1989 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its third National Championship during the 1980s, cementing its claim as the decade's top team, winning more titles than any other program.

1989 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams	106
Preseason AP No. 1	Michigan[1]
Post-season
Bowl games	18
Heisman Trophy	Andre Ware (quarterback, Houston)
Champion(s)	Miami (FL)
Division I-A football seasons
← 1988 1990 →

Notre Dame signed a six-year, $30 million deal with NBC, granting the network the exclusive rights to broadcast Notre Dame football. However, the deal would not start until 1991.

Florida State began 0–2 but finished the season 10–2, having beaten the National Champions Miami earlier in the season and beating Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.

Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer resigned June 19 after 16 seasons, during which he led the Sooners to three national championships (1974, 1975, 1985).

Michigan coach Bo Schembechler retired following the season. Steve Spurrier was hired by Florida away from Duke in an effort to clean up after a decade of NCAA sanctions.

Houston quarterback Andre Ware ran the run and shoot offense all the way to the Heisman Trophy and numerous records.

Rule changes

• Use of a kicking tee for field goals and extra points is prohibited, repealing a rule put forth in 1948; all such kicks must now be made off the ground.[2][3]
• Five-yard delay of game penalties will be enforced on home teams when crowd noise is too loud for opponents to hear signals.

Conference and program changes

One team upgraded from Division I-AA and one resumed play after being suspended for two seasons, thus increasing the number of Division I-A teams from 104 to 106.

• Louisiana Tech upgraded from Division I-AA as an independent
• The SMU Mustangs of the Southwest Conference resumed play in the wake of the program's "death penalty".

School	1988 Conference	1989 Conference
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs	I-AA Independent	I-A Independent

Conference standings

1989 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 18 Virginia + 6 – 1 – 0     10 – 3 – 0 Duke + 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 No. 12 Clemson 5 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Georgia Tech 4 – 3 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 NC State 4 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Maryland 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 7 – 1 Wake Forest 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 8 – 1 North Carolina 0 – 7 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1989 Big Eight Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 4 Colorado $ 7 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 No. 11 Nebraska 6 – 1 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Oklahoma 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Iowa State 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Oklahoma State 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Kansas 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Missouri 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Kansas State 0 – 7 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1989 Big Ten Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 7 Michigan $ 8 – 0 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 No. 10 Illinois 7 – 1 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 No. 16 Michigan State 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 No. 24 Ohio State 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Minnesota 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Indiana 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Iowa 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Purdue 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Wisconsin 1 – 7 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Northwestern 0 – 8 – 0     0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1989 Big West Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Fresno State $ 7 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 Cal State Fullerton 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 1 San Jose State 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Utah State 4 – 3 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 UNLV 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Long Beach State 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 8 – 0 Pacific (CA) 2 – 5 – 0     2 – 10 – 0 New Mexico State 0 – 7 – 0     0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1989 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Ball State $ 6 – 1 – 1     7 – 3 – 2 Eastern Michigan 6 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 1 Toledo 6 – 2 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Central Michigan 5 – 2 – 1     5 – 5 – 1 Bowling Green 5 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Western Michigan 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Miami 2 – 5 – 1     2 – 8 – 1 Ohio 1 – 6 – 1     1 – 9 – 1 Kent State 0 – 8 – 0     0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1989 Pacific-10 Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 8 USC $ 6 – 0 – 1     9 – 2 – 1 No. 23 Washington 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Oregon 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 No. 25 Arizona 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Arizona State 3 – 3 – 1     6 – 4 – 1 Oregon State 3 – 4 – 1     4 – 7 – 1 Washington State 3 – 5 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Stanford 3 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 UCLA 2 – 5 – 1     3 – 7 – 1 California 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1989 Southeastern Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 5 Tennessee + 6 – 1 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 No. 9 Alabama + 6 – 1 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 No. 6 Auburn + 6 – 1 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Florida 4 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Ole Miss 4 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Georgia 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 Kentucky 2 – 5 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 LSU 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Mississippi State 1 – 6 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Vanderbilt 0 – 7 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1989 Southwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 13 Arkansas $ 7 – 1 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 No. 20 Texas A&M 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 No. 14 Houston 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 Texas Tech 5 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Baylor 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Texas 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 TCU 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Rice 2 – 6 – 0     2 – 8 – 1 SMU 0 – 8 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1989 Western Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 22 BYU $ 7 – 1 – 0     10 – 3 – 0 Air Force 5 – 1 – 1     8 – 4 – 1 Hawaii 5 – 2 – 1     9 – 3 – 1 Wyoming 5 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 San Diego State 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 1 Colorado State 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 1 Utah 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 8 – 0 UTEP 1 – 7 – 0     2 – 10 – 0 New Mexico 0 – 7 – 0     2 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1989 NCAA Division I-A independents football records Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 1 Miami (FL)   –       11 – 1 – 0 No. 2 Notre Dame   –       12 – 1 – 0 No. 3 Florida State   –       10 – 2 – 0 Northern Illinois   –       9 – 2 – 0 No. 15 Penn State   –       8 – 3 – 1 No. 17 Pittsburgh   –       8 – 3 – 1 No. 21 West Virginia   –       8 – 3 – 1 Syracuse   –       8 – 4 – 0 Southwestern Louisiana   –       7 – 4 – 0 Akron   –       6 – 4 – 1 South Carolina   –       6 – 4 – 1 Virginia Tech   –       6 – 4 – 1 Louisiana Tech   –       5 – 4 – 1 Army   –       6 – 5 – 0 Louisville   –       6 – 5 – 0 East Carolina   –       5 – 5 – 1 Tulsa   –       6 – 6 – 0 Southern Miss   –       5 – 6 – 0 Tulane   –       4 – 8 – 0 Navy   –       3 – 8 – 0 Rutgers   –       2 – 7 – 2 Boston College   –       2 – 9 – 0 Memphis State   –       2 – 9 – 0 Cincinnati   –       1 – 9 – 1 Temple   –       1 – 10 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll

No. 1 and No. 2 progress

WEEKS	No. 1	No. 2	Event
PRE	Michigan	Notre Dame	Notre Dame 36, Virginia 13	Aug 31
1–2	Notre Dame	Michigan	Notre Dame 24, Michigan 19	Sep 16
3–7	Notre Dame	Miami	Florida State 24, Miami 10	Oct 28
8–11	Notre Dame	Colorado	Miami 27, Notre Dame 10	Nov 25
12	Colorado	Alabama	Auburn 30, Alabama 20	Dec 2
13	Colorado	Miami	Notre Dame 21, Colorado 6	Jan 1

Notable rivalry games

Auburn 30 Alabama 20 First Iron Bowl Played in Auburn

Bowl games

• Orange Bowl: No. 4 Notre Dame 21, No. 1 Colorado 6
• Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Miami (FL) 33, No. 7 Alabama 25
• Rose Bowl: No. 12 USC 17, No. 3 Michigan 10
• Fiesta Bowl: No. 5 Florida State 41, No. 6 Nebraska 17
• Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 8 Tennessee 31, No. 10 Arkansas 27
• Florida Citrus Bowl: No. 11 Illinois 31, No. 15 Virginia 21
• Hall of Fame Bowl: No. 9 Auburn 31, No. 21 Ohio State 14
• Gator Bowl: No. 14 Clemson 27, No. 17 West Virginia 7
• John Hancock Bowl: No. 23 Pittsburgh 31, No. 16 Texas A&M 28
• Copper Bowl: Arizona 17, NC State 10
• Holiday Bowl: No. 18 Penn State 50, No. 19 BYU 39
• Freedom Bowl: Washington 34, Florida 7
• Peach Bowl: Syracuse 19, Georgia 18
• All-American Bowl: No. 24 Texas Tech 49, No. 20 Duke 21
• Liberty Bowl: Mississippi 42, Air Force 29
• Aloha Bowl: No. 22 Michigan State 33, No. 25 Hawaii 13
• Independence Bowl: Oregon 27, Tulsa 24
• California Bowl: Fresno State 27, Ball State 6

Final AP poll

1. Miami (FL)
2. Notre Dame
3. Florida State
4. Colorado
5. Tennessee
6. Auburn
7. Michigan
8. Southern California
9. Alabama
10. Illinois
11. Nebraska
12. Clemson
13. Arkansas
14. Houston
15. Penn State
16. Michigan State
17. Pittsburgh
18. Virginia
19. Texas Tech
20. Texas A&M
21. West Virginia
22. BYU
23. Washington
24. Ohio State
25. Arizona

Final Coaches poll

1. Miami (FL)
2. Florida St.
3. Notre Dame
4. Colorado
5. Tennessee
6. Auburn
7. Alabama
8. Michigan
9. Southern California
10. Illinois
11. Clemson
12. Nebraska
13. Arkansas
14. Penn St.
15. Virginia
16. Texas Tech
17. Michigan St.
18. Brigham Young
19. Pittsburgh
20. Washington

Heisman Trophy

1. Winner: Andre Ware, Houston, Jr. QB
2. Anthony Thompson, Indiana, Sr. RB
3. Major Harris, West Virginia, Jr. QB
4. Tony Rice, Notre Dame, Sr. QB
5. Darian Hagan, Colorado, So. QB

Other major awards

• Maxwell (Player): Anthony Thompson, Indiana
• Camp (Back): Anthony Thompson, Indiana
• O'Brien Award (QB): Andre Ware, Houston
• Rockne (Lineman): Chris Zorich, Notre Dame, NT
• Lombardi (Linebacker): Percy Snow, Michigan St.
• Outland (Interior): Mohammed Elewonibi, BYU
• Coach of the Year: Bill McCartney, Colorado

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1068759/index.htm
3. Litke, Jim (August 20, 1989). "They're Not All Kicking and Screaming Over the Absence of Tee". Los Angeles Times. Associate Press. Retrieved October 3, 2019. It was 1948 before vague rumblings about putting the foot back into the game convinced NCAA officials to allow the use of a 1-inch rubberized tee. Eleven years later, they widened the goal posts to 23-feet-5 from 18-5, and seven years after that, let the tee rise an inch.