1994 NCAA Division I-A football season

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The 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season saw yet another controversial finish as both Nebraska and Penn State finished undefeated, and yet Penn State finished a distant second in the final AP and UPI polls. The controversial finish, however, could have gotten even worse before disaster was averted late in the season. Late in the season, there were two other undefeated teams: Alabama and Auburn. The Auburn Tigers, who had gone undefeated the year before but was barred from post-season play, were 9-0 before tying Georgia and losing to Alabama in the Iron Bowl. The Alabama Crimson Tide finished the regular season undefeated at 11-0, but lost a heartbreaker 24-23 on a last-second touchdown pass against Florida in the SEC Championship Game.

The Bowl Coalition championshp game featured Big 8 champion Nebraska hosting Big East champion Miami in the Orange Bowl, a game which Nebraska won in a come from behind victory. However, over at the Rose Bowl, undefeated Penn State defeated Oregon. After failing to provide a clear national champion for three years in a row, the Coalition would be dismantled in favor of a Bowl Alliance.

The National Championship was Tom Osborne's first at Nebraska.

Ten years after Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass against Miami, history would repeat itself as Kordell Stewart of Colorado threw a last second, 64-yard Hail Mary to defeat #4 Michigan in the Big House and is called The Miracle at Michigan.

Another notable game was Florida vs. Florida State. Florida led 31-3 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Florida State scored 28 points and held Florida scoreless in the fourth quarter to tie the game 31-31.

Rashaan Salaam of Colorado would win the Heisman Trophy, but in a very uncommon turn of events, Division I-AA quarterback Steve McNair of Alcorn State finished third in the final Heisman voting.

Feb 25th, months before the season began, would be an infamous day in the history of the Southwest Conference. An all-Texas conference could only capture a small portion of the national TV market, and with Arkansas's flight to the SEC, other schools began to make plans for associating themselves with other conferences. Texas and Colorado were rumored to be joining the Pac-10, Texas A&M were thought to be joining the SEC. Ultimately, on February 25, Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and Baylor announced they were going to leave the Southwest Conference for the Big 8. The Southwest Conference would still continue to play for two more years, as the remaining members looked for new homes.

The SEC Championship Game moved from Birmingham, Alabama to the Georgia Dome.

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 John Hancock Bowl went back to its original name, the Sun Bowl. The Gator Bowl was played in Gainesville, Florida during construction of ALLTEL Stadium, which was to be the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars and future home of the Gator Bowl game.

Although Nebraska, Penn State and Alabama were still ranked in the Top 10, many of college football's legendary teams finished the regular season with their lowest rankings in years. The Ohio State Buckeyes were ranked 13th, Michigan was 20th and the USC Trojans 21st, and Notre Dame, Texas and Oklahoma were unranked.

Contents

[edit] Final Conference Standings

Atlantic Coastal Conference
Overall Conf
Team W L T W L T
Florida State 10 1 1 8 0 0
N.C. State 9 3 0 6 2 0
Virginia 9 3 0 5 3 0
Duke 8 4 0 5 3 0
North Carolina 8 4 0 5 3 0
Clemson 5 6 0 4 4 0
Maryland 4 7 0 2 6 0
Wake Forest 3 8 0 1 7 0
Georgia Tech 1 10 0 0 8 0
Big 8 Conference
Overall Conf
Team W L T W L T
Nebraska 13 0 0 7 0 0
Colorado 11 1 0 6 1 0
Kansas St. 9 3 0 5 2 0
Oklahoma 6 6 0 4 3 0
Kansas 6 5 0 3 4 0
Missouri 3 8 0 2 5 0
Oklahoma St. 3 7 1 0 6 1
Iowa St. 0 10 1 0 6 1
Big East Conference
Overall Conf
Team W L T W L T
Miami 10 2 0 7 0 0
Virginia Tech 8 4 0 5 2 0
Syracuse 7 4 0 4 3 0
West Virginia 7 6 0 4 3 0
Boston College 7 4 1 3 3 1
Rutgers 5 5 1 2 4 1
Pittsburgh 3 8 0 2 5 0
Temple 2 9 0 0 7 0
Big West
Overall Conf
Team W L T W L T !
Nevada 9 2 0 6 1 0
Nevada-Las Vegas 7 5 0 5 1 0
Louisiana-Lafayette 6 5 0 5 1 0
Pacific 6 5 0 4 2 0
Northern Illinois 4 7 0 3 3 0
San Jose St. 3 8 0 3 3 0
Utah State 3 8 0 2 4 0
New Mexico St. 3 8 0 2 5 0
Louisiana Tech 3 8 0 1 5 0
Arkansas St. 1 10 0 0 6 0
Big 10 Conference
Overall Conf
Team W L T W L T
Penn State 12 0 0 8 0 0
Ohio State 9 4 0 6 2 0
Michigan 8 4 0 5 3 0
Wisconsin 7 4 1 4 3 1
Illinois 7 5 0 4 4 0
Michigan St. 5 6 0 4 4 0
Iowa 5 5 1 3 4 1
Indiana 6 5 0 3 5 0
Purdue 4 5 2 2 4 2
Northwestern 3 7 1 2 6 0
Minnesota 3 8 0 1 7 0
Mid-American
Overall Conf
Team W L T W L T
Central Michigan 9 3 0 8 1 0
Bowling Green 9 2 0 7 1 0
Western Michigan 7 4 0 5 3 0
Miami(Ohio) 5 5 1 5 3 0
Ball State 5 5 1 5 3 1
Toledo 6 4 1 4 3 1
Eastern Michigan 5 6 0 5 4 0
Kent 2 9 0 2 7 0
Akron 1 10 0 1 8 0
Ohio 0 11 0 0 9 0
Pac-10
Overall Conf
Team W L T W L T
Oregon 9 4 1 7 1 0
USC 8 3 1 6 2 0
Arizona 8 4 0 6 2 0
Washington St. 8 4 0 5 3 0
Washington 7 4 0 4 4 0
UCLA 5 6 0 3 5 0
California 4 7 0 3 5 0
Oregon St. 4 7 0 2 6 0
Stanford 3 7 1 2 6 0
Arizona St. 3 8 0 2 6 0
South West
Overall Conf
Team W L T W L T
Texas A&M 10 0 1 6 0 1
Texas 8 4 0 4 3 0
TCU 7 5 0 4 3 0
Baylor 7 5 0 4 3 0
Texas Tech 6 6 0 4 3 0
Rice 5 6 0 4 3 0
Houston 1 10 0 1 6 0
SMU 1 9 1 0 6 1
Southeastern Conference
Overall Conf
Team W L T W L T
East
Florida 10 2 1 7 1 0
Tennessee 8 4 0 5 3 0
South Carolina 7 5 0 4 4 0
Georgia 6 4 1 3 4 1
Vanderbilt 5 6 0 2 6 0
Kentucky 1 10 0 0 8 0
West
Alabama 12 1 10 8 0 0
Auburn 9 1 1 6 1 1
Mississippi State 8 4 0 5 3 0
LSU 4 7 0 3 5 0
Mississippi 4 7 0 2 6 0
Arkansas 4 7 0 2 6 0
Championship: Florida 24, Alabama 23
WAC
Overall Conf
Team W L T W L T
Colorado St. 10 2 0 7 1 0
Utah 10 2 0 6 2 0
BYU 10 3 0 6 2 0
Air Force 8 4 0 6 2 0
Wyoming 6 6 0 4 4 0
New Mexico 5 7 0 4 4 0
Fresno State 5 7 1 3 4 1
San Diego State 4 7 0 2 6 0
UTEP 3 7 1 1 6 1
Hawaii 3 8 0 0 8 0
Independents
Overall
Team W L T
East Carolina 7 5 0
Southern Miss 6 5 0
Louisville 6 5 0
Memphis 6 5 0
Notre Dame 6 4 1
Army 4 7 0
Louisiana-Monroe 3 8 0
Tulsa 3 8 0
Navy 3 8 0
Cincinnati 2 8 1
Tulane 1 10 0

[edit] Bowl Coalition #1 and #2

The Bowl Coalition did not include the Big 10 and Pacific 10 conferences, whose champions were played in the Rose Bowl. Penn State, which was ranked #1 in the Oct 18 and Oct 25 polls, and #2 for the remainder of the season, finished the regular season 11-0-0 and played in the Rose Bowl as the champion of the Big Ten.

WEEKS First Conference Second Conference
PRE Florida SEC Notre Dame Independent
1 Florida SEC Nebraska Big 8
2 Nebraska Big 8 Florida SEC
3-7 Florida SEC Nebraska Big 8
8-9 #2 Colorado Big 8 #3 Nebraska Big 8
10-11 Nebraska Big 8 #3 Auburn SEC
12 Nebraska Big 8 #3 Florida SEC
13-14 Nebraska Big 8 #3 Alabama SEC
15 Nebraska Big 8 #3 Miami Big East

[edit] Bowl Games

Main article: NCAA football bowl games, 1994-95

[edit] Final AP Poll

  1. Nebraska
  2. Penn St.
  3. Colorado
  4. Florida St.
  5. Alabama
  6. Miami-FL
  7. Florida
  8. Texas A&M
  9. Auburn
  10. Utah
  11. Oregon
  12. Michigan
  13. USC
  14. Ohio St.
  15. Virginia
  16. Colorado St.
  17. N.C. State
  18. BYU
  19. Kansas St.
  20. Arizona

[edit] Final Coaches Poll

  1. Nebraska
  2. Penn St.
  3. Colorado
  4. Alabama
  5. Florida St.
  6. Miami (FL)
  7. Florida
  8. Utah
  9. Ohio St.
  10. Brigham Young (UT)
  11. Oregon
  12. Michigan
  13. Virginia
  14. Colorado St.
  15. Southern California
  16. Kansas St.
  17. North Carolina St.
  18. Tennessee
  19. Washington St.
  20. Arizona
  21. North Carolina
  22. Boston College (MA)
  23. Texas
  24. Virginia Tech
  25. Mississippi St.


[edit] Heisman Trophy Voting

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

Winner: Rashaan Salaam, Colorado, JR. RB (1400 votes)

[edit] Other Major Awards

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