1983 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the University of Miami winning their first national championship over perennial power Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

The 31-30 win over Nebraska is still talked about as one of the greatest games of all time, not only for its last minute finish, but for its role in changing the face of college football. Miami came into the game ranked #5, but losses by Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic and Illinois in the Rose Bowl launched them into the #1 spot.^[2]

Nebraska scored a touchdown with 48 seconds remaining, putting them within one point of the Hurricanes. Despite knowing a tie would still give Nebraska the national title, Coach Tom Osborne courageously decided to go for two points and the win rather than one point and the tie. Miami was able to hold, snapping Nebraska's 22 game winning streak and launching Miami as a powerhouse program. This is often regarded as one of the most questionable coaching decisions in history, as a tie would have likely kept Nebraska above Miami in the polls and therefore they would have won the national championship.

This Miami team was the first to win a national title without a single player voted to the first team All-Americans and only the second to win a national title gaining more passing yards than rushing.

The Auburn Tigers, featuring Bo Jackson also had a stellar season going 11-1 and beating Michigan in the Sugar Bowl 9-7. Despite entering the bowl games ranked third in both major polls, and with both teams ranked higher losing their bowl games, the Tigers ended ranked third in the final AP poll as Miami jumped from 5th to gain the National Championship.^[3] Auburn had played the toughest schedule in the nation, including eight bowl teams, seven of which were ranked in the top 20 (four in the top ten). Perhaps because of the difficult schedule, the Tigers did finish ranked first in a few polls including the New York Times computer rankings.^[3]

The Holiday Bowl was also a classic, as BYU, led by future NFL star Steve Young, defeated Missouri with a last second halfback pass.

The annual rivalry game between Oregon and Oregon State is still widely known and derided as "The Toilet Bowl", as both teams played to a 0-0 tie, the last scoreless tie in college football. The game featured 11 total turnovers, as 6 fumbles were lost (out of 11 total), 5 interceptions, and 4 missed field goals.

This season saw no conference have two or more teams tie for the title—an event that did not happen again in either Division I-A or its successor, Division I FBS, until 2009. (Note, however, that even when a conference officially recognizes multiple champions, it will invariably have some kind of tiebreaker system to determine placement for bowl berths.)

Conference standings

AP final poll

1. Miami (FL)
2. Nebraska
3. Auburn
4. Georgia
5. Texas
6. Florida
7. Brigham Young
8. Michigan
9. Ohio State
10. Illinois
11. Clemson
12. SMU
13. Air Force
14. Iowa
15. Alabama
16. West Virginia
17. UCLA
18. Pittsburgh
19. Boston College
20. East Carolina
21. Penn State

Final coaches poll

1. Miami (FL)
2. Nebraska
3. Auburn
4. Georgia
5. Texas
6. Florida
7. Brigham Young
8. Ohio St.
9. Michigan
10. Illinois
11. Southern Methodist
12. Alabama
13. UCLA
14. Iowa
15. Air Force
16. West Virginia
17. Penn St.
18. Oklahoma St.
19. Pittsburgh
20. Boston College

Notable rivalry games

• Arizona 17, Arizona State 15
• Auburn 23, Alabama 20
• Florida 53, Florida State 15
• Florida 28, Miami 3
• Georgia 10, Florida 9
• Georgia 27, Georgia Tech 24
• Iowa 51, Iowa State 10
• Kansas 37, Missouri 27
• LSU 20, Tulane 7
• Miami 17, Florida State 16
• Michigan 24, Ohio State 21
• Michigan 42, Michigan State 0
• Navy 42, Army 13
• Nebraska 28, Oklahoma 21
• Notre Dame 27, USC 6
• Oklahoma 21, Oklahoma State 20
• Oregon 0, Oregon State Beavers 0-Last time a NCAA Division 1-A game ended in a scoreless tie.
• Texas 28, Oklahoma 16
• UCLA 27, USC 17
• Washington State 17, Washington 6
• Wisconsin 56, Minnesota 17

#1 and #2 Progress

In the preseason poll released on August 27, Big 8 Conference rivals Nebraska and Oklahoma were #1 and #2. After the Oklahoma Sooners lost 24-14 to Ohio State on September 17, the Nebraska Cornhuskers remained #1 and were trailed for nearly the entire season by Texas. Nebraska received all 60 of the first place votes in the polls of September 26 and October 3, and no fewer than 51 as the season continued, while the Longhorns never received more than five votes during the same period. Meanwhile, the University of Miami Hurricanes, unranked in the preseason Top 20, began winning after their first week 28-3 loss to Florida. Miami came in at #15 in the September 26 poll. As they continued unbeaten, the Hurricanes gathered force, rising to #12, #10, #8, #7, and reached #4 by October 31, where they remained in the final regular season poll after they were invited to play against Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

Bowl games

• Rose Bowl: UCLA 45, #4 Illinois 9
• Fiesta Bowl: #14 Ohio State 28, #15 Pittsburgh 23
• Sugar Bowl: #3 Auburn 9, #8 Michigan 7
• Orange Bowl: #5 Miami (Fl) 31, #1 Nebraska 30
• Cotton Bowl Classic: #7 Georgia 10, #2 Texas 9
• Florida Citrus Bowl: Tennessee 30, #17 Maryland 23
• Gator Bowl: #11 Florida 13, #10 Iowa 6
• Holiday Bowl: #9 Brigham Young 21, Missouri 17
• Peach Bowl: Florida State 28, North Carolina 23
• Sun Bowl: Alabama 28, #6 SMU 7
• Independence Bowl: Air Force 9, Mississippi 3
• Liberty Bowl: Notre Dame 19, #13 Boston College 18
• Aloha Bowl: Penn State 13, Washington 10

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the

Most Outstanding Player of the year
Winner: Mike Rozier, Nebraska RB (1,801 points)

• 2. Steve Young, Brigham Young QB (1,172 points)
• 3. Doug Flutie, Boston College QB (253 points)
• 4. Turner Gill, Nebraska QB (190 points)
• 5. Terry Hoage, Georgia DB (112 points)

Other annual awards

• Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) - Mike Rozier, Nebraska
• Walter Camp Award (Back) - Mike Rozier, Nebraska
• Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) - Steve Young, Brigham Young
• Lombardi Award (Lineman or Linebacker) - Dean Steinkuhler, Nebraska
• Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) - Dean Steinkuhler, Nebraska, 0T
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award - Howard Schnellenberger, Miami

References