Under the conference-bowl selection alignments of the time, the Hurricanes and Huskies could not meet in a decisive title game because Washington was slotted into the Rose Bowl as the Pac-10 champions, and the other spot in the Rose Bowl was automatically given to the Big Ten champions (in 1991, that was Michigan). The Rose Bowl's selection terms later thwarted potential title matchups of undefeated teams following the 1994 and 1997 seasons. Following the 1998 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) realignment, several Pac-10 and Big Ten teams were able to play in a BCS title game instead of being forced to play a non-title contender in the Rose Bowl; these include the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2002, 2006 and 2007, the USC Trojans in 2004 and 2005 and the Oregon Ducks in 2010.
Miami closed the 1991 season with a 22–0 shutout over No. 11 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, but their season was defined by a dramatic November victory over then No. 1 ranked and perennial rival Florida State. That game ended with the FSU place kicker missing a field goal, wide right, which would become a theme in the Florida State–Miami football rivalry; this game later took on the moniker "Wide Right I." Nebraska lost to both national champions in 1991 and finished at 9–2–1, ranked No. 15 in the AP poll.
Washington posted a 15-point victory at No. 9 Nebraska in September, a seven-point win at No. 7 California in October, and repeated as Pac-10 champions. They went on to win the Rose Bowl by 20 points over No. 4 Michigan, the Big Ten champions who featured Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard; it was Washington's second consecutive Rose Bowl win. Michigan finished at 10–2, ranked at No. 6 in both polls.
The Florida Gators captured their first official SEC title in school history (they had previously won the 1984 SEC title, but it was later vacated) in dominating fashion. Alabama finished second in the SEC with an 11–1 record, but were shutout 35–0 by the Gators. Florida's luck ran out in the Sugar Bowl, as No. 18 Notre Dame powered their way to a 39–28 win.
Conference and program changes
Independent Florida State joined the ACC in 1991; known primarily as a basketball conference, the ACC would never be the same for football. Dominant from the moment they joined, Florida State went undefeated in conference play for years and won the conference title for the remainder of the 1990s. The Seminoles would begin ACC football play in 1992.
The Big East Conference began sponsoring football during the 1991 season after adding Miami and other independent teams. Conference play, however, was not fully integrated and official standings were not kept until 1992.
The NCAA adopted the following rule changes for the 1991 season:
Repealing a rule change from 1959, the width of the goal posts were shortened from 23 feet, 4 inches to 18 feet, 6 inches, matching the NFL width. The hashmarks did not change from their position of 53 feet, 4 inches apart, causing drastically difficult angles for field-goal attempts.
Offensive holding, illegal use of hands, and clipping penalties committed behind the line of scrimmage will be enforced from the spot of the foul, rescinding a 1982 rule that enforced those penalties from the previous spot.
When kickoffs and free kicks go out of bounds untouched in the field of play, the receivers have the option to put the ball in play 30 yards from the spot of the kick, in addition to the two other options (putting the ball in play at the out-of-bounds spot or re-kick after a five-yard penalty).
When a fumble occurs anywhere in the field of play on fourth down, only the fumbling player can recover and/or advance the fumble. If a teammate recovers the fumble, the ball is dead at the spot of the fumble, unless the recovery was made behind the spot of the fumble, in which case the ball is dead at the spot of recovery. This mirrors the NFL's "Stabler fumble rule" adopted in 1979 after the "Holy Roller" game.
After numerous taunting incidents in the 1991 Cotton Bowl, unsportsmanlike conduct (15 yard) penalties will be enforced for any taunting acts (such as finger-pointing, baiting an opponent verbally, etc.) and individual celebrations in the field of play.
Teams attempting the "fumblerooski" must inform the referee of their intentions before the play. If a team fails to do this, they are penalized five yards.
Regular season
August–September
Neither of the 1990 champions, Colorado and Georgia Tech, cracked the top five in the preseason poll for 1991. The leading teams were No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Miami, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Florida.
August 29–31: No. 1 Florida State defeated No. 19 Brigham Young 44–28 in the Pigskin Classic, and No. 3 Miami won 31–3 at Arkansas. No. 2 Michigan, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Florida had not yet begun their schedules, and the latter team fell out of the top five. No. 7 Penn State, who defeated No. 8 Georgia Tech 34–22 in the Kickoff Classic, moved up: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Miami, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Penn State.
September 7: No. 1 Florida State defeated Tulane 38–11, and No. 2 Michigan won 35–13 at Boston College. No. 3 Miami was idle. No. 4 Washington opened their schedule with a 42–7 win at Stanford, and No. 5 Penn State overwhelmed Cincinnati 81–0. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Penn State.
September 12–14: No. 1 Florida State blasted Western Michigan 58–0, No. 2 Miami defeated No. 10 Houston 40–10, and No. 3 Michigan won 24–14 over No. 7 Notre Dame. No. 4 Washington was idle. No. 5 Penn State lost 21–10 at USC. No. 6 Florida opened SEC play by shutting out No. 17 Alabama 35–0, and the Gators moved back into the top five in the next poll: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Florida.
September 21: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Miami, and No. 3 Michigan were all idle. No. 4 Washington visited No. 9 Nebraska for a 36–21 win, but No. 5 Florida fell 38–21 at No. 18 Syracuse. No. 6 Tennessee won a 26–24 nailbiter against No. 23 Mississippi State to move into the top five: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Tennessee.
September 28: No. 1 Florida State visited No. 3 Michigan and won 51–31, the most points the Wolverines had ever allowed on their home turf. No. 2 Miami won 34–10 at Tulsa. No. 4 Washington overwhelmed Kansas State 56–3, No. 5 Tennessee defeated No. 13 Auburn 30–21, and No. 6 Oklahoma beat Virginia Tech 27–17. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Oklahoma.
October
October 5: No. 1 Florida State posted another high-scoring win over a top-ten opponent, defeating No. 10 Syracuse 46–14. No. 2 Miami won 40–3 over Oklahoma State, and No. 3 Washington shut out Arizona 54–0. No. 4 Tennessee was idle. No. 5 Oklahoma posted a 29–8 win at Iowa State, but nevertheless fell out of the top five in the next poll. No. 6 Michigan moved back up with a 43–24 victory at No. 9 Iowa: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Michigan.
October 12: No. 1 Florida State defeated Virginia Tech 33–20, and No. 2 Miami got past No. 9 Penn State 26–20. No. 3 Washington posted a second straight lopsided shutout, 48–0 over Toledo. No. 4 Tennessee visited No. 10 Florida and lost 35–18. No. 5 Michigan won 45–28 at Michigan State, and No. 7 Notre Dame beat No. 12 Pittsburgh 42–7. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Notre Dame.
October 19: No. 1 Florida State beat Middle Tennessee 39–10, and No. 2 Miami shut out Long Beach State 55–0. After outscoring their last three opponents 158–3, No. 3 Washington struggled against No. 7 California but pulled out a 24–17 victory. No. 4 Michigan defeated Indiana 24–16, and No. 5 Notre Dame won 28–15 at Air Force. The top five remained the same in the next poll.
October 25–26: No. 1 Florida State visited LSU for a 27–16 victory, No. 2 Miami won 36–9 at Arizona, No. 3 Washington beat Oregon 29–7, No. 4 Michigan defeated Minnesota 52–6, and No. 5 Notre Dame beat USC 24–20. The top five again remained the same in the next poll.
November
November 2: No. 1 Florida State won 40–15 at Louisville. No. 2 Miami was idle. No. 3 Washington defeated Arizona State 44–16, No. 4 Michigan shut out Purdue 42–0, and No. 5 Notre Dame blanked Navy 38–0. In the next poll, Washington moved up to tie Miami at No. 2, with all of the other top teams remaining the same.
November 9: No. 1 Florida State defeated South Carolina 38–10. No. 2 Miami beat West Virginia 27–3 while fellow No. 2 Washington won 14–3 at USC. No. 4 Michigan was a 59–14 victor over Northwestern. No. 5 Notre Dame blew a 31–7 second-quarter lead and lost 35–34 to No. 13 Tennessee on a blocked field goal attempt as time expired. No. 6 Florida won 45–13 over No. 23 Georgia to clinch the SEC title and a Sugar Bowl berth. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Florida.
November 16 featured a highly-anticipated showdown between No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Miami, the first time that the two rivals had met while ranked in the top two spots of the AP Poll. The Seminoles held a 16–7 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Hurricanes responded with a field goal and a touchdown to take a one-point lead with three minutes left. Florida State drove down the field, and coach Bobby Bowden elected to kick a field goal on third down with 29 seconds left. Kicker Gerry Thomas’s 34-yard attempt went wide right, delivering a 17–16 victory to Miami—the first of several FSU-Miami games in the 1990s and early 2000s which featured late-game kicking miscues by the Seminoles. No. 3 Washington won 58–6 at Oregon State and No. 4 Michigan shut out No. 25 Illinois 20–0; by clinching their respective conference titles, the Huskies and Wolverines ensured that they would meet each other in the Rose Bowl. No. 5 Florida finished their SEC schedule by beating Kentucky 35–26. The next poll featured No. 1 Miami, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Florida.
November 23: No. 1 Miami won 19–14 at Boston College. No. 2 Washington finished their season by defeating Washington State 56–21, and No. 4 Michigan dominated No. 18 Ohio State 31–3. No. 3 Florida State and No. 5 Florida were idle as they prepared to play each other the following week. The top five remained the same in the next poll.
November 30: No. 1 Miami beat San Diego State 39–12. No. 2 Washington and No. 4 Michigan had finished their schedules. No. 3 Florida State suffered their second straight loss to an in-state rival, falling 14–9 to No. 5 Florida. The top five in the final AP Poll of the regular season were No. 1 Miami, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Florida State, but the Coaches’ Poll elevated Washington to No. 1 by a narrow margin.
With Washington contractually bound to the Rose Bowl and no opportunity for a de facto national championship matchup, No. 1 Miami opted for the hometown Orange Bowl as their postseason game. No. 11 Nebraska and No. 15 Colorado had finished in a tie both in their game against each other and at the top of the Big 8 standings; the Cornhuskers, with a higher ranking and better overall record, would face the Hurricanes. No. 2 Washington and No. 4 Michigan would meet in the Rose Bowl’s annual Pac-10 vs. Big Ten showdown. No. 3 Florida, the SEC champion, would face No. 18 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl; No. 5 Florida State would go up against No. 9 Texas A&M, the SWC winner, in the Cotton Bowl; and the Fiesta Bowl would feature No. 6 Penn State against No. 10 Tennessee.
In the pre-season poll, Florida State was ranked No. 1 with 54 of the 59 votes cast, Michigan was 2nd, and Miami 3rd. As of the September 10th poll, Florida State remained the overwhelming choice for No. 1 and Miami reached No. 2. Those two Sunshine State teams would continue to be 1 and 2 as their November 16 meeting approached. On November 16 in Tallahassee, the long-awaited No. 1 & No. 2 showdown had the 10–0 Seminoles hosting the 8–0 Hurricanes. Visiting Miami won, 17–16 to take the top spot. In the Pacific Northwest, Washington won its Apple Cup game by 35 points on November 23 and finished the regular season at 11–0; the Huskies took over the No. 2 spot in the final two polls of the regular season.
In the coaches poll, Florida State and Miami opened up the season 1–2 and remained that way until Miami's win on November 16 put the Hurricanes No. 1 and allowed the Huskies to move to No. 2. After the end of the regular season, the coaches moved the Washington Huskies to the No. 1 ranking. They would keep the top spot after their Rose Bowl win over Michigan to split the National Title.
The 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a split national championship and the ensuing controversy helped lead to the creation of the Bowl Coalition, a precursor to the Bowl Championship Series. The national title was split between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Buffaloes (11–1–1) took the AP poll while the Yellow Jackets (11–0–1) took the UPI Coaches poll by one vote over Colorado, 847 to 846. During the season Colorado had a particularly controversial victory over Missouri in what would later be known as the "Fifth Down Game". It was the only time in UPI Coaches poll history that a coach changed his vote against the pre-bowl #1 after that #1 team won their bowl game. Unlike several seasons to come in the 1990s, the two teams that became split national champions could have actually met in a 1 vs. 2 bowl game. Georgia Tech's ACC champion status did not preclude them from taking their #2 ranking to the Orange Bowl to face the automatic Big-8 champion in #1 Colorado for a decisive title game. But the Orange Bowl committee wanted Notre Dame instead of Georgia Tech as the Buffaloes' opponent, because Notre Dame had a larger fan base and would accrue more money and better TV ratings than the Yellow Jackets would have.
The 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its third National Championship during the 1980s, cementing its claim as the decade's top team, winning more titles than any other program.
The 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Coalition and concluded with Alabama's first national championship in thirteen years—their first since the departure of Bear Bryant. One of Bryant's former players, Gene Stallings, was the head coach, and he used a style similar to Bryant's, a smashmouth running game combined with a tough defense.
The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned national champions, in both the AP and Coaches poll.
The 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States at the NCAA Division I-A level, began in August 1994 and ended on January 2, 1995. Nebraska, who finished the season undefeated, ended the year ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls. This was the first national championship of coach Tom Osborne's career at Nebraska, having come close the year before, when Nebraska lost to eventual national champion Florida State on a missed field goal as time expired.
The 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Alliance.
The 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Florida Gators being crowned National Champions after defeating rival Florida State in the Sugar Bowl, which was the season's designated Bowl Alliance 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's upset of No. 3 Nebraska 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-winning senior quarterback Danny Wuerffel and head coach Steve Spurrier led the Gators to a 52–20 victory and their first national championship.
The 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1997 and culminated with the major bowl games in early January 1998. The national championship was split for the third time in the 1990s. The Michigan Wolverines finished the season atop the AP Poll after completing a 12–0 campaign with a Big Ten Conference championship and a victory in the Rose Bowl over Washington State, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers garnered the top ranking in the Coaches' Poll with a 13–0 record, a Big 12 Conference championship, and a win over Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.
The 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State named national champions, defeating Virginia Tech in the BCS Sugar Bowl.
The 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Oklahoma Sooners beating the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles to claim the Sooners' seventh national championship and their thirty-seventh conference championship, the first of each since the 1988 departure of head coach Barry Switzer.
The 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a double overtime national championship game. Ohio State and Miami both came into the Fiesta Bowl undefeated. The underdog Buckeyes defeated the defending-champion Hurricanes 31–24, ending Miami's 34-game winning streak. Jim Tressel won the national championship in only his second year as head coach.
The 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Notre Dame winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title via a 34–21 defeat of previously unbeaten West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. With 4 of the final Top 5 teams being independents, 1988 became a focus for fans and critics who wondered how the traditional conferences would deal with the indies.
The 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its second national championship of the 1980s in an Orange Bowl game featuring a rare No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the Hurricanes.
The 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Penn State winning the national championship. Coached by Joe Paterno, they defeated Miami (Fl) 14–10 in the Fiesta Bowl. This Fiesta Bowl was the first in the game's history to decide the national championship, launching it into the top tier of bowls.
The 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season saw the Oklahoma Sooners, led by head coach Barry Switzer, win the national championship.
The 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season was topsy-turvy from start to finish. It ended with the BYU Cougars being bestowed their first and only national championship by beating Michigan in the Holiday Bowl. While the Cougars finished with a perfect 13–0 record and were the consensus National Champions, some commentators maintain this title was undeserved citing their weak schedule and argue that the championship should have gone to the 11–1 Washington Huskies. Despite this the Cougars were voted No. 1 in the final AP and UPI polls. The Huskies declined an invitation to play BYU in the Holiday Bowl; they decided instead to play Oklahoma in the more prestigious 1985 Orange Bowl. All subsequent national champions have come from what are now known as the Power Five conferences + Notre Dame.
The 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season saw a university from the state of Georgia take its first national title since 1942.
The 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season saw the Alabama Crimson Tide bring home a national title with a perfect 12–0 season. The title was Alabama's 11th claimed, and their 6th Associated Press awarded title.
In the 1968 NCAA University Division football season, the system of "polls and bowls" changed. The Associated Press returned to its pre-1961 system of ranking the Top 20 rather than the Top 10, and voted on the national champion after the bowl games, rather than before. During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, later known as Division I-A.
The 1971 NCAA University Division football season saw Coach Bob Devaney's Nebraska Cornhuskers repeat as national champions. Ranked a close second behind Notre Dame in the preseason poll, Nebraska moved up to first place the following week, remained there for the rest of 1971, and convincingly won the Orange Bowl 38–6 in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 game against Alabama.
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