500921
Duke 302452
NC State 221741
Wake Forest 330380
Clemson 230290
North Carolina 141371
Virginia 0401100
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll [2]
1975 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Oklahoma +6101110
No. 9 Nebraska +6101020
No. 16 Colorado 520930
Kansas 430750
Missouri 340650
Oklahoma State 340740
Iowa State 160470
Kansas State 070380
  • + Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1975 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Boise State $^501921
Idaho State 420730
Montana State 420550
Idaho 222452
Montana 330640
Weber State 141191
Northern Arizona 060190
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll
1975 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Ohio State $8001110
No. 8 Michigan 710822
Michigan State 440740
Illinois 440560
Purdue 440470
Wisconsin 341461
Minnesota 350650
Iowa 350380
Northwestern 260380
Indiana 161281
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1975 Ivy League football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Harvard $610720
Brown 511621
Yale 520720
Dartmouth 421531
Princeton 340450
Penn 250360
Columbia 250270
Cornell 070180
  • $ Conference champion
1975 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 12 Miami (OH) $6001110
Central Michigan 411821
Ball State 420920
Bowling Green 420830
Ohio 331551
Toledo 440560
Northern Illinois 230380
Kent State 160470
Western Michigan 0701100
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1975 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Tulsa $400740
New Mexico State 220560
West Texas State 220560
Drake 130380
Wichita State 130380
  • $ Conference champion
1975 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
San Jose State $500920
Long Beach State 410920
San Diego State 320830
Pacific (CA) 230561
Fresno State 140380
Cal State Fullerton 050290
  • $ Conference champion
1975 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 UCLA ^ +610921
No. 14 California +610830
Stanford 520641
Washington 520650
No. 17 USC 340840
Oregon 250380
Oregon State 1601100
Washington State 070380
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ – Selected as Rose Bowl representative
Rankings from AP Poll
1975 Southern Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Richmond $510560
East Carolina 420830
Appalachian State 320830
The Citadel 430650
William & Mary 230290
Furman 240551
VMI 240380
Davidson 030180
  • $ Conference champion
1975 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 Alabama $6001110
Florida 510930
No. 19 Georgia 510930
Ole Miss 510650
Tennessee 330750
Vanderbilt 240740
LSU 240560
Auburn 240362
Mississippi State 141641
Kentucky 060281
  • $ Conference champion
  • Mississippi State later forfeited 4 1975 wins and one tie due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll
1975 Southland Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Arkansas State $5001100
Louisiana Tech 411820
McNeese State 320740
Southwestern Louisiana 230650
UT Arlington 140470
Lamar 0501100
  • $ Conference champion
1975 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 7 Arkansas +6101020
No. 6 Texas +6101020
No. 11 Texas A&M +6101020
Texas Tech 430650
Baylor 250362
SMU 250470
Rice 160290
TCU 1601100
  • + Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1975 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 Arizona State $7001200
No. 18 Arizona 520920
Colorado State 420650
BYU 430650
New Mexico 430650
Utah 1401100
Wyoming 160290
UTEP 0601100
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1975 NCAA Division I independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Rutgers   920
No. 10 Penn State   930
No. 20 West Virginia   930
Notre Dame   830
Virginia Tech   830
No. 15 Pittsburgh   840
Boston College   740
Georgia Tech   740
Memphis State   740
Navy   740
North Texas State   740
Southern Miss   740
South Carolina   750
Colgate   640
Cincinnati   650
Hawaii   650
Syracuse   650
Temple   650
Utah State   650
Dayton   560
Northeast Louisiana   461
Tulane   470
Villanova   470
Florida State   380
Air Force   281
Houston   280
Miami (FL)   280
Army   290
Marshall   290
Southern Illinois   191
Holy Cross   1100
Louisville   1100
Rankings from AP Poll

Bowl games

Major bowls

Thursday, January 1, 1976

BOWL
COTTON No. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks 31No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs 10
SUGAR No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide 13No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions 6
ROSE No. 11 UCLA Bruins 23No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes 10
ORANGE No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners 14No. 5 Michigan Wolverines 6

This was the first season that both the Pac-8 and Big Ten conferences allowed their teams to play in bowl games other than the Rose Bowl. Unranked USC (7–4), fifth in the Pac-8 (3–4), was invited to the Liberty Bowl, which was head coach John McKay's final game before going to the NFL to coach the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. California won their first Pac title in 17 years by sharing it with UCLA, but the Bruins (who beat the team in the season) was awarded the Rose Bowl and was then left out of any bowls, as were Washington and Stanford, all of whom beat and finished ahead of USC. Michigan, the Big Ten runner up, was invited to play Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, which passed over higher-ranked Alabama (10–1), who met Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, rather than the higher-ranked Big 8 runner-up, Nebraska. The Huskers went to the Fiesta Bowl to play host Arizona State (11–0).

USC sent McKay out a winner and climbed to 17th, as they shut out uninspired Texas A&M, still reeling from being upset by Arkansas on December 6 and losing out on the Cotton Bowl bid. The day after Christmas, Arizona State, the WAC champion, won arguably the biggest game to date in their history over Big 8 runner-up Nebraska, 17–14. Arizona State was one of two Division I teams to finish undefeated and untied as they completed a 12–0 season. Another ASU, Arkansas State, also finished unbeaten and untied, but were unranked. New Year's Eve saw Alabama beat Penn State 13–6 in the Sugar Bowl. On New Year's Day, Arkansas beat SEC runner up Georgia in the Cotton Bowl 31–10. The Rose Bowl was a rematch between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 11 UCLA; Ohio State had beaten UCLA in Los Angeles on October 4, 41–20. After that game, Ohio State coach Woody Hayes was so impressed by UCLA in defeat, he predicted that his Buckeyes would be playing the Bruins again in the Rose Bowl. This time, the 11th-ranked Bruins (8–2–1) handed the previously undefeated and No. 1 ranked Buckeyes a 23–10 loss. UCLA was the only team to score more than 14 points on Ohio State all season, and they did it twice. No. 3 Oklahoma (10–1) defeated No. 5 Michigan (8–1–2), 14–6, in the Orange Bowl to claim the national title. The final rankings were 1.Oklahoma 2. Arizona State 3.Ohio State 4.Alabama 5.UCLA

Other bowls

BOWLLocationDateWinnerScoreRunner-up
FIESTA Tempe, AZDecember 26No. 7 Arizona State 17–14No. 6 Nebraska
SUN El Paso, TXDecember 26No. 20 Pittsburgh 33–19No. 19 Kansas
LIBERTY Memphis, TNDecember 22 USC 20–0No. 2 Texas A&M
GATOR Jacksonville, FLDecember 29No. 17 Maryland 13–0No. 13 Florida
TANGERINE Orlando, FLDecember 20No. 16 Miami (OH) 20–7 South Carolina
ASTRO-BLUEBONNET Houston, TXDecember 27No. 9 Texas 38–21No. 10 Colorado
PEACH Atlanta, GADecember 31 West Virginia 13–10 NC State

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

PlayerSchoolPosition1st2nd3rdTotal
Archie Griffin Ohio State RB4541671041,800
Chuck Muncie California RB14510487730
Ricky Bell USC RB70169160708
Tony Dorsett Pittsburgh RB66149120616
Joe Washington Oklahoma RB294769250
Jimmy DuBose Florida RB191329112
John Sciarra UCLA QB12152086
Gordon Bell Michigan RB2272484
Lee Roy Selmon OklahomaDT7221479
Gene Swick Toledo QB5192073

Source: [3] [4] [5]

See also

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "1975 Atlantic Coast Conference Year Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  3. "Archie Griffin". Heisman Trophy. 1975. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  4. "Griffin is first Heisman repeater". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. December 2, 1975. p. 17.
  5. "Fat football honors for "Butterball" Arch". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. December 3, 1975. p. 81.