1995 NCAA Division I-A football season

1995 NCAA Division I-A season
Total # of teams	108[1]
Preseason AP #1	Florida State Seminoles[2]
Number of bowls	18
National championship	1996 Fiesta Bowl
Location of championship	Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Champions	Nebraska Cornhuskers
Heisman	Eddie George, Ohio State RB
NCAA Division I-A football season «1994 1996»

The 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Alliance and was a relatively calm year compared to the early 1990s.

Tom Osborne led Nebraska to its second straight national title with a victory over Florida in the Fiesta Bowl.

This match up was only possible because of the new Bowl Alliance. Under the old system, Nebraska would have been tied to the Orange Bowl and Florida to the Sugar Bowl. The Bowl Alliance created a national championship game which would rotate between the Orange, Sugar, and Fiesta Bowls free of conference tie-ins and featuring the #1 and #2 teams as chosen by the Bowl Alliance Poll. The Pac 10 and Big Ten chose not to participate, keeping their tie-ins with the Rose Bowl.

Nebraska was showing signs of dynasty, playing in its third consecutive national title game, and became the first school to claim back to back titles since the 1970s. This was an amazingly dominant Nebraska team, averaging 52 points per game and a 39 point average margin of victory, including a 62-24 victory over Florida. Interestingly, this lopsided victory came after Florida was picked by many sportswriters to win the game.

Ohio State almost managed to create a national title controversy, going into its final regular season game against Michigan undefeated and ranked #2. Had they finished the season #2 the Bowl Alliance would have been unable to pit #1 vs. #2 as the Big Ten champ was tied to the Rose Bowl. Fortunately for the Bowl Alliance, Michigan upset Ohio State, but Buckeye running back Eddie George still managed to win the Heisman Trophy.

Things were lively in the state of Florida, where the Florida Gators won their third straight SEC championship. Florida State started the season #1, but lost an ACC game for the first time ever when Virginia stopped a last minute drive a few inches from the end zone, knocking them out of the national title race.

However, Northwestern was able to steal the show as the year's Cinderella story. Its only regular season loss came against Miami-OH. Northwestern began the season with an upset of Notre Dame and went on to defeat Michigan and Penn State later in the season. Undefeated in the Big Ten after decades as a doormat, the Wildcats went on to face USC in the Rose Bowl. However, the Wildcats lost to the Trojans in what was a see-saw game until USC pulled away in the fourth quarter.

Miami and Alabama had to sit the post season out, as they were on NCAA probation.

The Southwest Conference played its final game ever, an 18–17 Houston win over Rice. Four of its members would join the Big 8 to form the Big 12; the other four were split between the WAC and the newly formed Conference USA.

The Hall of Fame Bowl, originally played in Birmingham, then moved to Tampa, Florida gained corporate sponsorship, and was now known as the Outback Bowl. The Freedom Bowl was discontinued and the Holiday Bowl absorbed its WAC tie-in.

The Las Vegas Bowl game between Toledo and Nevada was the first ever to use the college overtime system, which was adopted nationwide the following year.

University of North Texas upgraded to Division 1-A football this season bringing the total number of teams to 108.

Contents 1 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

Conference standings

1995 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #4 Florida State §   7 – 1         10 – 2   #16 Virginia §   7 – 1         9 – 4   Clemson   6 – 2         8 – 4   Georgia Tech   5 – 3         6 – 5   North Carolina   4 – 4         7 – 5   Maryland   4 – 4         6 – 5   NC State   2 – 6         3 – 8   Duke   1 – 7         3 – 8   Wake Forest   0 – 8         1 – 10   § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1995 Big 8 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #1 Nebraska † 7 – 0 – 0     12 – 0 – 0 #5 Colorado 5 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 #9 Kansas 5 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 #7 Kansas State 5 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Oklahoma 2 – 5 – 0     5 – 5 – 1 Oklahoma State 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 8 – 0 Iowa State 1 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Missouri 1 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 *† – Bowl Alliance representative as champion Rankings from AP Poll	1995 Big East football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #10 Virginia Tech §   6 – 1         10 – 2   #20 Miami §   6 – 1         8 – 3   #19 Syracuse   5 – 2         9 – 3   West Virginia   4 – 3         5 – 6   Boston College   4 – 3         4 – 8   Rutgers   2 – 5         4 – 7   Temple   1 – 6         1 – 10   Pittsburgh   0 – 7         2 – 9   § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
1995 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #8/7 Northwestern † 8 – 0 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 #6/8 Ohio State 7 – 1 – 0     11 – 2 – 0 #13/12 Penn State 5 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #17/19 Michigan 5 – 3 – 0     9 – 4 – 0 Michigan State 4 – 3 – 1     6 – 5 – 1 #25/22 Iowa 4 – 4 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Illinois 3 – 4 – 1     5 – 5 – 1 Wisconsin 3 – 4 – 1     4 – 5 – 2 Purdue 2 – 5 – 1     4 – 6 – 1 Minnesota 1 – 7 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Indiana 0 – 8 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll	1995 Big West Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Nevada †   7 – 0         9 – 3   Southwestern Louisiana   4 – 2         6 – 5   Utah State   4 – 3         4 – 7   Arkansas State   3 – 3         6 – 5   Northern Illinois   3 – 3         3 – 8   New Mexico State   3 – 4         4 – 7   San Jose State   3 – 4         3 – 8   Louisiana Tech   2 – 4         5 – 6   Pacific Tigers   2 – 4         3 – 8   UNLV Rebels   1 – 5         2 – 9   † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1995 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #24 Toledo † 7 – 0 – 1     11 – 0 – 1 Miami 6 – 1 – 1     8 – 2 – 1 Ball State 6 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Western Michigan 6 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Eastern Michigan 5 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Bowling Green 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Central Michigan 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Akron 2 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Ohio 1 – 6 – 1     2 – 8 – 1 Kent State 0 – 7 – 1     1 – 9 – 1 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1995 Pacific-10 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #12 USC § 6 – 1 – 1     9 – 2 – 1 Washington § 6 – 1 – 1     7 – 4 – 1 #18 Oregon 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Stanford 5 – 3 – 0     7 – 4 – 1 UCLA 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Arizona 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Arizona State 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 California 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Washington State 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Oregon State 0 – 8 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 § – Conference co-champions As Washington and USC tied, Non-Conference record was the tie-breaking rule used to select USC for the Rose Bowl Rankings from AP Poll	1995 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Eastern Division #2/3 Florida x† 8 – 0 – 0     12 – 1 – 0 #3/2 Tennessee 7 – 1 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 Georgia 3 – 5 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 South Carolina 2 – 5 – 1     4 – 6 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Kentucky]] 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Vanderbilt]] 1 – 7 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Western Division Arkansas x 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 5 – 0 #21 Alabama 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 #22/21 Auburn 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|LSU]] 4 – 3 – 1     7 – 4 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Ole Miss]] 3 – 5 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Mississippi State]] 1 – 7 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Championship: Florida 34, Arkansas 3 † – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1995 Southwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #14 [[{{{school}}}|Texas]] † 7 – 0 – 0     12 – 2 – 1 #15 Texas A&M 5 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #23 Texas Tech 5 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Baylor]] 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|TCU]] 3 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Houston]] 2 – 5 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Rice]] 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 8 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|SMU]] 0 – 7 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1995 WAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   [[{{{school}}}|Colorado State]] §   6 – 2         8 – 4   [[{{{school}}}|BYU]] §   6 – 2         7 – 4   Utah §   6 – 2         7 – 4   [[{{{school}}}|Air Force]] §   6 – 2         8 – 5   [[{{{school}}}|San Diego State]]   5 – 3         8 – 4   [[{{{school}}}|Wyoming]]   4 – 4         6 – 5   [[{{{school}}}|Fresno State]]   2 – 6         5 – 7   [[{{{school}}}|New Mexico]]   2 – 6         4 – 7   [[{{{school}}}|Hawaii]]   2 – 6         4 – 8   [[{{{school}}}|UTEP]]   1 – 7         2 – 10   § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1995 Division I-A independents football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T East Carolina   –       9 – 3 – 0 #11 Notre Dame   –       9 – 3 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Louisville]]   –       7 – 4 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Cincinnati]]   –       6 – 5 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Southern Miss]]   –       6 – 5 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Army]]   –       5 – 5 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Navy]]   –       5 – 6 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Tulsa]]   –       4 – 7 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Louisiana–Monroe]]   –       2 – 9 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|North Texas]]   –       2 – 9 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Tulane]]   –       2 – 9 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll

#1 and #2 Progress

WEEKS	#1	#2	Event	Date
PRE-9	[[{{{school}}}|Florida State]]	Nebraska	Nebraska 44, Colorado 21	Oct 28
10	Nebraska	Florida State	[[{{{school}}}|Virginia]] 33, Florida St. 28	Nov 2
11-13	Nebraska	Ohio State+	Michigan 31, Ohio State 23	Nov 25
14-15	Nebraska	Florida	Nebraska 62, Florida 24	Jan 1

+Ohio State, a Big Ten school, was not part of the Bowl Alliance. Florida was #3 during weeks 11 through 13.

Bowl Games

• Fiesta Bowl: #1 Nebraska 62, #2 Florida 24
• Rose Bowl: #17 Southern California 41, #3 Northwestern 32
• Sugar Bowl: #13 Virginia Tech 28, #9 [[{{{school}}}|Texas]] 10
• Orange Bowl: #8 [[{{{school}}}|Florida State]] 31, #6 Notre Dame 26
• Cotton Bowl Classic: #7 Colorado 38, #12 [[{{{school}}}|Oregon]] 6
• {{{alt}}}: #18 [[{{{school}}}|Virginia]] 34, Georgia 27
• {{{alt}}}: #4 Tennessee 20, #4 Ohio State 14
• Outback Bowl: #15 Penn State 43, #16 Auburn 14
• {{{alt}}}: North Carolina 20, #24 Arkansas 10
• Sun Bowl: Iowa 38, #20 Washington 18
• {{{alt}}}: [[{{{school}}}|Syracuse]] 41, #23 Clemson 0
• Alamo Bowl: #19 Texas A&M 22, #14 Michigan 20
• {{{alt}}}: Texas Tech 55, [[{{{school}}}|Air Force]] 41
• Holiday Bowl: #10 Kansas State 54, [[{{{school}}}|Colorado State]] 21
• {{{alt}}}: East Carolina 19, [[{{{school}}}|Stanford]] 13
• {{{alt}}}: #11 [[{{{school}}}|Kansas]] 51, [[{{{school}}}|UCLA]] 30
• {{{alt}}}: [[{{{school}}}|LSU]] 45, Michigan State 26
• Las Vegas Bowl: #25 [[{{{school}}}|Toledo]] 40, [[{{{school}}}|Nevada]] 37 (OT)

Final AP Poll

1. Nebraska
2. Florida
3. Tennessee
4. [[{{{school}}}|Florida State]]
5. Colorado
6. Ohio State
7. Kansas State
8. Northwestern
9. [[{{{school}}}|Kansas]]
10. Virginia Tech
11. Notre Dame
12. USC
13. Penn State
14. [[{{{school}}}|Texas]]
15. Texas A&M
16. [[{{{school}}}|Virginia]]
17. Michigan
18. [[{{{school}}}|Oregon]]
19. [[{{{school}}}|Syracuse]]
20. [[{{{school}}}|Miami-FL]]
21. Alabama
22. Auburn
23. Texas Tech
24. [[{{{school}}}|Toledo]]
25. Iowa

Final Coaches Poll

1. Nebraska
2. Tennessee
3. Florida
4. Colorado
5. [[{{{school}}}|Florida St.]]
6. Kansas St.
7. Northwestern
8. Ohio St.
9. Virginia Tech
10. [[{{{school}}}|Kansas]]
11. Southern California
12. Penn St.
13. Notre Dame
14. [[{{{school}}}|Texas]]
15. Texas A&M
16. [[{{{school}}}|Syracuse]]
17. [[{{{school}}}|Virginia]]
18. [[{{{school}}}|Oregon]]
19. Michigan
20. Texas Tech
21. Auburn
22. Iowa
23. East Carolina
24. [[{{{school}}}|Toledo]]
25. [[{{{school}}}|LSU]]

Heisman Trophy Voting

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

Winner: Eddie George, Ohio State, Running Back (1460 votes)

• 2. Tommie Frazier, Nebraska, QB (1196 votes)
• 3. Danny Wuerffel, Florida, QB (987 votes)
• 4. Darnell Autry, Northwestern, RB (534 votes)
• 5. Troy Davis, Iowa St., RB (402 votes)

Other Major Awards

• Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) - Eddie George, Ohio State
• Walter Camp Award (Back) - Eddie George, Ohio State
• Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) - Danny Wuerffel, Florida
• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Senior Quarterback) - Tommie Frazier, Nebraska
• Doak Walker Award (Running Back) - Eddie George, Ohio State
• Fred Biletnikoff Award (Wide Receiver) - Terry Glenn, Ohio State
• Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Defensive Player) - Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
• Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker) - Kevin Hardy, Illinois
• Lombardi Award (Lineman or Linebacker) - Orlando Pace, Ohio State
• Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) - Jonathan Ogden, OT, UCLA
• Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back) - Greg Meyers, Colorado State
• Lou Groza Award (Placekicker) - Michael Reeder, TCU
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award - Gary Barnett, Northwestern

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