2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season

2007 NCAA Division I FBS season
LSU's Matt Flynn lifting the AFCA National Championship Trophy after the BCS title game
Number of teams	119[1]
Duration	August 30 – December 1
Preseason AP #1	USC Trojans
Post-season
Duration	December 20, 2007 – January 7, 2008
Bowl games	36 (32 team-competitive and 4 all-star games)
Heisman Trophy	Tim Tebow, Florida QB
Bowl Championship Series
2008 BCS Championship Game
Site	Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Winner	LSU Tigers
Division I FBS football seasons
← 2006 2008 →

The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 30, 2007,^[2] progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and (aside from all-star exhibition games that followed) concluded with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 7, 2008, where the top ranked Ohio State Buckeyes were defeated by the second ranked Louisiana State University Tigers, who became the BCS National Champions and undisputed national champions (topping all the major year-end football polls). For just the second time in the BCS era, no teams finished the season undefeated, and only one AQ-conference team finished with 1 loss (#7 Kansas, who did not participate in the Big 12 championship game).

Conference and program changes

No teams upgraded from Division I-AA, leaving the number of Division I-A schools fixed at 119.

• There was only one conference change in 2007, with Temple leaving the Independent ranks to become the 13th member of the MAC.

School	2006 Conference	2007 Conference
Temple Owls	I-A Independent	MAC

Preseason rankings

Many publications release their predictions of the top teams prior to the beginning of the season. For 2007, numerous publications chose the University of Southern California as the top ranked team. These included; Real Football 365,^[3] ESPN,^[4] Rivals.com^[5] College Football News.^[6] They were also ranked first in the Coaches Poll^[7] and AP Poll.^[8] The Coaches' Poll plays an important part in the season because the final ballot represents one-third of the ranking to determine which two teams play in the BCS National Championship Game. Rounding out the top five in the Coaches Poll were: LSU, defending BCS National Champion Florida, Texas, and Michigan.^[7]

Rules changes

After coaches expressed their disapproval of the timing changes made in the 2006 season, the following changes were made:

• On kickoffs, the clock will not start until the ball is touched in the field of play.
• On change of possession, the clock will not start until the snap.

The attempt to reduce the time of games sought by those rules was successful, reducing the average college football page from 3:21 hours in 2005 to 3:07 hours in 2006.^[9] However, the reduced game time also reduced the average number of plays in a game by 13, 66 fewer offensive yards per game and average points per game by 5.^[9]

Other rules changes for the 2007 season include:

• Moving the kick-off yard-line from 35 to 30, which matches the yard-line used in the National Football League from 1994 to 2010, to reduce the number of touchbacks.^[9]
• Paring the 25-second play clock to 15 seconds after TV timeouts.^[9]
• Team time-outs for televised games are shortened from 60 seconds to 30 seconds.^[9]
• Allowing penalties against the kicking team on kickoffs to be assessed at the end of the runback, avoiding a re-kick, also matching the NFL rule.^[9]
• Once the umpire gives the ball to the kicker, the 25 second play clock starts.^[9]
• Kickoffs out of bounds are now penalized 35 yards from the spot of the kick or a re-kick with a five-yard penalty.^[9]
• Defenders cannot use any part of a teammate to jump over an opponent to block a kick.^[9]

Key matchups, upsets, and "The Curse of #2"

Date	Visitor	Home	Source	Significance
September 1	Appalachian State 34	Michigan 32	ESPN.com[10]	In the game that set the tone for the rest of the season, the two-time D-I FCS national champions shocked the fifth-ranked Wolverines in the Big House. It was the first time a D-I FCS team had defeated a ranked Div-I FBS team. The game was among the first to be broadcast on the new Big Ten Network following its launch. Appalachian State would go on to win the 2007 D-I FCS Championship. Michigan would go on to beat Florida and Heisman winner Tim Tebow in the Capital One Bowl.
September 3	Florida State 18	Clemson 24	ESPN[11] SI.com[12]	The Bowden Bowl debut for the new FSU offensive staff including coordinator Jimbo Fisher. Clemson jumped out to a 24–3 halftime lead and held on for the win.
September 8	Virginia Tech 7	LSU 48	ESPN.com[13] SI.com[12] Lindy's[14]	This early SEC-ACC showdown promised to be a defensive battle, but quickly became lopsided, as the Hokies were torched for 298 yards rushing and 302 passing.
September 8	Miami (FL) 13	Oklahoma 51	ESPN.com[13] SI.com[12]	The Hurricanes get blown out in the first major road test for new head coach Randy Shannon.
September 22	Ball State 40	Nebraska 41	ESPN.com[15]	The 24th-ranked Huskers only narrowly managed to hang on to win thanks to a late dropped pass and missed field goal by Ball State, but it was the first sign of shakiness in what would end up being a 5–7 season for Nebraska. It also foreshadowed Ball State's rise to national prominence the following season.
September 29	Oklahoma 24	Colorado 27	ESPN.com[16]	Colorado upsets No. 3 Oklahoma, in a major blow to OU's national title hopes and a major step forward in second-year coach Dan Hawkins' rebuilding of the Buffaloes program.
September 29	California 31	Oregon 24	ESPN.com[17]	Cal temporarily stamped itself as USC's main contender for the Pac-10 title sealing the deal as Marcus Ezeff forces the ball out of Cameron Colvin's outstretched arms and into end zone in the last minute of play.[18]
October 6	Florida 24	LSU 28	SI.com[12] ESPN[11] Lindy's[14]	In front of a record home crowd, LSU comes from behind to complete the sweep of its top ranking, adding the USA Today Coaches and Harris Interactive polls to the AP writers' poll they earned the previous week.
October 6	Nebraska 6	Missouri 41	ESPN[11] Rivals.com[19]	What promised to be a Big 12 North showdown turned into a Mizzou blowout, thanks to 403 yards passing, two passing TDs, and two rushing TDs from Chase Daniel, plus a strong performance from the Tigers' maligned defense.
October 6	Oklahoma 28	Texas 21	SI.com[12] ESPN[11] Lindy's[14]	Oklahoma wins the Red River Shootout in Dallas, keeping itself atop the Big 12 South and on the fringes of the national championship picture.
October 6	Stanford 24	Southern California 23	ESPN[11] Lindy's[14]	In a season littered with upsets, Stanford pulls off a shocking upset when they stun the Trojans 24–23 on a fourth and goal TD pass by Stanford quarterback Tavita Pritchard to WR Mark Bradford with 49 seconds left to play. USC quarterback John David Booty breaks his finger during this game.
October 13	LSU 37	Kentucky 43 (3 OT)	FoxSports.com[20]	The Wildcats claim their first Number 1 scalp since 1964 in a three-overtime thriller in Lexington, helping erase memories of the final play of LSU's last visit in 2002.
October 13	Missouri 31	Oklahoma 41	FoxSports.com[20]	This game between top 15 teams proved to be a preview of the Big 12 Championship Game. Oklahoma proved their worth by taking advantage of several Mizzou mistakes, including returning a Jeremy Maclin fumble for the go-ahead touchdown.
October 13	Oregon State 31	California 28	FoxSports.com[20]	Oregon State defeats a top three team for the second consecutive year. The clock runs out on California after the Golden Bears' Kevin Riley is tackled in bounds in field goal range without a timeout remaining.
October 18	South Florida 27	Rutgers 30	ESPN.com[21]	For the second straight year, the Scarlet Knights knock off an unbeaten top-5 Big East rival on a Thursday night in Piscataway, thanks in no small part to 181 yards on the ground from Ray Rice.
October 20	Auburn 24	LSU 30	Rivals.com[22]	LSU had the ball in field goal range at the end of the game, but did not use its remaining timeout, instead calling a pass into the end zone, which goes for the winning TD with 1 second left, keeping their national championship hopes alive.
October 20	Florida 45	Kentucky 37	Rivals.com[22]	The Gators take charge of the SEC East race for the time being, defeating the Wildcats for the 21st straight time behind Tim Tebow's 4 total TDs. Andre' Woodson also improves his Heisman stock, throwing for 5 scores in a losing cause.
October 20	Tennessee 17	Alabama 41	Rivals.com[22]	On the Third Saturday in October, John Parker Wilson throws for a career-high 363 yards and three TDs to lead the Tide to a spanking of the Vols.
October 25	Boston College 14	Virginia Tech 10	ESPN.com[21]	Held scoreless until the final 2:11 at Blacksburg, the Eagles stay in the midst of the national title race thanks to a Matt Ryan TD pass, a recovered onside kick, and a second Ryan TD pass. This also proved to be a preview of the ACC Championship Game.
October 27	West Virginia 31	Rutgers 3	SI.com[12] ESPN[11]	Steve Slaton's three rushing TDs and Pat White's 156 rushing yards lead the Mountaineers to an unexpected blowout.
October 27	Florida 30	Georgia 42	ESPN[11]	Georgia defeats Florida in the Florida vs. Georgia Football Classic. After scoring the first touchdown, the entire Georgia team cleared its bench and celebrated in the end zone. This game gave the Bulldogs momentum to win out the rest of the season and finish No. 2 overall in the final AP poll.
October 27	South Carolina 24	Tennessee 27 (OT)	ESPN[11]	The Vols blow a 21–0 halftime lead, but tie the game with a last-second field goal, and win in overtime after the Gamecocks miss a field goal that would have sent the game to a second overtime. Tennessee stays in the thick of the SEC East race.
October 27	California 20	Arizona State 31	ESPN.com[21]	The unbeaten Sun Devils come from behind to win and put themselves in the midst of the national title race.
October 27	Southern California 17	Oregon 24	ESPN.com[21]	The Ducks keep themselves in the national title race and knock out the Trojans.
November 3	Arizona State 23	Oregon 35	ESPN.com[23]	The Ducks convincingly win at home, knocking the Sun Devils from the unbeaten ranks and taking control of the Pac-10 race for the time being.
November 3	Navy 46	Notre Dame 44 (3 OT)	ESPN.com[21]	In a triple-overtime thriller, the Midshipmen defeat the Irish for the first time since 1963, when Roger Staubach was at the controls for Navy. This ends a 43-game Irish winning streak in the series, the longest between annual opponents in Division I history.
November 3	LSU 41	Alabama 34	SI.com[12] ESPN[11][21][23] Lindy's[14]	In Nick Saban's first outing for the Tide against his former team, the Tide have the lead in the fourth, but LSU scores two TDs in the final four minutes to stay in the thick of the national title race.
November 8	Louisville 31	West Virginia 38	SI.com[12] ESPN[11] Lindy's[14]	The Mountaineers survive a scare from the Cardinals to stay in the national title race.
November 10	Virginia 48	Miami 0	ESPN.com[24]	With dozens of former Miami players returning for the final game Miami would ever play in the historic Orange Bowl, Virginia spoiled the party by sending them off with a 48 to 0 shellacking. Ironically, the majority of the capacity crowd had already left the stadium when the final whistle blew as a huge "Thanks for the Memories" banner was unfurled.
November 10	Connecticut 3	Cincinnati 27	ESPN.com[25]	In a matchup between two of the country's most surprising teams, the Bearcats get an easier-than-expected upset win.
November 10	Florida 51	South Carolina 31	ESPN.com[21]	In his annual game against his former team, the Ol' Ball Coach has no answer to Tim Tebow, who runs for five TDs and passes for two more.
November 10	Southern California 24	California 17	SI.com[12] ESPN[11]	The Trojans continue the Bears' late-season tailspin and stay in contention for a BCS bowl berth.
November 10	Navy 74	North Texas 62	ESPN.com[26]	Navy and North Texas combine for a new FBS record for points in a regulation game with 136 as the Midshipmen clinch bowl eligibility with a 74–62 win.
November 10	Illinois 28	Ohio St. 21	ESPN.com[27]	Illinois pulls off a shocking upset of top ranked Ohio State, in Columbus, to put the Buckeyes' hopes of a national championship in jeopardy.
November 15	Arizona 34	Oregon 24	Pac-10	Arizona upsets No. 2 ranked Oregon, who seemed like the clear cut favorite to win the Pac-10 after defeating USC and Arizona State. During this game Dennis Dixon left with a torn ACL and was out for the remainder of the season, essentially ending his Heisman Trophy campaign and Oregon's Pac-10 and national championship hopes.
November 17	Boston College 20	Clemson 17	ESPN.com[28]	In a showdown for a place in the ACC Championship Game, Matt Ryan strikes with a late TD pass to give the Eagles the lead, and they hold on to punch their ticket to Jacksonville.
November 17	Ohio State 14	Michigan 3	SI.com[12] ESPN[11][21][23]	On a rainy day in The Big House, the Buckeyes get 220 yards on the ground from Chris Wells and a dominant defensive effort to win their fourth straight game in the storied rivalry and assured themselves of no worse than a trip to Pasadena, but with events that followed, it became New Orleans while the Buckeyes were "in the clubhouse" as the Big Ten season ended.
November 17	Oklahoma 27	Texas Tech 34	ESPN.com[23]	A bad night on the South Plains for the Sooners: First they lose quarterback Sam Bradford to a first-quarter concussion, then their national title hopes disappear behind 420 passing yards from Graham Harrell.
November 22	Southern California 44	Arizona State 24	ESPN.com[23]	The Trojans win over the Sun Devils and create a logjam atop the Pac-10.
November 23	Arkansas 50	LSU 48	CBS	LSU was ranked number one in the country in the BCS, and most major polls. The Razorbacks outlasted the Tigers in a grueling three overtime game to win the game in which star running back (and 2007 Heisman Trophy runner up) Darren McFadden rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and threw for one touchdown to lift Arkansas to a 50-48 victory in front of 92,606 people (the official attendance) at Tiger Stadium. The "Wild Hog" formation (Arkansas' name for the Wildcat offense) was run prominently in the game, led by McFadden, in which he was a triple threat to run, hand off, or throw. The game was played after Tigers coach Les Miles famously mispronounced Arkansas as ar-Kansas, as in the pronunciation of the state of Kansas, in the week preceding the game. This was thought to act as a motivator for Arkansas in the game, because after the game McFadden was quoted as saying, "They weren't saying it right so we wanted to let them know how to say it." LSU went on to represent the West in the 2007 SEC Championship Game against the Tennessee Volunteers, and after winning the contest went on to win the 2008 BCS National Championship Game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, becoming the first ever team to win the BCS National Championship with 2 losses. This game ended up being the last that Houston Nutt coached at Arkansas, resigning a few days later and announcing himself as new head coach of Ole Miss. (see Arkansas–Ole Miss rivalry#Houston Nutt controversy and Houston Nutt#Resignation).
November 23	Texas 30	Texas A&M 38	ESPN[11]	A&M wins consecutive games against their archrivals for the first time since 1994, sending coach Dennis Franchione out on a high note. The result essentially assured Oklahoma of the Big 12 South title; the Sooners removed any doubt the next day with a shellacking of their own in-state rivals, Oklahoma State.
November 23	Boise State 27	Hawaiʻi 39	SI.com[12] ESPN[11][21][23] Lindy's[14]	Thanks to 495 passing yards from Colt Brennan, the Warriors beat the Broncos for the first time ever in WAC play, and win the outright WAC title for the first time ever. The following week, they came back from a 21–0 first-quarter hole against Washington to complete an unbeaten regular season, ultimately following in the footsteps of the previous year's Broncos and earning a BCS berth, although in their bowl Hawaii was beaten soundly by Georgia, whereas Boise State had beaten Oklahoma in 2006.
November 24	Alabama 10	Auburn 17	ESPN[11] Lindy's[14]	Auburn wins their sixth straight Iron Bowl.
November 24	Connecticut 21	West Virginia 66	ESPN.com[23]	In a battle for the Big East title, the Mountaineers destroy the Huskies behind 517 yards rushing, 186 of them from Pat White, and state their case for a berth in the BCS championship game... at least until a shocking home loss to archrival Pitt the following week.
November 24	Missouri 36	Kansas 28	ESPN.com[21]	The Tigers take a 21–0 lead in the third quarter, and hold on to book a rematch with Oklahoma for the Big 12 title and a chance to make the BCS championship game.
November 24	Virginia Tech 33	Virginia 21	ESPN.com[29]	The Hokies take home the Commonwealth Cup and win a trip to Jacksonville for a rematch with Boston College, this time for the ACC title and a BCS berth.
December 1	UCLA 7	Southern California 24	SI.com[12] ESPN[11]	Southern California got a measure of revenge for last year's upset and earned another trip to "The Granddaddy of 'Em All."
December 1	Pittsburgh 13	West Virginia 9	ESPNU.com[30]	Prior to the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl, the Mountaineers had all but guaranteed themselves a spot in the National Championship. With one game remaining against the rival Panthers at 4–7, West Virginia was expected to secure their position. But with a 13–9 victory, the Panthers eliminated the Mountaineers from championship contention, putting an end to their National Championship hopes.

Year of the upset

The media has dubbed this season as the "Year of the Upset".^[31] An unranked or lower-ranked opponent defeated a higher-ranked team 59 times over the course of the regular season. This list does not include other upsets involving two unranked teams. A record-setting 13 unranked teams defeated top 5 teams during the regular season. The No. 2 ranked team lost 7 times throughout the year, as of December 1.

Games in which the lower-ranked or unranked team was the betting favorite are in italics.

Appalachian State 34, #5 Michigan 32 (September 1) Washington 24, #22 Boise State 10 (September 8) South Carolina 16, #12 Georgia 12 (September 8) South Florida 26, #17 Auburn 23 (September 8) Utah 44, #11 UCLA 6 (September 15) Alabama 41, #16 Arkansas 38 (September 15) [vacated] Kentucky 40, #9 Louisville 34 (September 15) #21 Boston College 24, #15 Georgia Tech 10 (September 15) Miami 34, #20 Texas A&M 17 (September 22) Syracuse 38, #18 Louisville 35 (September 22) Michigan 14, #10 Penn State 9 (September 22) #22 Georgia 26, #16 Alabama 23, OT (September 22) #18 South Florida 21, #5 West Virginia 13 (September 28) Illinois 27, #21 Penn State 20 (September 29) Colorado 27, #3 Oklahoma 24 (September 29) Georgia Tech 13, #13 Clemson 3 (September 29) Kansas State 41, #7 Texas 21 (September 29) Maryland 34, #10 Rutgers 24 (September 29) Florida State 21, #22 Alabama 14 (September 29) Auburn 20, #4 Florida 17 (September 29) #11 South Carolina 38, #8 Kentucky 23 (October 4) Kansas 30, #24 Kansas State 24 (October 6) Illinois 31, #5 Wisconsin 26 (October 6) Tennessee 35, #12 Georgia 14 (October 6) Stanford 24, #2 USC 23 (October 6) Wake Forest 24, #21 Florida State 21 (October 11) Iowa 10, #18 Illinois 6 (October 13) Penn State* 38, #19 Wisconsin 7 (October 13) [ vacated ] Louisville 28, #18 Cincinnati 24 (October 13) #17 Kentucky 43, #1 LSU 37, 3 OT (October 13) Oregon State 31, #2 California 28 (October 13) This was the first time that the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Associated Press poll were defeated on the same day since the 1996 season, when No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 Nebraska were both defeated. It is only the sixth time it has happened since 1980.

Rutgers 30, #2 South Florida 27 (October 18) Vanderbilt 17, #6 South Carolina 6 (October 20) Pitt 24, #23 Cincinnati 17 (October 20) Alabama 41, #20 Tennessee 17 (October 20) UCLA 30, #10 California 21 (October 20) #14 Florida 45, #8 Kentucky 37 (October 20) Oklahoma State 41, #25 Kansas State 39 (October 20) Mississippi State 31, #14 Kentucky 14 (October 27) Connecticut 22, #11 South Florida 15 (October 27) #20 Georgia 42, #9 Florida 30 (October 27) NC State 29, #21 Virginia 24 (October 27) Tennessee 27, #15 South Carolina 24, OT (October 27) Virginia 17, #21 Wake Forest 16 (November 3) Cincinnati 38, #20 South Florida 33 (November 3) Arkansas 48, #23 South Carolina 36 (November 3) Florida State 27, #2 Boston College 17 (November 3) Wisconsin 37, #13 Michigan 21 (November 10) Mississippi State 17, #21 Alabama 12 (November 10) Illinois 28, #1 Ohio State 21 (November 10) Cincinnati 27, #16 Connecticut 3 (November 10) Maryland 42, #8 Boston College 35 (November 10) Arizona 34, #2 Oregon 24 (November 15) #17 Boston College 20, #15 Clemson 17 (November 17) Texas Tech 34, #4 Oklahoma 27 (November 17) #11 USC 44, #7 Arizona State 24 (November 22) Arkansas 50, #1 LSU 48, 3 OT (November 23) Texas A&M 38, #13 Texas 30 (November 23) UCLA 16, #9 Oregon 0 (November 24) #3 Missouri 36, #2 Kansas 28 (November 24) This was the second time this year that the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Associated Press poll were defeated on the same weekend. Oregon State 38, #18 Oregon 31 (December 1) Pittsburgh 13, #2 West Virginia 9 (December 1) #9 Oklahoma 38, #1 Missouri 17 (December 1) This was the third time this year that the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Associated Press poll were defeated on the same weekend.

A particularly telling statistic was pointed out by ESPN on November 10. At that point of the season, nine teams ranked in the top five of the AP Poll had lost to unranked teams (or in the case of Michigan, an FCS team). This had never happened in the history of the AP Poll, which was first conducted in 1936, in a season when at least 20 teams were ranked.^[27] The only other season to see more such upsets was 1967, which was one of seven seasons when the AP Poll ranked only 10 teams.^[27] Arizona added to the total on November 15 against Oregon, and Texas Tech made it 11 against Oklahoma two days later. The day after Thanksgiving saw unranked Arkansas beat LSU, bringing the total to 12. On December 1, Pitt defeated WVU 13–9, making the total 13.

The "Curse of the #2" was apparent this season. The first No. 2 team to lose was USC, 24–23 to Stanford. The next weekend, California lost to Oregon State, followed the next week by South Florida's loss to Rutgers. Boston College fell to Florida State, making the total four. Oregon then lost to Arizona, and Kansas lost to No. 4 Missouri. Maybe the most shocking loss of all was in the final week of the season, when West Virginia's loss to Pitt kicked them out of the national championship, bringing the total of victims of the curse to seven.

Note: Since 1996, there had not been a weekend when No. 1 and No. 2 lost on the same day. In 2007 alone, No. 1 and No. 2 fell three times during the season. The first time was when LSU fell to Kentucky in three overtimes, and Cal lost to Oregon State. Then, LSU stumbled again against Arkansas in three OTs, and Kansas followed with a loss to Missouri. In the final weekend of the season, not only did No. 2 West Virginia lose to Pitt, but, in the Big 12 Championship, Missouri fell to No. 9 Oklahoma, opening up the BCS Championship.

Note: While not ranked at the time, Alabama lost to Louisiana-Monroe. Had this been almost any other unranked team, this would have been forgotten, but because it was a program with a proud tradition, like the Crimson Tide, this was the season's upset that was most closely compared to Michigan's home opener loss to Appalachian State. While Louisiana-Monroe is an FBS team, most experts felt that Appalachian State would have had little trouble defeating Louisiana-Monroe. This loss by Alabama, while between unranked teams, was often listed in the top three most surprising upsets of the year along with the Michigan loss to Appalachian State, and USC's loss to Stanford. Nick Saban would later compare the loss to Pearl Harbor and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Conference standings

Note: In the Mid-American Conference, only division games count toward the divisional championship.

2007 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Atlantic Division #10 Boston College x   6 – 2         11 – 3   #21 Clemson   5 – 3         9 – 4   Wake Forest   5 – 3         9 – 4   Florida State   4 – 4         7 – 6   Maryland   3 – 5         6 – 7   NC State   3 – 5         5 – 7   Coastal Division #9 Virginia Tech x$   7 – 1         11 – 3   Virginia   6 – 2         9 – 4   Georgia Tech   4 – 4         7 – 6   North Carolina   3 – 5         4 – 8   Miami   2 – 6         5 – 7   Duke   0 – 8         1 – 11   Championship: Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 16 $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Big East football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #6 West Virginia $+   5 – 2         11 – 2   #25 Connecticut +   5 – 2         9 – 4   #17 Cincinnati   4 – 3         10 – 3   South Florida   4 – 3         9 – 4   Rutgers   3 – 4         8 – 5   Louisville   3 – 4         6 – 6   Pittsburgh   3 – 4         5 – 7   Syracuse   1 – 6         2 – 10   $ – BCS representative as conference champion + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #5 Ohio State $   7 – 1         11 – 2   #18 Michigan   6 – 2         9 – 4   #20 Illinois %   6 – 2         9 – 4   #24 Wisconsin   5 – 3         9 – 4   Penn State   4 – 4         9 – 4   Iowa   4 – 4         6 – 6   Purdue   3 – 5         8 – 5   Indiana   3 – 5         7 – 6   Michigan State   3 – 5         7 – 6   Northwestern   3 – 5         6 – 6   Minnesota   0 – 8         1 – 11   $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll
2007 Big 12 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Northern Division #4 Missouri xy   7 – 1         12 – 2   #7 Kansas x%   7 – 1         12 – 1   Colorado   4 – 4         6 – 7   Kansas State   3 – 5         5 – 7   Nebraska   2 – 6         5 – 7   Iowa State   2 – 6         3 – 9   Southern Division #8 Oklahoma xy$   6 – 2         11 – 3   #10 Texas   5 – 3         10 – 3   #22 Texas Tech   4 – 4         9 – 4   Oklahoma State   4 – 4         7 – 6   Texas A&M   4 – 4         7 – 6   Baylor   0 – 8         3 – 9   Championship: Oklahoma 38, Missouri 17 $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Conference USA football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division UCF x$   7 – 1         10 – 4   East Carolina   6 – 2         8 – 5   Memphis   6 – 2         7 – 6   Southern Miss   5 – 3         7 – 6   Marshall   3 – 5         3 – 9   UAB   1 – 7         2 – 10   West Division Tulsa xy   6 – 2         10 – 4   Houston x   6 – 2         8 – 5   Tulane   3 – 5         4 – 8   Rice   3 – 5         3 – 9   UTEP   2 – 6         4 – 8   SMU   0 – 8         1 – 11   Championship: UCF 44, Tulsa 25 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Mid-American Conference football standings Div     Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L         W   L   East Division Miami xy   4 – 2         5 – 2         6 – 7   Bowling Green x   4 – 2         6 – 2         8 – 5   Buffalo x   4 – 2         5 – 3         5 – 7   Ohio   3 – 3         4 – 4         6 – 6   Temple   3 – 3         4 – 4         4 – 8   Akron   2 – 4         3 – 5         4 – 8   Kent State   1 – 5         1 – 7         3 – 9   West Division Central Michigan xy$   4 – 1         6 – 1         8 – 6   Ball State x   4 – 1         5 – 2         7 – 6   Eastern Michigan   3 – 2         3 – 4         4 – 8   Western Michigan   2 – 3         3 – 4         5 – 7   Toledo   2 – 3         3 – 5         5 – 7   Northern Illinois   0 – 5         1 – 6         2 – 10   Championship: Central Michigan 35, Miami 10 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Due to an unbalanced conference schedule, the team with best division record within each division was awarded that division's championship game berth. Rankings from AP Poll
2007 Mountain West Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #14 BYU $   8 – 0         11 – 2   Air Force   6 – 2         9 – 4   New Mexico   5 – 3         9 – 4   Utah   5 – 3         9 – 4   TCU   4 – 4         8 – 5   San Diego State   3 – 5         4 – 8   Wyoming   2 – 6         5 – 7   Colorado State   2 – 6         3 – 9   UNLV   1 – 7         2 – 10   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Pacific-10 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #3 USC +   7 – 2         11 – 2   #16 Arizona State +   7 – 2         10 – 3   #25 Oregon State   6 – 3         9 – 4   #23 Oregon   5 – 4         9 – 4   UCLA   5 – 4         6 – 7   Arizona   4 – 5         5 – 7   California   3 – 6         7 – 6   Washington State   3 – 6         5 – 7   Stanford   3 – 6         4 – 8   Washington   2 – 7         4 – 9   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2007 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Eastern Division #12 Tennessee xy   6 – 2         10 – 4   #2 Georgia x%   6 – 2         11 – 2   #13 Florida   5 – 3         9 – 4   South Carolina   3 – 5         6 – 6   Kentucky   3 – 5         8 – 5   Vanderbilt   2 – 6         5 – 7   Western Division #1 LSU x$#   6 – 2         12 – 2   #15 Auburn   5 – 3         9 – 4   Arkansas   4 – 4         8 – 5   Mississippi State   4 – 4         8 – 5   Alabama   4 – 4         7 – 6   Ole Miss   0 – 8         3 – 9   Championship: LSU 21, Tennessee 14 # – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Alabama had 5 victories vacated by the NCAA in 2010. As such, the official record for Alabama is 2–6 (1-4). Rankings from AP Poll
2007 Sun Belt football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Florida Atlantic +   6 – 1         8 – 5   Troy +   6 – 1         8 – 4   Middle Tennessee   4 – 3         5 – 7   Louisiana–Monroe   4 – 3         6 – 6   Arkansas State   3 – 4         5 – 7   Louisiana–Lafayette   3 – 4         3 – 9   FIU   1 – 6         1 – 11   North Texas   1 – 6         2 – 10   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2007 WAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #19 Hawaii $   8 – 0         12 – 1   Boise State   7 – 1         10 – 3   Fresno State   6 – 2         9 – 4   Nevada   4 – 4         6 – 7   Louisiana Tech   4 – 4         5 – 7   San Jose State   4 – 4         5 – 7   Utah State   2 – 6         2 – 10   New Mexico State   1 – 7         4 – 9   Idaho   0 – 8         1 – 11   $ – Conference champion and BCS representative as top non-AQ school to meet automatic qualification criteria Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Division I FBS independents football records Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Navy   –         8 – 5   Army   –         3 – 9   Notre Dame   –         3 – 9   Rankings from AP Poll

• Rankings indicate position in final 2007 AP Poll.

Conference championship games

All games played on December 1, 2007.

• Big 12 Conference (Big 12) – Oklahoma 38, Missouri 17, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
• Conference USA (CUSA) – UCF 44, Tulsa 25 at Bright House Networks Stadium, Orlando, Florida
• Mid-American Conference (MAC) – Central Michigan 38, Miami (Ohio) 10 at Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
• Southeastern Conference (SEC) – LSU 21, Tennessee 14 at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia^[32]
• Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) – Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 16, at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida.

Other conference champions

• Big East: Connecticut, West Virginia – West Virginia received the BCS bid^[33]
• Big Ten: Ohio State
• Mountain West: BYU
• Pacific-10: Arizona State, Southern California – Southern California received the BCS bid
• Sun Belt: Florida Atlantic, Troy – Florida Atlantic won the New Orleans Bowl bid.
• Western Athletic Conference (WAC): Hawaiʻi

Bowl games

Bowl Championship Series

(winner listed in boldface)

Bowl Game	Date	Playing as Visitor	Playing as Home	Score
BCS Title Game (New Orleans, LA)	January 7, 2008	#2 LSU	#1 Ohio State	38–24
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)	January 1, 2008	#13 Illinois	#7 Southern California	49–17
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA)	January 1, 2008	#10 Hawaiʻi	#5 Georgia	41–10
Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)	January 2, 2008	#9 West Virginia	#4 Oklahoma	48–28
Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, FL)	January 3, 2008	#8 Kansas	#3 Virginia Tech	24–21

Other January bowl games

Bowl Game	Date	Playing as Visitor	Playing as Home	Score
Outback Bowl (Tampa, FL)	January 1, 2008	Wisconsin	Tennessee	21–17
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, TX)	January 1, 2008	Missouri	Arkansas	38–7
Capital One Bowl (Orlando, FL)	January 1, 2008	Michigan	Florida	41–35
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL)	January 1, 2008	Texas Tech	Virginia	31–28
International Bowl (Toronto, ON, Canada)	January 5, 2008	Rutgers	Ball State	52–30
GMAC Bowl (Mobile, AL)	January 6, 2008	Bowling Green	Tulsa	63–7

December bowl games

Bowl Game	Date	Playing as Visitor	Playing as Home	Score
Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego, CA)	December 20, 2007	Utah	Navy	35–32[34]
New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, LA)	December 21, 2007	Memphis	Florida Atlantic	44–27
PapaJohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, AL)	December 22, 2007	Southern Miss	Cincinnati	31–21
New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, NM)	December 22, 2007	Nevada	New Mexico	23–0
Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV)	December 22, 2007	UCLA	BYU	17–16
Hawaiʻi Bowl (Honolulu, HI)	December 23, 2007	Boise State	East Carolina	41–38
Motor City Bowl (Detroit, MI)	December 26, 2007	Purdue	Central Michigan	51–48
Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA)	December 27, 2007	Arizona State	Texas	52–34
Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, FL)	December 28, 2007	Boston College	Michigan State	24–21
Texas Bowl (Houston, TX)	December 28, 2007	TCU	Houston	20–13
Emerald Bowl (San Francisco, CA)	December 28, 2007	Maryland	Oregon State	21–14
Meineke Car Care Bowl (Charlotte, NC)	December 29, 2007	Connecticut	Wake Forest	24–10
Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN)	December 29, 2007	UCF	Mississippi State	10–3
Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX)	December 29, 2007	Penn State*	Texas A&M	24–17
Independence Bowl (Shreveport, LA)	December 30, 2007	Alabama	Colorado	30–24
Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, TX)	December 31, 2007	California	Air Force	42–36
Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX)	December 31, 2007	South Florida	Oregon	56–21
Humanitarian Bowl (Boise, ID)	December 31, 2007	Georgia Tech	Fresno State	40–28
Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN)	December 31, 2007	Kentucky	Florida State	35–28
Insight Bowl (Tempe, AZ)	December 31, 2007	Indiana	Oklahoma State	49–33
Chick-fil-A Bowl (Atlanta, GA)	December 31, 2007	Clemson	Auburn	23–20 (OT)

Post-BCS All-Star Games

• Cornerstone Bancard Hula Bowl – January 12, Aloha Stadium, ʻAiea, Hawaiʻi – ʻAina (East) 38, Kai (West) 7.
• East-West Shrine Game – January 19, Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas – West 31, East 17.
• Under Armour Senior Bowl – January 26, Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama – South 17, North 16.
• Western Refining Texas vs. The Nation Game – February 2, UTEP Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas – Texas (players who went to high school or college in that state) 41, The Nation 14

Bowl Challenge Cup standings

Bowl Challenge Cup

Conference	Wins	Losses	Percent
Mountain West†	4	1	.800
Southeastern§	7	2	.777
Pacific-10	4	2	.667
Big 12	5	3	.625
Big East	3	2	.600
Big Ten	3	5	.375
Conference USA	2	4	.333
Atlantic Coast	2	6	.250
Western Athletic	1	3	.250
Mid-American	0	3	.000

† Winner of the Bowl Challenge Cup – § NCAA record for bowl victories in a conference in one bowl season.

Notes

• The Sun Belt Conference (represented by Florida Atlantic University) is not eligible for the Bowl Challenge Cup as they only have one bowl berth. Conferences must have a minimum of three bids to be a part of the challenge. FAU defeated Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl.

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

• Winner: Tim Tebow, So. Florida QB (1,957 pts)
• 2. Darren McFadden, Jr. Arkansas RB (1,703 pts)
• 3. Colt Brennan, Sr. Hawaii QB (632 pts)
• 4. Chase Daniel Jr. Missouri QB (425 pts)
• 5. Dennis Dixon, Sr. Oregon QB (178 pts)

Other major award winners

All-America selections

The Associated Press All-America team:^[44]

Milestones

The following teams and players set all-time NCAA Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) records during the season:

Record	Player/Team	Date/Opponent	Previous Record Holder[45]	Source
Most consecutive pass attempts without an interception, career	André Woodson, Kentucky, 325[46]	September 22, vs. Arkansas	Trent Dilfer, Fresno State, 271 (1993)	[47]
Most career extra points	Art Carmody, Louisville, 253	September 29, vs. NC State	Shaun Suisham, Bowling Green, 226 (2001–2004)	[48]
Most consecutive pass attempts with only one interception, career	André Woodson, Kentucky, 343[49]	October 4, vs. South Carolina	Woodson, 333 (2006–2007)[50]	[51]
Most combined rushing yards by teammates in a single game	Felix Jones and Darren McFadden, Arkansas (487 yards)	November 3, vs. South Carolina	Tony Sands and Chip Hilleary, Kansas (476 yards) (1991-11-23)	[52][53]
Most points scored, both teams (regulation)	North Texas and Navy, 136	November 10	San Jose State vs. Rice, 133 points (2004-10-02)	[54]
Most points scored in one quarter, both teams	North Texas and Navy, 63	November 10	San Jose State vs. Hawaiʻi, 61 points (1999-11-06)	[54]
Most wins by two points or fewer in a season by a team	Virginia, 5	November 3 vs. Wake Forest	Columbia, 4 (1971)	[55]
Most all-purpose yards by a freshman	Jeremy Maclin, Missouri, 2,713	November 17, vs. Kansas State	Terrell Willis, Rutgers, 2,026 (1993)	[56]
Most touchdown passes in a career	Colt Brennan, Hawaiʻi, 131	November 23 vs. Boise State	Ty Detmer, BYU, 121 (1988–1991)	[57]
Most touchdowns responsible for in a career	Colt Brennan, Hawaiʻi, 146	November 23 vs. Boise State	Ty Detmer, BYU, 136 (1988–1991)	[57]
Most touchdown passes in a season by a freshman quarterback	Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, 34	November 24, vs. Oklahoma State	David Neill and Colt McCoy, 29	[58]
Most career points scored by a kicker	Art Carmody, Louisville, 433	November 29, vs. Rutgers	Roman Anderson, Houston, 423 (1988–1991)	[59]
Most rushing attempts in a season	Kevin Smith, UCF, 415	December 1, vs. Tulsa	Marcus Allen, USC, 403 (1981)	[60]
Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a season	Tim Tebow, Florida, 23	January 1, vs. Michigan	Chase Harridge, Air Force, 22 (2002)	[61]
Most consecutive games with 300 or more yards passing by a quarterback	Paul Smith, Tulsa, 14	January 6 vs. Bowling Green	Ty Detmer, BYU, 13 (1990–1991)	[62]
Greatest margin of victory in a bowl game	Tulsa, 56 points (63–7)	January 6 vs. Bowling Green	Alabama, 55 points (61–6) vs. Syracuse, 1953 Orange Bowl (1953-01-01)	[62]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Coaching changes

Pre-season

School	Former Coach	New Coach
Indiana	Terry Hoeppner[63]	Bill Lynch

Post-season

School	Former Coach	Interim	New Coach
Arkansas	Houston Nutt[64]	Reggie Herring[65]	Bobby Petrino[66]
Baylor	Guy Morriss[67]		Art Briles[68]
Colorado State	Sonny Lubick[69]		Steve Fairchild[70]
Duke	Ted Roof[71]		David Cutcliffe[72]
Georgia Tech	Chan Gailey[73]	Jon Tenuta[74]	Paul Johnson[75]
Hawaiʻi	June Jones[76]		Greg McMackin[77]
Houston	Art Briles[68]	Chris Thurmond[78]	Kevin Sumlin[79]
Michigan	Lloyd Carr[80]		Rich Rodriguez[81]
Mississippi	Ed Orgeron[82]		Houston Nutt[83]
Navy	Paul Johnson[75]		Ken Niumatalolo[84]
Nebraska	Bill Callahan[85]	Tom Osborne[86]	Bo Pelini[87]
Northern Illinois	Joe Novak[88]		Jerry Kill[89]
SMU	Phil Bennett[90]		June Jones[91]
Southern Miss	Jeff Bower[92]		Larry Fedora[93]
Texas A&M	Dennis Franchione[94]	Gary Darnell[95]	Mike Sherman[96]
UCLA	Karl Dorrell[97]	DeWayne Walker[98]	Rick Neuheisel[99]
Washington State	Bill Doba[100]		Paul Wulff[101]
West Virginia	Rich Rodriguez[81]	Bill Stewart[102]

Notes and references

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season Conference seasons ACC Big 12 Big East Big Ten Conference USA Mid-American Mountain West Pac-10 SEC Sun Belt WAC Bowl season 2007–08 NCAA football bowl games All-Americans 2007 College Football All-America Team National champion LSU Tigers

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