2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

2007 NCAA Division I FBS season
LSU's quarterback Matt Flynn lifting the AFCA National Championship Trophy after the BCS title game
Number of teams	120
Duration	August 30 – December 1
Preseason AP No. 1	USC
Postseason
Duration	December 20, 2007 – January 7, 2008
Bowl games	32
Heisman Trophy	Tim Tebow (quarterback, Florida)
Bowl Championship Series
2008 BCS Championship Game
Site	Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Champion(s)	LSU
NCAA Division I FBS football seasons
← 2006 2008 →

The regular season began on August 30, 2007, and ended on December 1, 2007. The postseason concluded on January 7, 2008, with the BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans, where the No. 2-ranked Louisiana State Tigers defeated the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes to win their 2nd BCS and 3rd overall national title.

For just the second time in the Bowl Championship Series era, no FBS team finished the season undefeated. Kansas was the only team from a BCS automatic-qualifying conference to finish the entire season with just one loss.

Rules changes

After coaches expressed their disapproval of the timing changes made in the 2006 season, the following changes were made:

• On kickoffs, the clock will not start until the ball is touched in the field of play.
• On change of possession, the clock will not start until the snap.

The attempt to reduce the time of games sought by those rules was successful, reducing the average college football page from 3:21 hours in 2005 to 3:07 hours in 2006.^[1] However, the reduced game time also reduced the average number of plays in a game by 13, 66 fewer offensive yards per game and average points per game by 5.^[1]

Other rules changes for the 2007 season include:

• Moving the kick-off yard-line from 35 to 30, which matches the yard-line used in the National Football League from 1994 to 2010, to reduce the number of touchbacks.^[1]
• Paring the 25-second play clock to 15 seconds after TV timeouts.^[1]
• Team time-outs for televised games are shortened from 60 seconds to 30 seconds.^[1]
• Allowing penalties against the kicking team on kickoffs to be assessed at the end of the runback, avoiding a re-kick, also matching the NFL rule.^[1]
• Once the umpire gives the ball to the kicker, the 25 second play clock starts.^[1]
• Kickoffs out of bounds are now penalized 35 yards from the spot of the kick or a re-kick with a five-yard penalty.^[1]
• Defenders cannot use any part of a teammate to jump over an opponent to block a kick.^[1]

Conference and program changes

The only change in conference membership for the 2007 season occurred when Temple left its Independent status to become the 13th member of the Mid-American Conference.

One team upgraded from Division I FCS, increasing the number of Division I FBS schools to 120.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]}

School	2006 Conference	2007 Conference
Temple Owls	I-A Independent	MAC
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers	MVC	I-A Independent

Regular season top 10 matchups

Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 7 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.

• Week 2
  • No. 2 LSU defeated No. 9 Virginia Tech, 48–7 (Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
• Week 6
  • No. 1 LSU defeated No. 9 Florida, 28–24 (Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
• Week 9
  • No. 2/2 Boston College defeated No. 8/8 Virginia Tech, 14–10 (Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia)
  • No. 5/5 Oregon defeated No. 12/9 USC, 24–17 (Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon)
• Week 10
  • No. 5/4 Oregon defeated No. 4/6 Arizona State, 35–23 (Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon)
• Week 13
  • No. 4/3 Missouri defeated No. 2/2 Kansas, 36–28 (Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri)
• Week 14
  • No. 9/9 Oklahoma defeated No. 1/1 Missouri, 38–17 (2007 Big 12 Championship Game, Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas)

Year of the Upset and "The Curse of No. 2"

Year of the Upset

See also: 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

The 2007 season was highlighted by the remarkable frequency with which ranked teams fell to lower-ranked or unranked opponents, leading the media to dub the season as the "Year of the Upset".^[11] An unranked or lower-ranked opponent defeated a higher-ranked team 59 times over the course of the regular season. Teams ranked in the top five of the AP Poll were defeated by unranked opponents 13 times during the regular season, setting a new record in the history of the AP Poll when at least 20 teams were ranked.^[12] The only other season to see more such upsets was 1967, which was one of seven seasons when the AP Poll ranked only 10 teams.

The chaos began on the first weekend of the season when FCS program Appalachian State defeated No. 5 Michigan on the road at Michigan Stadium in what was immediately hailed as one of the greatest upsets in the history of college football. Appalachian State became just the second FCS team to defeat a ranked FBS opponent, and the first to do so against a top-five team.

"Curse of the No. 2"

The 2007 season became known for the "Curse of the No. 2", where the team ranked No. 2 by the AP Poll was defeated seven times in the final nine weeks of the regular season:^[13]

• Stanford defeated No. 2 USC, 24–23, on October 6 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This result was particularly notable for the fact that USC was favored to win the game by 41 points, having carried winning streaks of 35 games at home and 24 games in Pac-10 play into the matchup. Both streaks ended with this loss.
• Oregon State defeated No. 2 California, 31–28, on October 13 at California Memorial Stadium.
• Rutgers defeated No. 2 South Florida, 30–27, on October 18 at Rutgers Stadium.
• Florida State defeated No. 2 Boston College, 27–17, on November 3 at Alumni Stadium.
• Arizona defeated No. 2 Oregon, 34–24, on November 15 at Arizona Stadium.
• No. 4 Missouri defeated No. 2 Kansas, 36–28, on November 24 at Arrowhead Stadium in a Border War rivalry game. This was the only such upset where the winning team was also ranked.
• Pittsburgh defeated No. 2 West Virginia, 13–9, on December 1 at Mountaineer Field in a Backyard Brawl rivalry game. West Virginia was knocked out of contention for the BCS National Championship on the final weekend of the regular season.

The No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams had not lost in the same week of the season since 1996. In 2007 alone, No. 1 and No. 2 fell during the same weekend three times, including in both of the final two weeks of the regular season:

• No. 1 LSU lost to Kentucky 43–37 in three overtimes, and No. 2 California lost to Oregon State 31–28 on October 13.
• No. 1 LSU lost to Arkansas 50–48 in three overtimes on November 23, and No. 2 Kansas lost to No. 4 Missouri 36–28 on November 24.
• No. 1 Missouri lost to No. 9 Oklahoma 38–17 in the Big 12 Championship Game, and No. 2 West Virginia lost to Pittsburgh 13–9 on December 1.

Conference standings

2007 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Atlantic Division No. 10 Boston College x   6 – 2     11 – 3   No. 21 Clemson   5 – 3     9 – 4   Wake Forest   5 – 3     9 – 4   Florida State   4 – 4     7 – 6   Maryland   3 – 5     6 – 7   NC State   3 – 5     5 – 7   Coastal Division No. 9 Virginia Tech x$   7 – 1     11 – 3   Virginia   6 – 2     9 – 4   Georgia Tech   4 – 4     7 – 6   North Carolina   3 – 5     4 – 8   Miami (FL)   2 – 6     5 – 7   Duke   0 – 8     1 – 11   Championship: Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 16 $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Big 12 Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North Division No. 4 Missouri xy   7 – 1     12 – 2   No. 7 Kansas x%   7 – 1     12 – 1   Colorado   4 – 4     6 – 7   Kansas State   3 – 5     5 – 7   Nebraska   2 – 6     5 – 7   Iowa State   2 – 6     3 – 9   South Division No. 8 Oklahoma xy$   6 – 2     11 – 3   No. 10 Texas   5 – 3     10 – 3   No. 22 Texas Tech   4 – 4     9 – 4   Oklahoma State   4 – 4     7 – 6   Texas A&M   4 – 4     7 – 6   Baylor   0 – 8     3 – 9   Championship: Oklahoma 38, Missouri 17 $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Big East Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 6 West Virginia $+   5 – 2     11 – 2   Connecticut +   5 – 2     9 – 4   No. 17 Cincinnati   4 – 3     10 – 3   South Florida   4 – 3     9 – 4   Rutgers   3 – 4     8 – 5   Louisville   3 – 4     6 – 6   Pittsburgh   3 – 4     5 – 7   Syracuse   1 – 6     2 – 10   $ – BCS representative as conference champion + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
2007 Big Ten Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 Ohio State $   7 – 1     11 – 2   No. 18 Michigan   6 – 2     9 – 4   No. 20 Illinois %   6 – 2     9 – 4   No. 24 Wisconsin   5 – 3     9 – 4   Penn State   4 – 4     9 – 4   Iowa   4 – 4     6 – 6   Purdue   3 – 5     8 – 5   Indiana   3 – 5     7 – 6   Michigan State   3 – 5     7 – 6   Northwestern   3 – 5     6 – 6   Minnesota   0 – 8     1 – 11   $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Conference USA football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division UCF x$   7 – 1     10 – 4   East Carolina   6 – 2     8 – 5   Memphis   6 – 2     7 – 6   Southern Miss   5 – 3     7 – 6   Marshall   3 – 5     3 – 9   UAB   1 – 7     2 – 10   West Division Tulsa xy   6 – 2     10 – 4   Houston x   6 – 2     8 – 5   Tulane   3 – 5     4 – 8   Rice   3 – 5     3 – 9   UTEP   2 – 6     4 – 8   SMU   0 – 8     1 – 11   Championship: UCF 44, Tulsa 25 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Mid-American Conference football standings v t e Div     Conf. Overall Team   W   L         W   L     W   L   East Division Miami (OH) xy   4 – 2     5 – 2     6 – 7   Bowling Green x   4 – 2     6 – 2     8 – 5   Buffalo x   4 – 2     5 – 3     5 – 7   Ohio   3 – 3     4 – 4     6 – 6   Temple   3 – 3     4 – 4     4 – 8   Akron   2 – 4     3 – 5     4 – 8   Kent State   1 – 5     1 – 7     3 – 9   West Division Central Michigan xy$   4 – 1     6 – 1     8 – 6   Ball State x   4 – 1     5 – 2     7 – 6   Eastern Michigan   3 – 2     3 – 4     4 – 8   Western Michigan   2 – 3     3 – 4     5 – 7   Toledo   2 – 3     3 – 5     5 – 7   Northern Illinois   0 – 5     1 – 6     2 – 10   Championship: Central Michigan 35, Miami 10 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Due to an unbalanced conference schedule, the team with best division record within each division was awarded that division's championship game berth.
2007 Mountain West Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 BYU $   8 – 0     11 – 2   Air Force   6 – 2     9 – 4   New Mexico   5 – 3     9 – 4   Utah   5 – 3     9 – 4   TCU   4 – 4     8 – 5   San Diego State   3 – 5     4 – 8   Wyoming   2 – 6     5 – 7   Colorado State   2 – 6     3 – 9   UNLV   1 – 7     2 – 10   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Pacific-10 Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 USC +   7 – 2     11 – 2   No. 16 Arizona State +   7 – 2     10 – 3   No. 25 Oregon State   6 – 3     9 – 4   No. 23 Oregon   5 – 4     9 – 4   UCLA   5 – 4     6 – 7   Arizona   4 – 5     5 – 7   California   3 – 6     7 – 6   Washington State   3 – 6     5 – 7   Stanford   3 – 6     4 – 8   Washington   2 – 7     4 – 9   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2007 Southeastern Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Eastern Division No. 12 Tennessee xy   6 – 2     10 – 4   No. 2 Georgia x%   6 – 2     11 – 2   No. 13 Florida   5 – 3     9 – 4   South Carolina   3 – 5     6 – 6   Kentucky   3 – 5     8 – 5   Vanderbilt   2 – 6     5 – 7   Western Division No. 1 LSU x$#   6 – 2     12 – 2   No. 15 Auburn   5 – 3     9 – 4   Arkansas   4 – 4     8 – 5   Mississippi State   4 – 4     8 – 5   Alabama   4 – 4     7 – 6   Ole Miss   0 – 8     3 – 9   Championship: LSU 21, Tennessee 14 # – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Alabama had 5 victories vacated by the NCAA in 2010. As such, the official record for Alabama is 2–6 (1–4). Rankings from AP Poll
2007 Sun Belt Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Florida Atlantic +   6 – 1     8 – 5   Troy +   6 – 1     8 – 4   Middle Tennessee   4 – 3     5 – 7   Louisiana–Monroe   4 – 3     6 – 6   Arkansas State   3 – 4     5 – 7   Louisiana–Lafayette   3 – 4     3 – 9   FIU   1 – 6     1 – 11   North Texas   1 – 6     2 – 10   + – Conference co-champions	2007 Western Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 19 Hawaii $   8 – 0     12 – 1   Boise State   7 – 1     10 – 3   Fresno State   6 – 2     9 – 4   Nevada   4 – 4     6 – 7   Louisiana Tech   4 – 4     5 – 7   San Jose State   4 – 4     5 – 7   Utah State   2 – 6     2 – 10   New Mexico State   1 – 7     4 – 9   Idaho   0 – 8     1 – 11   $ – Conference champion and BCS representative as top non-AQ school to meet automatic qualification criteria Rankings from AP Poll	2007 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Navy   –     8 – 5   Army   –     3 – 9   Notre Dame   –     3 – 9   Rankings from AP Poll

Conference champions

Conference championship games

All games were played on December 1, 2007. Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the games were played.

Conference	Champion	Runner-Up	Score	Site
ACC	No. 6 Virginia Tech	No. 12 Boston College	30–16	Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, Florida
Big 12	No. 9 Oklahoma	No. 1 Missouri	38–17	Alamodome San Antonio, Texas
Conference USA	UCF	Tulsa	44–25	Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, Florida
MAC	Central Michigan	Miami (Ohio)	35–10	Ford Field Detroit
SEC	No. 5 LSU	No. 14 Tennessee	21–14	Georgia Dome Atlanta

Other conference champions

Rankings are from the Week 15 AP Poll.

Conference	Winner(s)
Big East	Connecticut, No. 11 West Virginia*
Big Ten	No. 1 Ohio State
Mountain West	No. 19 BYU
Pac-10	No. 12 Arizona State, No. 6 USC*
Sun Belt	Florida Atlantic, Troy
WAC	No. 10 Hawaiʻi

* Received conference's automatic BCS bowl bid

Bowl games

Main article: 2007–08 NCAA football bowl games

Winners are listed in boldface.

Bowl Championship Series

Bowl Game	Date	Playing as Visitor	Playing as Home	Score
BCS Title Game (New Orleans, Louisiana)	January 7, 2008	No. 2 LSU	No. 1 Ohio State	38–24
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California)	January 1, 2008	No. 13 Illinois	No. 6 USC	49–17
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans)	January 1, 2008	No. 10 Hawaiʻi	No. 4 Georgia	41–10
Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Arizona)	January 2, 2008	No. 11 West Virginia	No. 3 Oklahoma	48–28
Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Florida)	January 3, 2008	No. 8 Kansas	No. 5 Virginia Tech	24–21

January bowl games

Bowl Game	Date	Playing as Visitor	Playing as Home	Score
Outback Bowl (Tampa, Florida)	January 1, 2008	No. 18 Wisconsin	No. 16 Tennessee	21–17
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)	January 1, 2008	No. 7 Missouri	No. 25 Arkansas	38–7
Capital One Bowl (Orlando, Florida)	January 1, 2008	Michigan	No. 9 Florida	41–35
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Florida)	January 1, 2008	Texas Tech	No. 21 Virginia	31–28
International Bowl (Toronto, ON, Canada)	January 5, 2008	Rutgers	Ball State	52–30
GMAC Bowl (Mobile, Alabama)	January 6, 2008	Bowling Green	Tulsa	63–7

December bowl games

Bowl Game	Date	Playing as Visitor	Playing as Home	Score
Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego)	December 20, 2007	Utah	Navy	35–32[14]
New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans)	December 21, 2007	Memphis	Florida Atlantic	44–27
PapaJohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Alabama)	December 22, 2007	Southern Miss	No. 20 Cincinnati	31–21
New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, New Mexico)	December 22, 2007	Nevada	New Mexico	23–0
Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas)	December 22, 2007	UCLA	No. 19 BYU	17–16
Hawaiʻi Bowl (Honolulu)	December 23, 2007	No. 24 Boise State	East Carolina	41–38
Motor City Bowl (Detroit)	December 26, 2007	Purdue	Central Michigan	51–48
Holiday Bowl (San Diego)	December 27, 2007	No. 12 Arizona State	No. 17 Texas	52–34
Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, Florida)	December 28, 2007	No. 14 Boston College	Michigan State	24–21
Texas Bowl (Houston)	December 28, 2007	TCU	Houston	20–13
Emerald Bowl (San Francisco)	December 28, 2007	Maryland	Oregon State	21–14
Meineke Car Care Bowl (Charlotte, North Carolina)	December 29, 2007	Connecticut	Wake Forest	24–10
Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tennessee)	December 29, 2007	UCF	Mississippi State	10–3
Alamo Bowl (San Antonio)	December 29, 2007	Penn State	Texas A&M	24–17
Independence Bowl (Shreveport, Louisiana)	December 30, 2007	Alabama	Colorado	30–24
Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas)	December 31, 2007	California	Air Force	42–36
Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas)	December 31, 2007	No. 23 South Florida	Oregon	56–21
Humanitarian Bowl (Boise, Idaho)	December 31, 2007	Georgia Tech	Fresno State	40–28
Music City Bowl (Nashville, Tennessee)	December 31, 2007	Kentucky	Florida State	35–28
Insight Bowl (Tempe, Arizona)	December 31, 2007	Indiana	Oklahoma State	49–33
Chick-fil-A Bowl (Atlanta)	December 31, 2007	No. 15 Clemson	No. 22 Auburn	23–20 (OT)

Postseason All-Star Games

• Cornerstone Bancard Hula Bowl – January 12, Aloha Stadium, ʻHalawa, Hawaiʻi – ʻAina (East) 38, Kai (West) 7.
• East–West Shrine Game – January 19, Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas – West 31, East 17.
• Under Armour Senior Bowl – January 26, Ladd–Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama – South 17, North 16.
• Western Refining Texas vs. The Nation Game – February 2, UTEP Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas – Texas 41, The Nation 14

Bowl Challenge Cup standings

Bowl Challenge Cup

Conference	Wins	Losses	Percent
Mountain West†	4	1	.800
Southeastern§	7	2	.777
Pacific-10	4	2	.667
Big 12	5	3	.625
Big East	3	2	.600
Big Ten	3	5	.375
Conference USA	2	4	.333
Atlantic Coast	2	6	.250
Western Athletic	1	3	.250
Mid-American	0	3	.000

† Winner of the Bowl Challenge Cup – § NCAA record for bowl victories in a conference in one bowl season.

Notes

• The Sun Belt Conference, represented by Florida Atlantic University, was not eligible for the Bowl Challenge Cup as they only had one bowl berth. Conferences must have a minimum of three bids to be a part of the challenge.

Awards and honors

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

Player	School	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Tim Tebow	Florida	QB	462	229	113	1,957
Darren McFadden	Arkansas	RB	291	355	120	1,703
Colt Brennan	Hawaii	QB	54	114	242	632
Chase Daniel	Missouri	QB	25	84	182	425
Dennis Dixon	Oregon	QB	17	31	65	178
Pat White	West Virginia	QB	16	28	46	150
Matt Ryan	Boston College	QB	9	7	22	63
Kevin Smith	UCF	RB	3	11	24	55
Glenn Dorsey	LSU	DT	3	6	9	30
Chris Long	Virginia	DE	1	2	10	17

Other major award winners

• Walter Camp Award (top player): Darren McFadden, Arkansas^[15]
• Maxwell Award (top player): Tim Tebow, Florida^[15]
• Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player): Glenn Dorsey, LSU^[16]
• Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): Dan Connor, Penn St^[15]
• Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas^[17]
• Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Tim Tebow, Florida^[15]
• Dick Butkus Award (linebacker): James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
• Doak Walker Award (running back): Darren McFadden, Arkansas^[15]
• Draddy Trophy ("academic Heisman"): Dallas Griffin, Texas^[18]
• Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech^[15]
• Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Antoine Cason, Arizona^[15]
• John Mackey Award (tight end): Fred Davis, USC
• Johnny Unitas Award (senior quarterback): Matt Ryan, Boston College
• Lombardi Award (top lineman): Glenn Dorsey, LSU
• Lott Trophy (defensive impact): Glenn Dorsey, LSU
• Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Thomas Weber, Arizona St^[15]
• Manning Award (quarterback): Matt Ryan, Boston College
• Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Glenn Dorsey, LSU^[15]
• Ray Guy Award (punter): Durant Brooks, Georgia Tech^[15]
• Ted Hendricks Award (defensive end): Chris Long, Virginia^[19]
• Wuerffel Trophy (humanitarian-athlete): Paul Smith, Tulsa^[20]
• The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award: Mark Mangino, Kansas^[15]
• Associated Press Coach of the Year: Mark Mangino, Kansas^[21]
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (head coach): Mark Mangino, Kansas
• Walter Camp Coach of the Year (head coach): Mark Mangino, Kansas^[22]
• Broyles Award (assistant coach): Jim Heacock, Ohio State^[23]

All-America selections

Selections were made by the Associated Press.^[24]

Offense

• QB: Tim Tebow, So., Florida.
• RB: Darren McFadden Jr., Arkansas; Bisel Jr., Central Florida.
• WR: Michael Crabtree, Fr., Texas Tech; Jordy Nelson Sr., Kansas State.
• OT: Jake Long Sr., Michigan; Anthony Collins Jr., Kansas.
• G: Duke Robinson Jr., Oklahoma; Martin O'Donnell Sr., Illinois.
• C: Steve Justice Sr., Wake Forest.
• TE: Martin Rucker Sr., Missouri.
• All-purpose: Jeremy Maclin, Fr., Missouri.
• K: Thomas Weber, Fr., Arizona State.

Defense

• DE: Chris Long Sr., Virginia; George Selvie, So., South Florida.
• DT: Glenn Dorsey Sr., LSU; Sedrick Ellis Sr., USC.
• LB: Dan Connor Sr., Penn State; James Laurinaitis Jr., Ohio State; Jordon Dizon Sr., Colorado.
• CB: Aqib Talib Jr., Kansas; Antoine Cason Sr., Arizona.
• S: Craig Steltz Sr., LSU; Jamie Silva Sr., Boston College.
• P: Kevin Huber Jr., Cincinnati.

Milestones

The following teams and players set all-time NCAA Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) records during the season:

Record	Player/Team	Date/Opponent	Previous Record Holder[25]	Source
Most consecutive pass attempts without an interception, career	André Woodson, Kentucky, 325[26]	September 22, vs. Arkansas	Trent Dilfer, Fresno State, 271 (1993)	[27]
Most career extra points	Art Carmody, Louisville, 253	September 29, vs. NC State	Shaun Suisham, Bowling Green, 226 (2001–2004)	[28]
Most consecutive pass attempts with only one interception, career	André Woodson, Kentucky, 343[29]	October 4, vs. South Carolina	Woodson, 333 (2006–2007)[30]	[31]
Most combined rushing yards by teammates in a single game	Felix Jones and Darren McFadden, Arkansas (487 yards)	November 3, vs. South Carolina	Tony Sands and Chip Hilleary, Kansas (476 yards) (1991-11-23)	[32][33]
Most points scored, both teams (regulation)	North Texas and Navy, 136	November 10	San Jose State vs. Rice, 133 points (2004-10-02)	[34]
Most points scored in one quarter, both teams	North Texas and Navy, 63	November 10	San Jose State vs. Hawaiʻi, 61 points (1999-11-06)	[34]
Most wins by two points or fewer in a season by a team	Virginia, 5	November 3 vs. Wake Forest	Columbia, 4 (1971)	[35]
Most all-purpose yards by a freshman	Jeremy Maclin, Missouri, 2,713	November 17, vs. Kansas State	Terrell Willis, Rutgers, 2,026 (1993)	[36]
Most touchdown passes in a career	Colt Brennan, Hawaiʻi, 131	November 23 vs. Boise State	Ty Detmer, BYU, 121 (1988–1991)	[37]
Most touchdowns responsible for in a career	Colt Brennan, Hawaiʻi, 146	November 23 vs. Boise State	Ty Detmer, BYU, 136 (1988–1991)	[37]
Most touchdown passes in a season by a freshman quarterback	Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, 34	November 24, vs. Oklahoma State	David Neill and Colt McCoy, 29	[38]
Most career points scored by a kicker	Art Carmody, Louisville, 433	November 29, vs. Rutgers	Roman Anderson, Houston, 423 (1988–1991)	[39]
Most rushing attempts in a season	Kevin Smith, UCF, 415	December 1, vs. Tulsa	Marcus Allen, USC, 403 (1981)	[40]
Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a season	Tim Tebow, Florida, 23	January 1, vs. Michigan	Chase Harridge, Air Force, 22 (2002)	[41]
Most consecutive games with 300 or more yards passing by a quarterback	Paul Smith, Tulsa, 14	January 6 vs. Bowling Green	Ty Detmer, BYU, 13 (1990–1991)	[42]
Greatest margin of victory in a bowl game	Tulsa, 56 points (63–7)	January 6 vs. Bowling Green	Alabama, 55 points (61–6) vs. Syracuse, 1953 Orange Bowl (1953-01-01)	[42]

Coaching changes

Pre-season

Team	Former coach	New coach
Indiana	Terry Hoeppner[43]	Bill Lynch

Post-season

Team	Former coach	Interim	New coach
Arkansas	Houston Nutt[44]	Reggie Herring[45]	Bobby Petrino[46]
Baylor	Guy Morriss[47]		Art Briles[48]
Colorado State	Sonny Lubick[49]		Steve Fairchild[50]
Duke	Ted Roof[51]		David Cutcliffe[52]
Georgia Tech	Chan Gailey[53]	Jon Tenuta[54]	Paul Johnson[55]
Hawaiʻi	June Jones[56]		Greg McMackin[57]
Houston	Art Briles[48]	Chris Thurmond[58]	Kevin Sumlin[59]
Michigan	Lloyd Carr[60]		Rich Rodriguez[61]
Mississippi	Ed Orgeron[62]		Houston Nutt[63]
Navy	Paul Johnson[55]		Ken Niumatalolo[64]
Nebraska	Bill Callahan[65]	Tom Osborne[66]	Bo Pelini[67]
Northern Illinois	Joe Novak[68]		Jerry Kill[69]
SMU	Phil Bennett[70]		June Jones[71]
Southern Miss	Jeff Bower[72]		Larry Fedora[73]
Texas A&M	Dennis Franchione[74]	Gary Darnell[75]	Mike Sherman[76]
UCLA	Karl Dorrell[77]	DeWayne Walker[78]	Rick Neuheisel[79]
Washington State	Bill Doba[80]		Paul Wulff[81]
West Virginia	Rich Rodriguez[61]	Bill Stewart[82]