1995 NCAA Division I-A football season

1995 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams	108^[1]
Preseason AP #1	Florida State Seminoles^[2]
Post-season
Bowl games	18
Heisman Trophy	Eddie George, Ohio State RB
Bowl Alliance Championship
1996 Fiesta Bowl
Site	Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Winner	Nebraska Cornhuskers
Division I-A football seasons
← 1994 1996 →

The 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Alliance.

Tom Osborne led Nebraska to its second straight national title with a victory over Florida in the Fiesta Bowl.

This match up was only possible because of the new Bowl Alliance. Under the old system, Nebraska would have been tied to the Orange Bowl and Florida to the Sugar Bowl. The Bowl Alliance created a national championship game which would rotate between the Orange, Sugar, and Fiesta Bowls free of conference tie-ins and featuring the #1 and #2 teams as chosen by the Bowl Alliance Poll. The Pac-10 and Big Ten chose not to participate, keeping their tie-ins with the Rose Bowl.

Nebraska was showing signs of dynasty, playing in its third consecutive national title game, and became the first school to claim back-to-back titles since the 1970s. This was a dominant Nebraska team, averaging 52 points per game and a 39-point average margin of victory, including a 62-24 victory over Florida. This lopsided victory came after Florida was picked by many sportswriters to win the game.

Ohio State almost managed to create a national title controversy, going into its final regular season game against Michigan undefeated and ranked #2. Had they finished the season #2 the Bowl Alliance would have been unable to pit #1 vs. #2 as the Big Ten champ was tied to the Rose Bowl. Fortunately for the Bowl Alliance, Michigan upset Ohio State, but Buckeye running back Eddie George still managed to win the Heisman Trophy.

Things were lively in the state of Florida, where the Florida Gators won their third straight SEC championship. Florida State started the season #1, but lost an ACC game for the first time ever when Virginia stopped a last minute drive a few inches from the end zone, knocking them out of the national title race.

However, Northwestern was able to steal the show as the year's Cinderella story. Its only regular season loss came against Miami-OH. Northwestern began the season with an upset of Notre Dame and went on to defeat Michigan and Penn State later in the season. Undefeated in the Big Ten after decades as a doormat, the Wildcats went on to face USC in the Rose Bowl. However, the Wildcats lost to the Trojans in what was a see-saw game until USC pulled away in the fourth quarter.

Miami and Alabama had to sit the post season out, as they were on NCAA probation.

The Southwest Conference played its final game ever, an 18–17 Houston win over Rice. Four of its members would join the Big 8 to form the Big 12; the other four were split between the WAC and the newly formed Conference USA.

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 Freedom Bowl was discontinued and the Holiday Bowl absorbed its WAC tie-in.

The first ever Division I-A overtime game was played during the 1995 bowl season, the Las Vegas Bowl between Toledo and Nevada. Overtime would be adopted permanently for all games in 1996. Due to the adoption of overtime, the season-ending 3-3 game between Wisconsin and Illinois on November 25 is the last tied game in Division 1-A.

Rule changes

Overtime was introduced for bowl games only in Division I-A. The system is similar to one used in lower division postseason games; Each team gets one possession at the defense's 25 yard line per overtime period and continues until the tie is broken.
Unsportsmanlike conduct penalties will be assessed on any player who removes his helmet in the field of play other than due to injury.
Officials were instructed to strictly enforce anti-taunting and anti-showboating rules passed in the 1991 season and amended in the 1993 season.
The home team is allowed to wear white jerseys if they receive written permission from the visiting school in advance, rescinding the 1983 rule requiring the visitors to wear white. This rule was personally lobbied by new LSU coach Gerry DiNardo, since the Bayou Bengals wore white at home from the late 1950s through 1982. The Southeastern Conference adjusted the rule in 1997 for conference games, when it stated the home team would receive first choice of jersey color, regardless of the visiting team's wishes.

Conference and program changes

One team upgraded from Division I-AA prior to the season. As such, the total number of Division I-A schools increased to 108.

Pacific decided to drop their football team after the completion of the 1995 season.

School	1994 Conference	1995 Conference
North Texas Mean Green	Southland Conference	I-A Independent

Conference standings

1995 ACC football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#4 Florida State +		7	–	1		10	–	2
#16 Virginia +		7	–	1		9	–	4
Clemson		6	–	2		8	–	4
Georgia Tech		5	–	3		6	–	5
North Carolina		4	–	4		7	–	5
Maryland		4	–	4		6	–	5
NC State		2	–	6		3	–	8
Duke		1	–	7		3	–	8
Wake Forest		0	–	8		1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1995 Big East football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#10 Virginia Tech +		6	–	1		10	–	2
#20 Miami (FL) +		6	–	1		8	–	3
#19 Syracuse		5	–	2		9	–	3
West Virginia		4	–	3		5	–	6
Boston College		4	–	3		4	–	8
Rutgers		2	–	5		4	–	7
Temple		1	–	6		1	–	10
Pittsburgh		0	–	7		2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1995 Big 8 football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#1 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0	12	–	0	–	0
#5 Colorado	5	–	2	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
#7 Kansas State	5	–	2	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
#9 Kansas	5	–	2	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Oklahoma	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	1
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	8	–	0
Iowa State	1	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Missouri	1	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

† – Bowl Alliance representative as champion Rankings from AP Poll

1995 Big Ten football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#8 Northwestern $	8	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
#6 Ohio State	7	–	1	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
#13 Penn State	5	–	3	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
#17 Michigan	5	–	3	–	0	9	–	4	–	0
Michigan State	4	–	3	–	1	6	–	5	–	1
#25 Iowa	4	–	4	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Illinois	3	–	4	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Wisconsin	3	–	4	–	1	4	–	5	–	2
Purdue	2	–	5	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	1	–	7	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Indiana	0	–	8	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1995 Big West Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Nevada $		7	–	0		9	–	3
Southwestern Louisiana		4	–	2		6	–	5
Utah State		4	–	3		4	–	7
Arkansas State		3	–	3		6	–	5
Northern Illinois		3	–	3		3	–	8
New Mexico State		3	–	4		4	–	7
San Jose State		3	–	4		3	–	8
Louisiana Tech		2	–	4		5	–	6
Pacific		2	–	4		3	–	8
UNLV		1	–	5		2	–	9

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1995 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#24 Toledo $	7	–	0	–	1	11	–	0	–	1
Miami (OH)	6	–	1	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
Ball State	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Western Michigan	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Eastern Michigan	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Bowling Green	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Central Michigan	2	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Akron	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Ohio	1	–	6	–	1	2	–	8	–	1
Kent State	0	–	7	–	1	1	–	9	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1995 Pacific-10 football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#12 USC ^ +	6	–	1	–	1	9	–	2	–	1
Washington +	6	–	1	–	1	7	–	4	–	1
#18 Oregon	6	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Stanford	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	1
UCLA	4	–	4	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Arizona	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Arizona State	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
California	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Washington State	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Oregon State	0	–	8	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – Rose Bowl representative per tie-breaking rules based on overall record, due to Washington-USC tie Rankings from AP Poll

1995 SEC football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Eastern Division
#2 Florida x$	8	–	0	–	0	12	–	1	–	0
#3 Tennessee	7	–	1	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Georgia	3	–	5	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
South Carolina	2	–	5	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Kentucky	2	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	7	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Western Division
Arkansas x	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	5	–	0
#21 Alabama	5	–	3	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
#22 Auburn	5	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
LSU	4	–	3	–	1	7	–	4	–	1
Ole Miss	3	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	7	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Championship: Florida 34, Arkansas 3
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1995 Southwest Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#14 Texas $	7	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	1
#15 Texas A&M	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
#23 Texas Tech	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Baylor	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
TCU	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Houston	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Rice	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	1
SMU	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1995 WAC football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Colorado State +		6	–	2		8	–	4
BYU +		6	–	2		7	–	4
Utah +		6	–	2		7	–	4
Air Force +		6	–	2		8	–	5
San Diego State		5	–	3		8	–	4
Wyoming		4	–	4		6	–	5
Fresno State		2	–	6		5	–	7
New Mexico		2	–	6		4	–	7
Hawaii		2	–	6		4	–	8
UTEP		1	–	7		2	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1995 Division I-A independents football records
	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
East Carolina		–		9	–	3	–	0
#11 Notre Dame		–		9	–	3	–	0
Louisville		–		7	–	4	–	0
Cincinnati		–		6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss		–		6	–	5	–	0
Army		–		5	–	5	–	1
Navy		–		5	–	6	–	0
Tulsa		–		4	–	7	–	0
Memphis		–		3	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		2	–	9	–	0
North Texas		–		2	–	9	–	0
Tulane		–		2	–	9	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

#1 and #2 progress

WEEKS	#1	#2	Event	Date
PRE-9	Florida State	Nebraska	Nebraska 44, Colorado 21	Oct 28
10	Nebraska	Florida State	Virginia 33, Florida St. 28	Nov 2
11-13	Nebraska	Ohio State+	Michigan 31, Ohio State 23	Nov 25
14-15	Nebraska	Florida	Nebraska 62, Florida 24	Jan 1

+Ohio State, a Big Ten school, was not part of the Bowl Alliance. Florida was #3 during weeks 11 through 13.

Bowl games

Fiesta Bowl: #1 Nebraska 62, #2 Florida 24
Rose Bowl: #17 Southern California 41, #3 Northwestern 32
Sugar Bowl: #13 Virginia Tech 28, #9 Texas 10
Orange Bowl: #8 Florida State 31, #6 Notre Dame 26
Cotton Bowl Classic: #7 Colorado 38, #12 Oregon 6
Peach Bowl: #18 Virginia 34, Georgia 27
Florida Citrus Bowl: #4 Tennessee 20, #4 Ohio State 14
Outback Bowl: #15 Penn State 43, #16 Auburn 14
Carquest Bowl: North Carolina 20, #24 Arkansas 10
Sun Bowl: Iowa 38, #20 Washington 18
Gator Bowl: Syracuse 41, #23 Clemson 0
Alamo Bowl: #19 Texas A&M 22, #14 Michigan 20
Copper Bowl: Texas Tech 55, Air Force 41
Holiday Bowl: #10 Kansas State 54, Colorado State 21
Liberty Bowl: East Carolina 19, Stanford 13
Aloha Bowl: #11 Kansas 51, UCLA 30
Independence Bowl: LSU 45, Michigan State 26
Las Vegas Bowl: #25 Toledo 40, Nevada 37 (OT)

Final AP Poll

Final Coaches Poll

Heisman Trophy voting

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

Winner: Eddie George, Ohio State, Running Back (1460 votes)

2. Tommie Frazier, Nebraska, QB (1196 votes)
3. Danny Wuerffel, Florida, QB (987 votes)
4. Darnell Autry, Northwestern, RB (534 votes)
5. Troy Davis, Iowa St., RB (402 votes)

Other major awards

Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) - Eddie George, Ohio State
Walter Camp Award (Back) - Eddie George, Ohio State
Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) - Danny Wuerffel, Florida
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Senior Quarterback) - Tommie Frazier, Nebraska
Doak Walker Award (Running Back) - Eddie George, Ohio State
Fred Biletnikoff Award (Wide Receiver) - Terry Glenn, Ohio State
Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Defensive Player) - Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker) - Kevin Hardy, Illinois
Lombardi Award (Lineman or Linebacker) - Orlando Pace, Ohio State
Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) - Jonathan Ogden, OT, UCLA
Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back) - Greg Meyers, Colorado State
Lou Groza Award (Placekicker) - Michael Reeder, TCU
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award - Gary Barnett, Northwestern

References

1995 NCAA Division I-A football season

Conference seasons	ACC Big Eight Big East Big Ten Conference USA Mid-American Mountain West Pac-10 SEC Southwest Sun Belt WAC

Inter-conference	Bowl games Rankings

All-Americans	1995 College Football All-America Team

All-conference	All-ACC All-Big East All-Big Eight All-Big Ten All-Mid-American All-Pac 10 All-SEC All-Southwest All-WAC

NCAA football seasons

Pre-regulation	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905

IAAUS/NCAA	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955

NCAA University Division/ Division I	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977

NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

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