2000 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Oklahoma Sooners claiming their first national championship and their first conference championship since the departure of head coach Barry Switzer.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was in his second season as head coach, having been the defensive coordinator of Steve Spurrier's 1996 National Champion Florida Gators, and also having helped Bill Snyder turn the Kansas State Wildcats around in the early 1990s. Stoops erased a three-game losing streak against rival Texas by a score of 63–14, one of the worst defeats in Texas' football history. Despite the lopsided victory, this game marked a return of the Red River Shootout to a rivalry game with national title implications.

The BCS title game was not without controversy, as the system shut fourth-ranked Washington out of the championship game, despite being the only team who had beaten each #2 and #5 Oregon State and having the same 10-1 record as #3 Florida State during the regular season. 10–1, who handed #3 Florida State their only loss, was ranked higher in both the AP Writers' Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, and had the same record as the Seminoles, was also seen as a possible title contender.

Virginia Tech also was left out of the BCS bowls, despite being ranked higher than one of the at-large teams, Notre Dame.

The South Carolina Gamecocks broke a 21-game losing streak, stretching back into 1998, to go 8–4 including a win over Ohio State in the Outback Bowl.

Two new bowl games began in the 2000 season: the Silicon Valley Bowl, which had a contractual tie-in with the WAC, and the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl.

Nevada left the Big West Conference to become the ninth member of the Western Athletic Conference.

Two new teams joined Division I-A football this season; University of Connecticut and University of South Florida.

Final BCS Standings

 * 1) Oklahoma
 * 2) Florida State
 * 3) Washington
 * 4) Virginia Tech
 * 5) Oregon State
 * 6) Florida
 * 7) Nebraska
 * 8) Kansas State
 * 9) Oregon
 * 10) Notre Dame
 * 11) Texas
 * 12) TCU
 * 13) Clemson
 * 1) TCU
 * 2) Clemson

BCS Bowls

 * Orange Bowl: #1 Oklahoma (BCS #1) 13, #3 Florida State (BCS #2) 2
 * Rose Bowl: 	#4 Washington (Pac10 co-champ) 34, #14 Purdue (Big10 co-Champ) 24
 * Fiesta Bowl: #6 Oregon State (At Large [Pac10 co-champ]) 41, #10 Notre Dame (At Large) 9
 * Sugar Bowl: #2 (Big East Champ) 37, #7 Florida (SEC Champ) 20

Other New Years Day Bowls

 * Cotton Bowl Classic: #11 Kansas State (Big 12 runner-up) 35, #21 Tennessee 21
 * #17 Michigan (Big10 co-champ) 31, #20 Auburn (SEC runner-up) 28
 * Gator Bowl: #6 Virginia Tech 41, #16 Clemson 20
 * Outback Bowl: South Carolina 24, #19 Ohio State 7

December Bowl Games

 * Holiday Bowl: #8 Oregon (Pac10 co-champ) 35, #12 Texas 30
 * Peach Bowl: LSU 28, #15 14
 * 38, Minnesota 30
 * Sun Bowl: Wisconsin 21, 20
 * Alamo Bowl: #9 Nebraska 66, #18 (Big10 co-champ) 17
 * Insight.com Bowl: Iowa State 37, Pittsburgh 29
 * #23 (MWC champ) 22, #22  (C-USA champ) 17
 * 31, 17
 * Oahu Bowl: #24 Georgia 37, 14
 * Independence Bowl: 43, Texas A&M 41 (OT)
 * Music City Bowl: 49,  38
 * Las Vegas Bowl: 31,  14
 * Motor City Bowl: (MAC champ) 25,  14
 * Humanitarian Bowl: Boise State (Big West champ) 38, (WAC co-champ) 23
 * Mobile Alabama Bowl: 28, #13 TCU (WAC co-champ) 21
 * 37, 34
 * Galleryfurniture.com bowl: East Carolina 40, Texas Tech 27

Heisman Trophy Voting
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the year
 * Winner: Chris Weinke, Florida State (1628 points)
 * 2. Josh Heupel, Oklahoma (1552 points)
 * 3. Drew Brees, Purdue (619 points)
 * 4. LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU (566 points)
 * 5. Damien Anderson, Northwestern (101 points)

Other Major Awards

 * Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) - Drew Brees, Purdue
 * Walter Camp Award (Back) - Josh Heupel, Oklahoma
 * Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) - Chris Weinke, Florida State
 * Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Senior Quarterback) - Chris Weinke, Florida State
 * Doak Walker Award (Running Back) - LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU
 * Fred Biletnikoff Award (Wide Receiver) - Antonio Bryant, Pittsburgh
 * Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Defensive Player) - Dan Morgan, Miami
 * Chuck Bednarik Award - Dan Morgan, Miami
 * Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker) - Dan Morgan, Miami
 * Lombardi Award (Lineman or Linebacker) - Jamal Reynolds, Florida State
 * Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) - John Henderson, Tennessee, DT
 * Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back) - Jamar Fletcher, Wisconsin
 * Lou Groza Award (Placekicker) - Jonathan Ruffin, Cincinnati
 * Paul "Bear" Bryant Award - Bob Stoops, Oklahoma