1993 NCAA Division I-A football season

1993 NCAA Division I-A season
Total # of teams	106[1]
Preseason AP #1	Florida State Seminoles[2]
Number of bowls	19
National championship	1994 Orange Bowl
Location of championship	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
Champions	Florida State Seminoles
Heisman	Charlie Ward, Florida State QB
NCAA Division I-A football season «1992 1994»

The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned national champions, but not without controversy.

Under the Bowl Coalition, undefeated Big 8 champ and #2 ranked Nebraska hosted ACC champ and #1 ranked Florida State in the Orange Bowl. In theory this should have produced a clear champion, however then #2 Notre Dame had beaten then #1 Florida State 31-24 during the regular season, in a game known by many as the "Game of the Century". This much hyped clash between #1 and #2 was the site of the first ever "live" broadcast of the ESPN College GameDay show and did not fail to live up to expectations as Irish defensive back Shawn Wooden batted down a Charlie Ward pass in the end zone with three seconds left to play. Though Notre Dame's title chances ended when they lost to #17 Boston College. Further controversy surrounded the inclusion of one-loss Florida State in the national title game over undefeated West Virginia, who was ranked #2 (ahead of Florida State) by the final regular season coaches' poll. Further complicating the issue was that Auburn finished the regular season undefeated, but was on probation and ineligible for postseason play.

Despite beating Florida State in the regular season and finishing the year with the same record as the Seminoles, Notre Dame finished #2 in both major polls.

Florida State's Charlie Ward threw for 3,032 yards, completed 70 percent of his passes and became the first player to win the Heisman Trophy and the national championship in the same season since Pittsburgh's Tony Dorsett in 1976.

Penn State also played their first year as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

Another Big West member and Cal State school dropped football, this time Cal State Fullerton. The league picked up four other teams; Southwest Louisiana (later Louisiana-Lafayette) and Arkansas State which had just made the jump to Division IA, and former independents Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech.

The Alamo Bowl played its inaugural game.

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

Prior to this season, the distance between the hashmarks was narrowed from 53 feet, 4 inches (the same as high school football) to 40 feet (the standard used by the National Football League through the 1971 season). This cut down on severe angles for kickers who attempted short field goals, although angles would still be far greater than those encountered by kickers in the NFL, where the hashmarks are the same width as the goalposts, 18 feet, 6 inches.

Contents 1 Final Conference Standings 2 #1 and #2 Progress 3 Bowl Games 4 Final AP Poll 5 Final Coaches Poll 6 Heisman Trophy Voting 7 Other Major Awards 8 References

Final Conference Standings

1993 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #1 Florida State †   8 – 0         12 – 1   #19 North Carolina   6 – 2         10 – 3   #23 Clemson   5 – 3         9 – 3   Virginia   5 – 3         7 – 5   NC State   4 – 4         7 – 5   Georgia Tech   3 – 5         5 – 6   Duke   2 – 6         3 – 8   Maryland   2 – 6         2 – 9   Wake Forest   1 – 7         2 – 9   † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1993 Big 8 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #3 Nebraska † 7 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 #16 Colorado 5 – 1 – 1     8 – 3 – 1 #20 Kansas State 4 – 2 – 1     9 – 2 – 1 #17 Oklahoma ‡ 4 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Kansas 3 – 4 – 0     5 – 7 – 0 Missouri 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 7 – 1 Iowa State 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Oklahoma State 0 – 7 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 *† – Bowl Coalition representative as champion ‡ – Bowl Coalition at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll	1993 Big East football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #7 West Virginia † 7 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 #15 Miami 6 – 1 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #13 Boston College 5 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #22 Virginia Tech 4 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Syracuse 3 – 4 – 0     6 – 4 – 1 Pittsburgh 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Rutgers 1 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Temple 0 – 7 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1993 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #6/5 Wisconsin § 6 – 1 – 1     10 – 1 – 1 #11/10 Ohio State § 6 – 1 – 1     10 – 1 – 1 #8/7 Penn State 6 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Indiana 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 #21/19 Michigan 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Illinois 5 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Michigan State 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 Iowa 3 – 5 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 Minnesota 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Northwestern 0 – 8 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Purdue 0 – 8 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll	1993 Big West Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Southwestern Louisiana § 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 Utah State § 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Nevada 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 New Mexico State 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Northern Illinois 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Pacific Tigers 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 UNLV Rebels 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Louisiana Tech 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 San Jose State 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Arkansas State 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 8 – 1 § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1993 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Ball State † 7 – 0 – 1     8 – 3 – 1 Western Michigan 6 – 1 – 1     7 – 3 – 1 Bowling Green 5 – 1 – 2     6 – 3 – 2 Central Michigan 5 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Akron 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Ohio 4 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Eastern Michigan 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Toledo 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Miami 3 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Kent State 0 – 9 – 0     0 – 11 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1993 Pacific-10 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #18 UCLA § 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 #10 Arizona § 6 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 USC § 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 5 – 0 Washington 5 – 3 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 #25 California 4 – 4 – 0     9 – 4 – 0 Arizona State 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Washington State 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Oregon 2 – 6 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Stanford 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Oregon State 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1993 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Eastern Division #5 Florida x† 7 – 1 – 0     11 – 2 – 0 #12 Tennessee 6 – 1 – 1     9 – 2 – 1 Kentucky 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 Georgia 2 – 6 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 South Carolina 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Vanderbilt 1 – 7 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Western Division #4 Auburn 8 – 0 – 0     11 – 0 – 0 #14 Alabama x 5 – 2 – 1     9 – 3 – 1 Arkansas 3 – 4 – 1     5 – 5 – 1 LSU 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Ole Miss]] 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Mississippi State]] 2 – 5 – 1     3 – 6 – 2 Championship: Florida 28, Alabama 13 † – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Auburn had the best division record, but did not participate in postseason play due to NCAA probation. Alabama later forfeited all 1993 regular season wins and one tie due to NCAA violations. Rankings from AP Poll	1993 Southwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #9 Texas A&M † 7 – 0 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Texas]] 5 – 2 – 0     5 – 5 – 1 Texas Tech 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Rice]] 3 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Baylor]] 3 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|TCU]] 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|SMU]] 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 7 – 2 [[{{{school}}}|Houston]] 1 – 5 – 1     1 – 9 – 1 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1993 WAC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T [[{{{school}}}|Fresno State]] § 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Wyoming § 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|BYU]] § 6 – 2 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 Utah 5 – 3 – 0     7 – 6 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Colorado State]] 5 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|New Mexico]] 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 San Diego State 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Hawaii]] 3 – 5 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Air Force]] 1 – 7 – 0     4 – 8 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|UTEP]] 0 – 8 – 0     1 – 11 – 0 § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1993 Division I-A independents football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #2 Notre Dame   –       11 – 1 – 0 #24 Louisville   –       9 – 3 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Cincinnati]]   –       8 – 3 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Army]]   –       6 – 5 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Memphis]]   –       6 – 5 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Tulsa]]   –       4 – 6 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Navy]]   –       4 – 7 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Tulane]]   –       3 – 9 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Southern Miss]]   –       2 – 8 – 1 East Carolina   –       2 – 9 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll

#1 and #2 Progress

Florida State's Seminoles were the unanimous choice for #1 beginning with the October 19 poll and the three after that, receiving all 62 votes. After Notre Dame's 31-24 defeat of Florida State on November 13, Notre Dame got all 62 first place votes in the next poll.

WEEKS	#1	#2	Event	Date
PRE - 7	Florida State	Alabama	Tennessee 17, Alabama 17	Oct 16
8 - 11	Florida State	Notre Dame	Notre Dame 31, Florida St. 24	Nov 13
12	Notre Dame	Florida State	[[{{{school}}}|Boston College]] 41, Notre Dame 39	Nov 20
13-15	Florida State	Nebraska	Florida State 18, Nebraska 16	Jan 1

Bowl Games

• Rose Bowl: #9 Wisconsin 21, #14 UCLA 16
• {{{alt}}}: #8 Florida 41, #3 West Virginia 7
• Orange Bowl: #1 Florida State 18, #2 Nebraska 16
• {{{alt}}}: #4 Notre Dame 24, #7 Texas A&M 21
• Fiesta Bowl: #16 Arizona 29, #10 Miami 0
• Peach Bowl: #24 Clemson 14, Kentucky 13
• {{{alt}}}: #13 Penn State 31, #6 Tennessee 13
• Hall of Fame Bowl: #23 Michigan 42, [[{{{school}}}|NC State]] 7
• {{{alt}}}: #15 [[{{{school}}}|Boston College]] 31, [[{{{school}}}|Virginia]] 13
• {{{alt}}}: #19 [[{{{school}}}|Oklahoma]] 41, Texas Tech 10
• {{{alt}}}: #18 Alabama 24, #12 [[{{{school}}}|North Carolina]] 10
• Copper Bowl: #20 Kansas State 52, Wyoming 17
• Alamo Bowl: [[{{{school}}}|California]] 37, Iowa 3
• Holiday Bowl: #11 Ohio State 28, [[{{{school}}}|BYU]] 21
• {{{alt}}}: USC 28, Utah 21
• Liberty Bowl: #25 Louisville 18, Michigan State 7
• {{{alt}}}: #17 [[{{{school}}}|Colorado]] 41, #25 [[{{{school}}}|Fresno St]] 30
• Independence Bowl: #22 [[{{{school}}}|Virginia Tech]] 45, #21 [[{{{school}}}|Indiana]] 20
• {{{alt}}}: [[{{{school}}}|Utah State]] 42, [[{{{school}}}|Ball State]] 33

Final AP Poll

1. Florida State
2. Notre Dame
3. Nebraska
4. Auburn
5. Florida
6. Wisconsin
7. West Virginia
8. Penn State
9. Texas A&M
10. Arizona
11. Ohio State
12. Tennessee
13. [[{{{school}}}|Boston College]]
14. Alabama
15. Miami (FL)
16. [[{{{school}}}|Colorado]]
17. [[{{{school}}}|Oklahoma]]
18. UCLA
19. [[{{{school}}}|North Carolina]]
20. Kansas State
21. Michigan
22. [[{{{school}}}|Virginia Tech]]
23. Clemson
24. Louisville
25. [[{{{school}}}|California]]

Final Coaches Poll

1. Florida St.
2. Notre Dame
3. Nebraska
4. Florida
5. Wisconsin
6. West Virginia
7. Penn St.
8. Texas A&M
9. Arizona
10. Ohio St.
11. Tennessee
12. [[{{{school}}}|Boston College]]
13. Alabama
14. [[{{{school}}}|Oklahoma]]
15. Miami (FL)
16. [[{{{school}}}|Colorado]]
17. UCLA
18. Kansas St.
19. Michigan
20. [[{{{school}}}|Virginia Tech]]
21. [[{{{school}}}|North Carolina]]
22. Clemson
23. Louisville
24. [[{{{school}}}|California]]
25. Southern California

Heisman Trophy Voting

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the year

Winner: Charlie Ward, Florida State, Quarterback (2310 votes)

• 2. Heath Shuler, Tennessee, Jr.. QB (668 votes)
• 3. David Palmer, Alabama, Jr. WR (292 votes)
• 4. Marshall Faulk, San Diego State, Jr. RB (250 votes)
• 5. Glenn Foley, Boston College, Sr. QB (180 votes)

Other Major Awards

• Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) - Charlie Ward, Florida State
• Walter Camp Award (Back) - Charlie Ward, Florida State
• Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) - Charlie Ward, Florida State
• Doak Walker Award (Running Back) - Byron "Bam" Morris, Texas Tech
• Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker) - Trev Alberts, Nebraska
• Lombardi Award (Lineman or Linebacker) - Aaron Taylor, Notre Dame
• Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) - Rob Waldrop, NG, Arizona
• Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back) - Antonio Langham, Alabama
• AFCA Coach of the Year - Terry Bowden, Auburn
• FWAA Coach of the Year - Terry Bowden, Auburn

References

NCAA college football seasons Pre-regulation 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 IAAUS 1906 1907 1908 1909 NCAA 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 NCAA Division I 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 NCAA Division I-A/FBS 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 NCAA Division I-AA/FCS 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012