1999 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State named national champions, defeating Virginia Tech in the BCS Sugar Bowl.
Florida State became the first team in history to start out preseason #1 and remain there through the entire season. Their 12–0 season gave them 109 victories in the '90s, the most for any decade. Virginia Tech also had a remarkable season behind freshman quarterback Michael Vick, who was being touted as college football's best player.
Vick was outshone in the national championship game by Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick. Warrick had early problems with the law, charged with a misdemeanor he sat out two games early in the season. But he scored three touchdowns in the title game, earning MVP honors.
The BCS adopted a new rule after the previous season, nicknamed the "Kansas State Rule," which stated that any team ranked in the top four in the final BCS poll is assured of an invitation to a BCS bowl game.
Many teams faced debacles. East Carolina faced Hurricane Floyd, and in that same week, faced the #9 Miami Hurricanes. The Pirates were down, 23–3, but scored 24 unanswered points to win the football game, 27–23.
Kansas State finished 6th in the BCS standings but again received no BCS bowl invitation, this time being passed over in favor of Michigan. Kansas State's predicament demonstrated early on the problem of trying to balance historic bowl ties and creating a system which gives top bowl bids to the most deserving teams. In addition, for a second straight season, an undefeated team from outside the BCS Automatic Qualifying conferences went undefeated but did not receive a bid to a BCS bowl game, which illustrated the problem of BCS Non-Automatic Qualifying conference teams being shut out of the BCS bowls.
Rule changes
The NCAA Rules Committee adopted the following changes for the 1999 season:- Holding penalties committed behind the line of scrimmage will be enforced from the previous spot, modifying a 1991 rule that penalized holding committed behind the scrimmage line from the spot of the foul.
- The penalty for intentional grounding was changed from a five-yard penalty from the spot of the foul plus loss-of-down to simply a loss-of-down at the spot of the foul.
- Bandannas that are visible are considered illegal equipment.
- Offensive teams may not break a huddle with 12 or more players.
- Continuing action dead-ball fouls against both teams are disregarded, however any disqualified players must leave the game.
Conference and program changes
- The Mountain West Conference was formed prior to the season by eight former members of the Western Athletic Conference.
- Arkansas State joined the Big West Conference as its seventh member after three seasons as an independent.
- Two schools made the move up to Division I-A football this season: the University at Buffalo and Middle Tennessee State University.
Conference changes
Program changes
Two programs, each playing as independents, changed their names prior to the season:- After Northeast Louisiana University changed its name to the University of Louisiana at Monroe, the Northeast Louisiana Indians became the Louisiana–Monroe Indians.
- Similarly, after the University of Southwestern Louisiana changed its name to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns became the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns.
Conference standings
Bowl games
BCS">Bowl Championship Series">BCS bowls
- Sugar Bowl: #1 Florida State 46, #2 Virginia Tech 29
- Orange Bowl: #8 Michigan 35, #5 Alabama 34
- Rose Bowl: #4 Wisconsin 17, #22 Stanford 9
- Fiesta Bowl: #3 Nebraska 31, #6 Tennessee 21
Other New Years Day bowls
- Cotton Bowl Classic: #24 Arkansas 27, #12 Texas 6
- Florida Citrus Bowl: #9 Michigan State 37, #10 Florida 34
- Outback Bowl: #21 Georgia 28, #19 Purdue 25
- : #23 Miami 28, #17 Georgia Tech 13
December bowl games
- Peach Bowl: #16 Mississippi State 17, Clemson 7
- : Illinois 63, Virginia 21
- Sun Bowl: Oregon 24, #13 Minnesota 20
- Alamo Bowl: #14 Penn State* 24, #18 Texas A&M 0
- Insight.com Bowl: Colorado 62, #25 Boston College 28
- Holiday Bowl: #7 Kansas State 24, Washington 20
- : #15 Southern Mississippi 23, Colorado State 17
- Aloha Bowl: Wake Forest 23, Arizona State 3
- Oahu Bowl: Hawaii-Manoa 23, Oregon State 17
- Independence Bowl: Mississippi 27, Oklahoma 25
- Music City Bowl: Syracuse 20, Kentucky 13
- Las Vegas Bowl: Utah 17, Fresno State 16
- : #11 Marshall 21, BYU 3
- Humanitarian Bowl: Boise State 34, Louisville 31
- Mobile Alabama Bowl: TCU 28, #20 East Carolina 14
Final polls
Heisman Trophy voting
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the yearWinner:
Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, Running Back
- 2. Joe Hamilton, Ga. Tech
- 3. Michael Vick, Va. Tech
- 4. Drew Brees, Purdue
- 5. Chad Pennington, Marshall
Other major awards
- Maxwell Award – Ron Dayne, Wisconsin
- Walter Camp Award – Ron Dayne, Wisconsin
- Davey O'Brien Award – Joe Hamilton, Georgia Tech
- Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award – Chris Redman, Louisville
- Doak Walker Award – Ron Dayne, Wisconsin
- Fred Biletnikoff Award – Troy Walters, Stanford
- Bronko Nagurski Trophy – Corey Moore, Virginia Tech, DE
- Chuck Bednarik Award – LaVar Arrington, Penn State
- Dick Butkus Award – LaVar Arrington, Penn State
- Lombardi Award – Corey Moore, Virginia Tech, DE
- Outland Trophy – Chris Samuels, Alabama, OT
- Jim Thorpe Award – Tyrone Carter, Minnesota
- Lou Groza Award – Sebastian Janikowski, Florida St.
- Paul "Bear" Bryant Award – Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
- Football Writers Association of America Coach of the Year Award – Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech