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1993 NCAA Division I-A football season

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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, in both the AP and Coaches poll. The alumni and fans of Notre Dame wanted there to be controversy, but the experts who voted in the Coaches and AP poll saw the Notre Dame loss to Boston College, and their weak strength of schedule too much to overcome. A week after upsetting the Seminoles the Irish fell in the polls and control of its own destiny by losing at home to Boston College. Notre Dame and its dreams of a National Championship ended before the bowl season began. Notre Dame's weak schedule could not justify an invite to play for the 1993 National Title by the AP and Coaches poll. Notre Dame played only 3 teams in the top 25 during the regular season not named FSU and the highest ranking team was #15 Michigan ( 8–4 final record). Notre Dame dropped to #4 after the humiliating loss to Boston College in the last game of regular season before bowl invites were given. Notre Dame was behind #1 FSU, #2 Nebraska, and #3 West Virginia for the right to play in the 1993 National Championship game. Notre Dame looked unimpressive in their final 2 games losing to Boston College and squeaking by Texas A&M, while FSU beat #4 Florida in Gainesville and #2 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl defending their #1 ranking against 2 of the top 5 teams in their final 2 games.

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, however the alumni and fans brushed aside the loss to a huge underdog in South Bend and declared themselves national champions Notre Dame because they beat 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. 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). But West Virginia's schedule was very weak, and could not justify in invite to play for the National Title. FSU and its 6–1 record vs. top 17 teams including 4 games vs. top 7 teams proved that FSU earned the right to play in the Orange Bowl as one of the 2 best teams in the nation. In the final Coaches Poll of the 1993 season including bowl games, FSU had played the #2, #3, and #4 ranked teams all on the road, winning 2 of the 3 contests. FSU was the clear National Champion of 1993 by both the Coaches Poll and the AP poll.

Despite beating Florida State in the regular season, Notre Dame finished #2 in the two major polls due to the teams ranked ahead of them losing. 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. Notre Dame and its humiliating loss at home to Boston College was enough to keep Notre Dame out of the National Championship game. They had no chance at the #1 ranking even before the bowl season started. When #2 Nebraska lost to FSU in the National Championship Game, and #3 WVU lost its bowl game, Notre Dame fans demanded to be crowned National Champions. Only the fans and alumni of Notre Dame could justify their weak schedule and the devastating loss to Boston College at home in the last game of the regular season as reason to be voted National Champions. The rest of the College football world saw them as the 4th best team at the end of the 1993 regular season. The 1993 season was not a debate about who was #1. It was about who was #2.

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.

Contents

Rule Changes

  • Players who are bleeding or have open wounds are required to leave the game until the bleeding is stopped and the wound treated.
  • The "fumblerooski" play is outlawed as intentional fumbles are now illegal.

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 Eight football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T[3]
#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 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0
UNLV 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
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
1993 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#9 Texas A&M † 7 – 0 – 0     10 – 2 – 0
Texas 5 – 2 – 0     5 – 5 – 1
Texas Tech 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 6 – 0
Rice 3 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0
Baylor 3 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0
TCU 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0
SMU 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 7 – 2
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
Fresno State § 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0
Wyoming § 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0
BYU § 6 – 2 – 0     6 – 6 – 0
Utah 5 – 3 – 0     7 – 6 – 0
Colorado State 5 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0
New Mexico 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0
San Diego State 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 6 – 0
Hawaii 3 – 5 – 0     6 – 6 – 0
Air Force 1 – 7 – 0     4 – 8 – 0
UTEP 0 – 8 – 0     1 – 11 – 0
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1993 Division I-A independents football records
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#2 Notre Dame   –       11 – 1 – 0
#24 Louisville   –       9 – 3 – 0
Cincinnati   –       8 – 3 – 0
Army   –       6 – 5 – 0
Memphis   –       6 – 5 – 0
Tulsa   –       4 – 6 – 1
Navy   –       4 – 7 – 0
Tulane   –       3 – 9 – 0
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 Boston College 41, Notre Dame 39 Nov 20
13-15 Florida State Nebraska Florida State 18, Nebraska 16 Jan 1

Bowl Games

Main article: 1992–93 NCAA football bowl games

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. Boston College
  14. Alabama
  15. Miami (FL)
  16. Colorado
  17. Oklahoma
  18. UCLA
  19. North Carolina
  20. Kansas State
  21. Michigan
  22. Virginia Tech
  23. Clemson
  24. Louisville
  25. 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. Boston College
  13. Alabama
  14. Oklahoma
  15. Miami (FL)
  16. Colorado
  17. UCLA
  18. Kansas St.
  19. Michigan
  20. Virginia Tech
  21. North Carolina
  22. Clemson
  23. Louisville
  24. 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)

Other Major Awards

References

  1. ^ http://www.jhowell.net/cf/cf1993.htm
  2. ^ http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=718
  3. ^ http://bigeightsports.com/Sports/Football/Seasons/1993.htm