1992 NCAA Division I-A football season

1992 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams	107[1]
Preseason AP #1	Miami Hurricanes[2]
Post-season
Bowl games	18
Heisman Trophy	Gino Torretta, Miami, QB
Bowl Coalition Championship
1993 Sugar Bowl
Site	Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Winner	Alabama Crimson Tide
Division I-A football seasons
← 1991 1993 →

The 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Coalition and concluded with Alabama's first national championship in thirteen years—their first since the departure of Bear Bryant. One of Bryant's former players, Gene Stallings, was the head coach, and he used a style similar to Bryant's, a smashmouth running game combined with a tough defense.

The members of the Bowl Coalition were the Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl Classic, and Fiesta Bowl. Under the agreement the Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Cotton Bowl Classic hosted the Southeastern Conference, Big 8, and Southwest Conference champions, respectively, and then a pool of at large teams was formed between the Atlantic Coast Conference champ, the Big East champ, Notre Dame, and two conference runners-up from the Big 8, SWC, ACC, Big East and Pac-10. The highest ranked host team would play the highest ranked at-large team. If the two highest ranked teams were both at-large teams, the championship game would be hosted by the Fiesta Bowl.

So for this year, (host) SEC champ Alabama played (at-large) Big East Champ Miami-FL, the Orange Bowl featured (host) Big-8 champ Nebraska and (at-large) ACC champ Florida St., the Cotton Bowl Classic featured (host) SWC champ Texas A&M and (at-large) independent Notre Dame, and the Fiesta Bowl featured (at-large) Big East runner up Syracuse and (at-large) Big 8 runner up Colorado.

The 1992 season also saw the expansion of the SEC and the first conference championship game to be played in the country. Before the 1992 season, the Arkansas Razorbacks and the South Carolina Gamecocks joined the SEC, which expanded the conference to twelve teams. The conference then split into two divisions, and the winner of each division would face off in the SEC Championship Game in Birmingham's historic Legion Field (later moved to Atlanta's Georgia Dome, in 1994). In the first year of the new system, Alabama won the SEC West, Florida won the SEC East, and the Tide won the match-up 28-21 on an Antonio Langham interception return for a touchdown in the closing minutes.

In the Sugar Bowl, to decide the national champion, Miami came in a heavy favorite with even heavier swagger. The Tide defense, however, with its eleven-man fronts and zone blitzes, heavily confused Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta and Alabama won in a defensive rout, 34-13.

In other circles, the Big West Conference lost two members; Fresno State left for the WAC and Long Beach State stopped sponsoring football, but they also gained a member in Nevada, which made the jump from Division I-AA. Possibly in a show of how weak the conference was, Nevada went 5-1 in conference, winning the Big West championship and representing the conference in the 1992 Las Vegas Bowl (formerly the California Bowl held in Fresno, California).

Rule changes

• Fumbles can now be recovered and advanced by the defense anywhere on the field (previously it only applied to fumbles beyond the line of scrimmage), except for backward passes and muffed punts/kickoffs, which can be recovered by the defense but not advanced.
• While overtime was not introduced for regular season games until 1996 (and Division I-A bowl games in 1995), the Kansas tiebreaker procedure was permitted (but not needed) for the Southeastern Conference Championship beginning in 1992. Both teams would be allowed a chance to score by beginning their drive at the opponent's 25-yard-line.

Conference and program changes

• Florida State played its first season of ACC football in 1992 after many years as an independent. The Seminoles had joined the ACC in all other sports in 1991.
• Arkansas and the South Carolina joined the SEC, expanding the conference to twelve teams. Both the Razorbacks and the Gamecocks had joined the SEC in all other sports in 1991.
• Akron joined the Mid-American Conference.
• Fresno State departed the Big West for the WAC and were replaced by Nevada, formerly of Division I-AA.
• Long Beach State dropped its football program, which had been a member of the Big West.

School	1991 Conference	1992 Conference
Akron Zips	I-A Independent	MAC
Arkansas Razorbacks	SWC	SEC
Florida State Seminoles	I-A Independent	ACC
Fresno State Bulldogs	Big West	WAC
Long Beach State 49ers	Big West	Dropped Program
Nevada Wolf Pack	Big Sky (I-AA)	Big West (I-A)
South Carolina Gamecocks	I-A Independent	SEC

Conference standings

1992 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #2 Florida State $ 8 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 #17 NC State 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 1 #19 North Carolina 5 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #25 Wake Forest 4 – 4 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Virginia 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Georgia Tech 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Clemson 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Maryland 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Duke 0 – 8 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1992 Big East football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #3 Miami (FL) 4 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 #6 Syracuse 6 – 1 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Rutgers 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 #21 Boston College 2 – 1 – 1     8 – 3 – 1 West Virginia 2 – 3 – 1     5 – 4 – 2 Pittsburgh 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 9 – 0 Virginia Tech 1 – 4 – 0     2 – 8 – 1 Temple 0 – 6 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 The Big East did not crown an official champion until 1993 when full league play began. Rankings from AP Poll	1992 Big 8 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #14 Nebraska $ 6 – 1 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #13 Colorado % 5 – 1 – 1     9 – 2 – 1 #22 Kansas 4 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Oklahoma 3 – 2 – 2     5 – 4 – 2 Oklahoma State 2 – 4 – 1     3 – 7 – 1 Kansas State 2 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Iowa State 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Missouri 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 † – Bowl Coalition representative as champion ‡ – Bowl Coalition at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll
1992 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #5 Michigan $ 6 – 0 – 2     9 – 0 – 3 #18 Ohio State 5 – 2 – 1     8 – 3 – 1 Michigan State 5 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Illinois 4 – 3 – 1     6 – 5 – 1 Iowa 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 7 – 0 Indiana 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Wisconsin 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Purdue 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Northwestern 3 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Minnesota 2 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1992 Big West Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Nevada $ 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 San Jose State 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Utah State 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 New Mexico State 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 UNLV 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Pacific 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Cal State Fullerton 0 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1992 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Bowling Green $ 8 – 0 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Western Michigan 6 – 3 – 0     7 – 3 – 1 Toledo 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 Akron 5 – 3 – 0     7 – 3 – 1 Miami 5 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 1 Ball State 5 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Central Michigan 4 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Kent State 2 – 7 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Eastern Michigan 1 – 7 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 Ohio 1 – 7 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1992 Pacific-10 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #11 Washington + 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #9 Stanford + 6 – 2 – 0     10 – 3 – 0 #15 Washington State 5 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 USC 5 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 1 Arizona 4 – 3 – 1     6 – 5 – 1 Arizona State 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Oregon 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 UCLA 3 – 5 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 California 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Oregon State 0 – 7 – 1     1 – 9 – 1 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1992 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Eastern Division #10 Florida xy 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 4 – 0 #8 Georgia x 6 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 #12 Tennessee 5 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 South Carolina 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Kentucky 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Vanderbilt 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Western Division #1 Alabama x$ 8 – 0 – 0     13 – 0 – 0 #16 Ole Miss 5 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #23 Mississippi State 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Arkansas 3 – 4 – 1     3 – 7 – 1 Auburn 2 – 5 – 1     5 – 5 – 1 LSU 1 – 7 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Championship: Alabama 28, Florida 21 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	1992 Southwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #7 Texas A&M $ 7 – 0 – 0     12 – 1 – 0 Baylor 4 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Rice 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Texas 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Texas Tech 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 SMU 2 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Houston 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 TCU 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1992 WAC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #20 Hawaii + 6 – 2 – 0     11 – 2 – 0 #24 Fresno State + 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 4 – 0 BYU + 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 5 – 0 San Diego State 5 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 1 Air Force 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Utah 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 Colorado State 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 7 – 0 Wyoming 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 7 – 0 New Mexico 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 UTEP 1 – 7 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1992 Division I-A independents football records Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #4 Notre Dame   –       10 – 1 – 1 Southern Miss   –       7 – 4 – 0 Penn State   –       7 – 5 – 0 Memphis   –       6 – 5 – 0 Army   –       5 – 6 – 0 East Carolina   –       5 – 6 – 0 Louisiana Tech   –       5 – 6 – 0 Louisville   –       5 – 6 – 0 Northern Illinois   –       5 – 6 – 0 Tulsa   –       4 – 7 – 0 Cincinnati   –       3 – 8 – 0 Arkansas State   –       2 – 9 – 0 Southwestern Louisiana   –       2 – 9 – 0 Tulane   –       2 – 9 – 0 Navy   –       1 – 10 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll

#1 and #2 progress

Until the November 10, 1992 poll, #1 and #2 shifted between Miami and Seattle, as the Miami Hurricanes and the Washington Huskies were only points apart at the top. In the preseason poll, Miami had 40 of the 62 first place votes cast, and Washington 12. After both teams went 5-0, they each got first place votes from 31 electors, split 31½ each, and on October 13, the Huskies were ahead by a single point 1,517½ to 1,516½. The following week, there was a tie for first place for the first time in the history of the AP poll, with Miami and Washington each collecting 1,517 points (Miami had more first place votes, 31 to 30, as another writer went with 7-0-0 Alabama). The next week, Miami was ahead 1,517 to 1,516, and the week after, Washington was on top again. On November 7, the Huskies lost at Arizona, 16-3 to fall to 8-1-0. In the remaining polls, Miami was the clear cut favorite for #1, with 61 of the 62 votes, and Alabama was everyone's favorite #2. Both finished the regular season unbeaten. Since Miami was an "at-large" school, and Alabama was the highest ranked of the "host schools" (qualifying for the Sugar Bowl as the Southeastern Conference champion), the #1 vs. #2 matchup would take place in New Orleans.

Bowl games

Bowl Game	Winning Team		Losing Team		Date
Peach Bowl	#19 North Carolina	21	#24 Mississippi State	17	1/2/93
Sugar Bowl (National Championship Game)	#2 Alabama	34	#1 Miami	13	1/1/93
Orange Bowl	#3 Florida State	27	#11 Nebraska	14	1/1/93
Cotton Bowl Classic	#5 Notre Dame	28	#4 Texas A&M	3	1/1/93
Fiesta Bowl	#6 Syracuse	26	#10 Colorado	22	1/1/93
Rose Bowl	#7 Michigan	38	#9 Washington	31	1/1/93
Florida Citrus Bowl	#8 Georgia	21	#15 Ohio State	14	1/1/93
Blockbuster Bowl	#13 Stanford	24	#21 Penn State	3	1/1/93
Hall of Fame Bowl	#17 Tennessee	38	#16 Boston College	23	1/1/93
Gator Bowl	#14 Florida	27	#12 NC State	10	12/31/92
Liberty Bowl	#20 Ole Miss	13	Air Force	0	12/31/92
Independence Bowl	Wake Forest	39	Oregon	35	12/31/92
John Hancock Bowl	Baylor	20	#22 Arizona	15	12/31/92
Holiday Bowl	Hawaii	27	Illinois	17	12/30/92
Copper Bowl	#18 Washington St.	31	Utah	28	12/29/92
Freedom Bowl	Fresno State	24	#23 USC	7	12/28/92
Aloha Bowl	Kansas	23	#25 BYU	20	12/25/92
Las Vegas Bowl	Bowling Green	35	Nevada	34	12/18/92

Final rankings

Final AP Poll

1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Miami (FL)
4. Notre Dame
5. Michigan
6. Syracuse
7. Texas A&M
8. Georgia
9. Stanford
10. Florida
11. Washington
12. Tennessee
13. Colorado
14. Nebraska
15. Washington State
16. Mississippi
17. N.C. State
18. Ohio State
19. North Carolina
20. Hawaii
21. Boston College
22. Kansas
23. Mississippi State
24. Fresno State
25. Wake Forest

Final Coaches Poll

1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Miami (FL)
4. Notre Dame
5. Michigan
6. Texas A&M
7. Syracuse
8. Georgia
9. Stanford
10. Washington
11. Florida
12. Tennessee
13. Colorado
14. Nebraska
15. N.C. State
16. Mississippi
17. Washington State
18. North Carolina
19. Ohio State
20. Hawaii
21. Boston College
22. Fresno State
23. Kansas
24. Penn State
25. Wake Forest

Awards and honors

Heisman Trophy

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

Winner: Gino Torretta, Miami-FL, Sr. QB (1400 votes)

• 2. Marshall Faulk, San Diego State, So. RB (1080 votes)
• 3. Garrison Hearst, Georgia, Jr. RB (982 votes)
• 4. Marvin Jones, Florida State, Jr. LB (392 votes)
• 5. Reggie Brooks, Notre Dame, Sr. RB (294 votes)

Other major awards

• Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) - Gino Torretta, Miami-FL
• Walter Camp Award (Back) - Gino Torretta
• Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) - Gino Torretta
• Doak Walker Award (Running Back) - Garrison Hearst, Georgia
• Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker) - Marvin Jones, Florida State
• Lombardi Award (Lineman or Linebacker) - Marvin Jones, Florida State
• Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) - Will Shields, Nebraska
• Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back) - Deon Figures, Colorado
• AFCA Coach of the Year - Gene Stallings, Alabama
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year - Gene Stallings, Alabama

Coaching changes

In-season

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement
Arkansas	Jack Crowe	September 6	resigned [3]	Joe Kines (interim)
Eastern Michigan	Jim Harkema	September 29	resigned [4]	Jan Quarless (interim)
Pittsburgh	Paul Hackett	November 25	resigned [5]	Sal Sunseri (interim)

References

1. http://www.jhowell.net/cf/cf1992.htm
2. http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=685
3. Associated Press (September 7, 1992). "Arkansas Coach Quits After Loss to The Citadel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
4. Blade staff and wire reports (September 30, 1992). "Harkema Quits". Toledo Blade. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
5. Associated Press (November 28, 1992). "Sunseri takes over Panthers for now". Observer–Reporter. Retrieved December 11, 2013.