1994 NCAA Division I-A football season

1994 NCAA Division I-A season
Total # of teams	107
Preseason AP #1	Florida Gators
Number of bowls	19
National championship	1995 Orange Bowl
Location of championship	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
Champions	Nebraska Cornhuskers
Heisman	Rashaan Salaam, Colorado RB
NCAA Division I-A football season «1993 1995»

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 been an even worse morass if not for some end of season results. 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 fourth quarter touchdown pass against Florida in the 1994 SEC Championship Game.

The Bowl Coalition championship game featured Big Eight Conference champion Nebraska hosting Big East Conference 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. A moral defeat was also handed to Penn State as the already defeated Hoosiers, who had been drubbed 35-14 until Joe Paterno took mercy on them and removed his starters from the game, scored 15 meaningless points--including a Hail Mary TD pass on the final play--to finish with a misleading 35-29 score. Voters promptly demoted Penn State from #1 in a poll and elevated Nebraska to that spot, a result that the Nittany Lions were never able to overcome (not least because, under the Rose Bowl/Orange Bowl selection rules of the time, Penn State could only play in the former contest and Nebraska only in the latter one).

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 newly formed Big 12 Conference. 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 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.

Northeast Louisiana University, now University of Louisiana Monroe joined Division 1-A this year bringing the total number of schools to 107.

Conference standings

1994 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #4 Florida State † 8 – 0 – 0     10 – 1 – 1 #17 NC State 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #15 Virginia 5 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Duke 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 North Carolina 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Clemson 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Maryland 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Wake Forest 1 – 7 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Georgia Tech 0 – 8 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1994 Big 8 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #1 Nebraska † 7 – 0 – 0     13 – 0 – 0 #3 Colorado ‡ 6 – 1 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 #19 Kansas State 5 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Oklahoma 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 Kansas 3 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Missouri 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 1 Oklahoma State 0 – 6 – 1     3 – 7 – 1 Iowa State 0 – 6 – 1     0 – 10 – 1 † – Conference champion ‡ – Bowl Coalition at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll	1994 Big East football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #6 Miami † 7 – 0 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Virginia Tech 5 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Syracuse 4 – 3 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 West Virginia 4 – 3 – 0     7 – 6 – 0 #23 Boston College 3 – 3 – 1     7 – 4 – 1 Rutgers 2 – 4 – 1     5 – 5 – 1 Pittsburgh 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Temple 0 – 7 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1994 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #2/2 Penn State † 8 – 0 – 0     12 – 0 – 0 #14/9 Ohio State 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 4 – 0 Wisconsin 5 – 2 – 1     8 – 3 – 1 #12/12 Michigan 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Illinois 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Indiana 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Iowa 3 – 4 – 1     5 – 5 – 1 Purdue 3 – 3 – 2     5 – 4 – 2 Northwestern 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 1 Minnesota 1 – 7 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Michigan State 0 – 8 – 0     0 – 11 – 0 † – Conference champion Michigan State forfeited 5 wins, 4 conference wins Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll	Template:1994 Big West Conference football standings	1994 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Central Michigan † 8 – 1 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Bowling Green 7 – 1 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 Western Michigan 5 – 3 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Miami 5 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 1 Ball State 5 – 3 – 1     5 – 5 – 1 Toledo 4 – 3 – 1     6 – 4 – 1 Eastern Michigan 5 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Kent State 2 – 7 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Akron 1 – 8 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 Ohio 0 – 9 – 0     0 – 11 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1994 Pacific-10 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #11 Oregon † 7 – 1 – 0     9 – 4 – 0 #13 USC 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 3 – 1 #20 Arizona 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 #21 Washington State 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Washington 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 UCLA 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 California 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Oregon State 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Stanford 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 7 – 1 Arizona State 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1994 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Eastern Division #7 Florida x† 7 – 1 – 0     10 – 2 – 1 #22 Tennessee 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 South Carolina 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Georgia 3 – 4 – 1     6 – 4 – 1 Vanderbilt 2 – 6 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Kentucky 0 – 8 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 Western Division #5 Alabama x 8 – 0 – 0     12 – 1 – 0 #9 Auburn 6 – 1 – 1     9 – 1 – 1 Mississippi State 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 LSU 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Arkansas 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Ole Miss 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Championship: Florida 24, Alabama 23 † – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1994 Southwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #8 Texas A&M* 6 – 0 – 1     10 – 0 – 1 #25 Texas § 4 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Baylor § 4 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 TCU § 4 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Texas Tech § 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 Rice § 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Houston 1 – 6 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 SMU 0 – 6 – 1     1 – 9 – 1 § – Conference co-champions *Texas A&M ineligible for championship and post-season due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from AP Poll
1994 WAC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 16 Colorado State † 7 – 1 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 No. 10 Utah 6 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 No. 18 BYU 6 – 2 – 0     10 – 3 – 0 Air Force 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Wyoming 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 New Mexico 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 7 – 0 Fresno State 3 – 4 – 1     5 – 7 – 1 San Diego State 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 UTEP 1 – 6 – 1     3 – 7 – 1 Hawaii 0 – 8 – 0     3 – 8 – 1 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	Template:1994 Division I-A independents football standings

Bowl Coalition #1 and #2

The Bowl Coalition did not include the Big 10 and Pacific 10 conferences, whose champions 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

Bowl games

Main article: 1994–95 NCAA football bowl games

• Orange Bowl: #1 Nebraska 24, #3 Miami 17
• Rose Bowl: #2 Penn State 38, #12 Oregon 20
• Sugar Bowl: #7 Florida State 23, #5 Florida 17
• Cotton Bowl Classic: #21 USC 55, Texas Tech 14
• Fiesta Bowl: #4 Colorado 41, Notre Dame 24
• Peach Bowl: #23 NC State 28, #16 Mississippi State 24
• Florida Citrus Bowl: #6 Alabama 24, #13 Ohio State 17
• Hall of Fame Bowl: Wisconsin 34, #25 Duke 20
• Carquest Bowl: South Carolina 24, West Virginia 21
• Sun Bowl: Texas 35, #18 North Carolina 31
• Gator Bowl: Tennessee 45, #17 Virginia Tech 23
• Copper Bowl: #22 BYU 31, Oklahoma 6
• Alamo Bowl: #24 Washington State 10, Baylor 3
• Holiday Bowl: #20 Michigan 24, Colorado State 14
• Freedom Bowl: #14 Utah 16, #15 Arizona 13
• Liberty Bowl: Illinois 30, East Carolina 0
• Aloha Bowl: Boston College 12, #11 Kansas State 7
• Independence Bowl: #18 Virginia 20, TCU 10
• Las Vegas Bowl: UNLV 52, Central Michigan 24

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
21. Washington State
22. Tennessee
23. Boston College
24. Mississippi State
25. Texas

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
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
23. Texas
24. Virginia Tech
25. Mississippi St.

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)

• 2. Ki-Jana Carter, Penn St., Jr. RB (1080 votes)
• 3. Steve McNair, Alcorn St., Sr. QB (982 votes)
• 4. Kerry Collins, Penn St., Sr. QB (392 votes)
• 5. Jay Barker, Alabama, Sr. QB (294 votes)

Other major awards

• Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) - Kerry Collins, Penn State
• Walter Camp Award (Back) - Rashaan Salaam, Colorado
• Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) - Kerry Collins, Penn State
• Doak Walker Award (Running Back) - Rashaan Salaam, Colorado
• Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker) - Dana Howard, Illinois
• Lombardi Award (Lineman or Linebacker) - Warren Sapp, Miami
• Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) - Zach Wiegert, OT, Nebraska
• Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back) - Chris Hudson, Colorado
• AFCA Coach of the Year - Tom Osborne, Nebraska
• FWAA Coach of the Year - Joe Paterno, Penn State
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award - Rich Brooks, Oregon

References

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This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with American Football Database, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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