The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned national champions, in both the AP and Coaches poll.
Under the Bowl Coalition, undefeated Big 8 champ and #2 ranked Nebraska hosted ACC champ and #1 ranked Florida State in the Orange Bowl. This produced a clear champion in the Coaches Poll and the AP poll, despite Florida State's loss to Notre Dame 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. Despite the win over Florida State, Notre Dame's title chances ended the very next week when the Fighting Irish 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 but not the AP (Nebraska was #2 in the AP).
Despite beating Florida State in the regular season, Notre Dame finished #2 in the two major polls. Florida State, during the 1993 regular season played #2 Notre Dame, #2 Nebraska, #3 Miami, #7 Florida, #13 North Carolina, #15 Virginia, and #17 Clemson. FSU went 3–1 vs top 7 teams while playing only 1 home game in the 4 contests.
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, dropping the total number of Division 1-A schools to 106. The league picked up four other teams; Southwest Louisiana (later Louisiana-Lafayette) and Arkansas State which had just made the jump to Division I-A in 1990, 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.
Rule changes
- 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.
- The "fumblerooski" play is outlawed as intentional fumbles are now illegal.
- Players who are bleeding or have open wounds are required to leave the game until the bleeding is stopped and the wound treated.
Conference standings
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
| South Carolina
| 2
| – | 6
| – | 0 | | | 4
| – | 7
| – | 0 |
| Georgia
| 2
| – | 6
| – | 0 | | | 5
| – | 6
| – | 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 |
| Ole Miss
| 3
| – | 5
| – | 0 | | | 5
| – | 6
| – | 0 |
| 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
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#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 |
Boston College 41, Notre Dame 39 |
Nov 20 |
| 13-15 |
Florida State |
Nebraska |
Florida State 18, Nebraska 16 |
Jan 1 |
Bowl games
- Orange Bowl: #1 Florida State 18, #2 Nebraska 16
- Rose Bowl: #9 Wisconsin 21, #14 UCLA 16
- Sugar Bowl: #8 Florida 41, #3 West Virginia 7
- Cotton Bowl Classic: #4 Notre Dame 24, #7 Texas A&M 21
- Fiesta Bowl: #16 Arizona 29, #10 Miami 0
- Florida Citrus Bowl: #13 Penn State 31, #6 Tennessee 13
- Hall of Fame Bowl: #23 Michigan 42, NC State 7
- Carquest Bowl: #15 Boston College 31, Virginia 13
- Gator Bowl: #18 Alabama 24, #12 North Carolina 10
- Peach Bowl: #24 Clemson 14, Kentucky 13
- Alamo Bowl: California 37, Iowa 3
- Independence Bowl: #22 Virginia Tech 45, #21 Indiana 20
- Holiday Bowl: #11 Ohio State 28, BYU 21
- Freedom Bowl: USC 28, Utah 21
- Copper Bowl: #20 Kansas State 52, Wyoming 17
- Liberty Bowl: #25 Louisville 18, Michigan State 7
- Aloha Bowl: #17 Colorado 41, #25 Fresno St 30
- John Hancock Bowl: #19 Oklahoma 41, Texas Tech 10
- Las Vegas Bowl: Utah State 42, Ball State 33
Final rankings
Final AP Poll
- Florida State
- Notre Dame
- Nebraska
- Auburn
- Florida
- Wisconsin
- West Virginia
- Penn State
- Texas A&M
- Arizona
- Ohio State
- Tennessee
- Boston College
- Alabama
- Miami (FL)
- Colorado
- Oklahoma
- UCLA
- North Carolina
- Kansas State
- Michigan
- Virginia Tech
- Clemson
- Louisville
- California
Final Coaches Poll
- Florida St.
- Notre Dame
- Nebraska
- Florida
- Wisconsin
- West Virginia
- Penn St.
- Texas A&M
- Arizona
- Ohio St.
- Tennessee
- Boston College
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Miami (FL)
- Colorado
- UCLA
- Kansas St.
- Michigan
- Virginia Tech
- North Carolina
- Clemson
- Louisville
- California
- Southern California
Awards and honors
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the year
Winner: Charlie Ward, Florida State, Quarterback (2310 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 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
Coaching changes
Preseason and in-season
References