1992 NCAA Division I-A football season


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, SEC champ Alabama played Big East Champ Miami-FL, the Orange Bowl featured Big-8 champ Nebraska and ACC champ Florida St., the Cotton Bowl Classic featured SWC champ Texas A&M and independent Notre Dame, and the Fiesta Bowl featured Big East runner up Syracuse and 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. 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. Nevada went 5-1 in conference, winning the Big West championship and representing the conference in the 1992 Las Vegas Bowl.

Rule changes

School1991 Conference1992 Conference
Akron ZipsI-A IndependentMAC
Arkansas RazorbacksSWCSEC
Arkansas StateI-AA IndependentI-A Independent
Florida State SeminolesI-A IndependentACC
Fresno State BulldogsBig WestWAC
Long Beach State 49ersBig WestDropped Program
Nevada Wolf PackBig Sky Big West
South Carolina GamecocksI-A IndependentSEC

Conference standings

#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. 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", the #1 vs. #2 matchup would take place in New Orleans.

Bowl games

Bowl GameWinning TeamLosing TeamDate
Peach Bowl#19 North Carolina21#24 Mississippi State171/2/93
Sugar Bowl #2 Alabama34#1 Miami131/1/93
Orange Bowl#3 Florida State27#11 Nebraska141/1/93
#5 Notre Dame28#4 Texas A&M31/1/93
Fiesta Bowl#6 Syracuse26#10 Colorado221/1/93
Rose Bowl#7 Michigan38#9 Washington311/1/93
#8 Georgia21#15 Ohio State141/1/93
#13 Stanford24#21 Penn State31/1/93
Hall of Fame Bowl#17 Tennessee38#16 Boston College231/1/93
#14 Florida27#12 NC State1012/31/92
#20 Ole Miss13Air Force012/31/92
Wake Forest39Oregon3512/31/92
Baylor20#22 Arizona1512/31/92
Holiday BowlHawaii27Illinois1712/30/92
Copper Bowl#18 Washington St.31Utah2812/29/92
Fresno State24#23 USC712/28/92
Aloha BowlKansas23#25 BYU2012/25/92
Bowling Green35Nevada3412/18/92

Final rankings

Final AP Poll

  1. Alabama
  2. Florida State
  3. Miami
  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

  26. Alabama
  27. Florida State
  28. Miami
  29. Notre Dame
  30. Michigan
  31. Texas A&M
  32. Syracuse
  33. Georgia
  34. Stanford
  35. Washington
  36. Florida
  37. Tennessee
  38. Colorado
  39. Nebraska
  40. N.C. State
  41. Mississippi
  42. Washington State
  43. North Carolina
  44. Ohio State
  45. Hawaii
  46. Boston College
  47. Fresno State
  48. Kansas
  49. Penn State
  50. 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

In-season