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.
Michigan and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson were given the AP Sports Writers National Championship. Michigan's Charles Woodson, who played primarily at cornerback, but also saw time on offense as a wide receiver and on special teams as a punt returner, won the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first primarily defensive player to win the award. The 1997 season was the third and final season in which the major bowl games were organized under the Bowl Alliance system. The Bowl Championship Series was instituted the following year.
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. In Tom Osborne's last season as head coach, Nebraska took over the No. 1 ranking in the nation after defeating Texas Tech midway through the season. Three weeks later, Nebraska slipped to a No. 3 ranking in both polls, as voters weren't impressed by the way the Cornhuskers won their game against an unranked Missouri team (a controversial kicked ball was caught for the game-tying TD as time expired in regulation, leading to a 45-38 overtime win). Michigan moved to No. 1 in the AP Poll after its 34–8 victory over previously No. 2 ranked Penn State, while the Coaches Poll selected Florida State as No. 1 due to their 20-3 win over previously No. 5 North Carolina.
Florida State went into their final regular season game undefeated and still ranked No. 1 in the Coaches Poll. However, Fred Taylor of Florida would run for 162 yards and four touchdowns on the nation's top-ranked run defense, one of those touchdowns being the winning score with less than two minutes to play. This game is commonly referred to as "The Greatest Game Ever Played in the Swamp".
Meanwhile, undefeated No. 1 Nebraska squared off in the 1998 Orange Bowl versus the No. 3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers. The Cornhuskers made a point of smacking down Tennessee as they defeated the Volunteers 42–17. Unusually for the low-key Osborne and his straight-ahead team, after the game he campaigned openly for Nebraska to be named the consensus national champion (Grant Wistrom stated that if "they wanted to give it to Michigan because they haven't won one in 50 years, we don't want it anyway.").
After the bowl games, the coaches poll awarded the national championship to Nebraska, and the AP Poll awarded the national championship to Michigan, giving Osborne his third national title in four seasons to cap his career. This also marked the last time that a Big 10 (or Pac-10) team would be bound to play in the Rose Bowl instead of heading to a No. 1-No. 2 title game, due to the 1998 BCS realignment.
The Humanitarian Bowl, now known as the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, began play in Boise, Idaho to help publicise the dwindling Big West Conference and Boise State. The Broncos with their blue turf had just made the jump to Division I-A a year earlier. The Big West champion had formerly gone to the Las Vegas Bowl, but the now only 6 team conference wasn't much of a seat filler.
The Copper Bowl gained corporate sponsorship and was now known as the Insight.com Bowl; it is now known as the Cactus Bowl.
The MAC also grew to a 12-team, two-division conference with a championship game after the return of two former MAC members—Northern Illinois, returning from the independent ranks, and Marshall, moving up from Division I-AA. Marshall's addition increased the number of teams in Division I-A to 112. In a scenario similar to the Big West in 1992, this up-and-comer from I-AA was able to win its division and the inaugural conference championship game in its first year. The Thundering Herd had gone unbeaten and won the I-AA national titlethe previous season, and had future NFL stars Randy Moss and Chad Pennington.
Charged teams with a time-out if a player is not wearing their mouth guard. If a team is out of time-outs when the infraction occurs, a five-yard penalty is assessed.
Changed the penalty for roughing the punt receiver to 15 yards if he is contacted by a defender within six feet after catching the ball.
Requiring the game clock be started once the ball is kicked on kickoffs and free kicks after safeties except in the final 2:00 of each half.
The clock for halftime was to be started immediately following the conclusion of the second quarter. Previously, the clock did not start until all participants had cleared the field and the referee signaled the timekeeper to start the clock.
One team upgraded from Division I-AA prior to the season. As such, the total number of Division I-A schools increased again, from 111 to 112.
The MAC added two new members, independent (and former member) Northern Illinois and Division I-AA power Marshall, to expand to 12 teams. The league subsequently formed two divisions and added a league championship game.
East Carolina joined a conference for the first time since Division I split in 1978, becoming a member of Conference USA.
The preseason AP Poll listed Penn State as the top team, followed by No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Tennessee. Foreshadowing a year with a lack of consensus at the top, the Coaches Poll selected Florida rather than Penn State as their No. 1 club.
August 30: No. 2 Florida defeated Southern Mississippi 21-6 and No. 5 Tennessee won 52-17 over Texas Tech. The other top teams had not begun their schedules, and the next AP Poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Florida State.
September 6: No. 1 Penn State defeated rival Pittsburgh 34-17, No. 2 Florida overwhelmed Central Michigan 82-6, No. 3 Tennessee staved off a UCLA comeback for a 30-24 victory, No. 4 Washington won 42-20 at No. 19 Brigham Young, and No. 5 Florida State used a late 97-yard touchdown drive to beat No. 23 USC 14-7. The next AP Poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Florida State.
September 13: No. 1 Penn State dominated Temple 52-10. No. 2 Florida was idle. No. 3 Washington continued to move up with a 36-3 defeat of San Diego State, No. 4 Tennessee was also idle, and No. 5 Florida State crushed Maryland 50-7. The next AP Poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Florida State.
September 20: No. 1 Penn State won 57-21 at Louisville, but No. 2 Washington fell 27-14 to No. 7 Nebraska. No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Tennessee squared off in Gainesville, where the defending champs prevailed 33-20; Volunteers quarterback Peyton Manning finished his career winless against the Gators in four tries. Peter Warrick had 249 receiving yards as No. 5 Florida State beat No. 16 Clemson 35-28, while conference rival No. 6 North Carolina won 40-14 at Maryland. Florida now took over the No. 1 spot in both polls, and they were followed in the AP rankings by No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Florida State, and No. 5 North Carolina.
September 27: No. 1 Florida won 55-28 at Kentucky. No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Nebraska, and No. 4 Florida State were all idle, while No. 5 North Carolina defeated Virginia 48-20. The top five remained the same.
October
October 4: All of the highly-ranked teams won easily. No. 1 Florida blew out Arkansas 56-7, No. 2 Penn State was almost as dominant with a 41-6 victory at Illinois, No. 3 Nebraska hosted No. 17 Kansas State for a 56-26 win, No. 4 Florida State shut out rival Miami 47-0, and No. 5 North Carolina beat Texas Christian 31-10 on the road. The top five again remained the same.
October 11: No. 1 Florida was upset 28-21 by No. 14 LSU. No. 2 Penn State returned to the top spot with a 31-27 comeback win over No. 7 Ohio State. No. 3 Nebraska won 49-21 at Baylor, No. 4 Florida State visited Duke for a 51-27 victory, No. 5 North Carolina beat Wake Forest 30-12, and No. 6 Michigan defeated Northwestern 23-6. The next poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 North Carolina, and No. 5 Michigan.
October 18: After trailing 15-3 in the fourth quarter, No. 1 Penn State scored two late touchdowns to escape mediocre Minnesota by a 16-15 score. No. 2 Nebraska was more impressive in a 29-0 shutout of Texas Tech. No. 3 Florida State also held their opponent scoreless, winning 38-0 over No. 21 Georgia Tech. No. 4 North Carolina won 20-7 at North Carolina State, and No. 5 Michigan made a late comeback of their own in a 28-24 defeat of No. 15 Iowa. Nebraska took over the No. 1 spot in both polls by a very close margin, followed by No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 North Carolina, and No. 5 Michigan.
October 25: No. 1 Nebraska posted their second straight shutout, 35-0 at Kansas. No. 2 Penn State was idle. No. 3 Florida State won 47-21 at Virginia. No. 4 North Carolina was also idle, while No. 5 Michigan posted a 23-7 defeat of No. 15 Michigan State. With their second straight win over a ranked opponent, the Wolverines moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 North Carolina.
November
October 30-November 1: No. 1 Nebraska overwhelmed rival Oklahoma 69-7. No. 2 Penn State had another close call, winning 30-27 at Northwestern. No. 3 Florida State defeated North Carolina State 48-35, No. 4 Michigan beat Minnesota 24-3, and No. 5 North Carolina held off Georgia Tech 16-13. The top five remained the same in the next poll.
November 8: In the “Flea Kicker” game, No. 1 Nebraska trailed Missouri 38-31 with seven seconds left. Cornhuskers quarterback Scott Frost launched a pass which bounced off the receiver’s chest, off a Missouri defender’s foot, off a Nebraska player’s leg, and finally into the arms of Nebraska’s Matt Davison for a game-tying touchdown. The Cornhuskers came away with a 45-38 overtime victory. Meanwhile, No. 2 Penn State fell 34-8 to No. 4 Michigan and No. 3 Florida State won 20-3 at No. 5 North Carolina. No. 7 Ohio State blew out Minnesota 31-3, while No. 8 Tennessee beat No. 24 Southern Mississippi 44-20. After Nebraska’s struggles and Michigan and Florida State’s triumphs, both polls elevated new teams to the top. The AP’s top five were No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Tennessee, while the Coaches Poll ranked Florida State in the top spot.
November 15: No. 1 Michigan won 26-16 at No. 23 Wisconsin, No. 2 Florida State blew out Wake Forest 58-7 to clinch the outright ACC title, No. 3 Nebraska destroyed Iowa State 77-14 to earn a spot in the Big 12 championship game, No. 4 Ohio State beat Illinois 41-6, and No. 5 Tennessee won 30-22 at Arkansas. The top five remained the same in the next poll.
November 22: No. 1 Michigan faced off against No. 4 Ohio State with the opportunity to clinch the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth. Three times in the past four years, Ohio State had entered their rivalry game undefeated only to be tripped up by the Wolverines. This time Michigan was the one with a perfect record, and they continued their winning streak over the Buckeyes with a 20-14 victory. In another rivalry game, No. 2 Florida State visited No. 10 Florida hoping to conclude an undefeated season of their own. In a back-and-forth contest with seven lead changes, Doug Johnson’s 63-yard pass set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Fred Taylor for a 32-29 Gators victory. No. 3 Nebraska was idle. No. 5 Tennessee won 59-31 at Kentucky to lock up the SEC Eastern Division title. No. 6 Penn State, whose Rose Bowl hopes were dashed by Michigan’s win, beat No. 24 Wisconsin 35-10. Michigan now held the No. 1 spot in both polls, followed by No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Penn State, and No. 5 Florida State.
November 29: No. 1 Michigan had finished their schedule. No. 2 Nebraska held off a late Colorado comeback for a 27-24 win. No. 3 Tennessee got past Vanderbilt 17-10. No. 4 Penn State lost 49-14 at Michigan State. No. 5 Florida State and No. 6 UCLA had finished their schedules, but both teams moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Florida State, and No. 5 UCLA.
December
December 6: No. 2 Nebraska annihilated No. 14 Texas A&M in the Big 12 Championship Game, leading 47-3 in the fourth quarter and coming away with a 54-15 victory to enter bowl season undefeated. No. 3 Tennessee had a much harder time in the SEC Championship Game against No. 11 Auburn, but Peyton Manning threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns, including a 73-yard pass in the fourth quarter which made the difference in the Volunteers’ 30-29 win. With all other teams having finished their schedules, the top five remained the same in the next poll.
For the third time in four years, the Big Ten and Pac-10’s contract with the Rose Bowl prevented the only two undefeated teams in the nation from meeting in a bowl game. Since No. 1 Michigan was obligated to play the Pac-10 champion (No. 8 Washington State) in Pasadena, No. 2 Nebraska’s Orange Bowl opponent would be one-loss No. 3 Tennessee. Among other major bowls, the Sugar would match No. 4 Florida State up against No. 9 Ohio State, the Cotton would feature No. 5 UCLA and No. 20 Texas A&M, and the Fiesta would pit No. 10 Kansas State against the Big East champ, No. 14 Syracuse.
+Penn State and Michigan were Big Ten teams, and Washington was a Pac-10 team. The Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences played in the Rose Bowl rather than the Bowl Alliance championship game.
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 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season was the last for Paul "Bear" Bryant as head coach at Alabama, retiring with 323 victories in 38 seasons.
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 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season was the main college football season sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The season began on August 28, 1991, and ended on January 1, 1992. For the second consecutive season, there was a split national championship. Both the Miami Hurricanes and the Washington Huskies finished the season undefeated (12–0) and with the top ranking in a nationally recognized poll.
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 1998 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 1998 and culminated with the major bowl games in early January 1999. It was the first season of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which saw the Tennessee Volunteers win the national championship, one year after star quarterback Peyton Manning left for the National Football League (NFL). Tennessee defeated the Florida State Seminoles, 23–16, in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, to secure the inaugural BCS National Championship.
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 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first college football season of the 21st century. It ended with the University of Miami winning the national title for the fifth time.
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 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 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the University of Miami, led by Bernie Kosar, winning their first national championship over perennial power and top ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
The 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Clemson Tigers, unbeaten and untied, claiming the national championship after a victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. This was also the first year of the California Bowl, played in Fresno, California; this game fancied itself as a "junior" version of the Rose Bowl as it pitted the Big West Conference champion vs. the Mid-American Conference champion.
The 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season saw a university from the state of Georgia take its first national title since 1942.
The 1966 University Division football season was marked by some controversy as the year of "The Tie", a famous 10–10 game between the two top-ranked teams, Michigan State and Notre Dame on November 19. Both teams were crowned national champions by various organizations after the regular season concluded, and neither participated in a bowl game. Alabama finished the regular season undefeated and was third in the AP poll, while Georgia was fourth. Alabama went on to win the Sugar Bowl in dominant fashion. 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.
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