1982 NCAA Division I-A football season

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1982 NCAA Division I-A season
PaulBearBryantMemorial.jpg
Memorial for legendary coach Bear Bryant, who retired after the 1982 season, and died 28 days later.
Number of teams105
Preseason AP No. 1Pittsburgh[1]
Post-season
DurationDecember 17, 1982 –
January 1, 1983
Bowl games16
Heisman TrophyHerschel Walker (running back, Georgia)
Champion(s)Pennsylvania State (AP, Coaches, FWAA)
Division I-A football seasons
← 1981
1983 →

The 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season was the last for Paul "Bear" Bryant as head coach at Alabama, retiring with 323 victories in 38 seasons.[2]

The Penn State Nittany Lions won their first consensus national championship, closing out an 11–1 season by defeating Georgia and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker 27–23 in the Sugar Bowl to edge out undefeated SMU for the national championship. It was Joe Paterno's first national championship, after three undefeated non-championship seasons.[3][4][5]

UCLA moved from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the Rose Bowl and fulfilled a promise made by coach Terry Donahue by closing out their season there as well, beating Michigan 24–14 in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.

It is also the year of "The Play", an improbable finish to the annual rivalry game between Cal and Stanford.

The Aloha Bowl premiered in Honolulu, Hawaii, and was won by Washington.

Rule changes[]

  • The penalty for incidental grasping of a facemask was reduced from 15 yards to 5 yards. The 5 yard version of this penalty would be later abolished in the 2008 season.
  • Coaches are no longer allowed to request a conference with the referee regarding a misapplication or misinterpretation of a rule, modifying a 1981 rule permitting such conferences, though a player or substitute can still request them.
  • The penalty for offensive pass interference or illegal touching of a forward pass in the end zone was changed to a 15-yard penalty (5 yards for illegal touching) from a touchback.
  • Penalties on the defense for fouls committed away from a catchable ball will be enforced from the previous spot and will no longer be considered pass interference.
  • Intentional grounding where the spot of enforcement is in the end zone will no longer result in an automatic safety. The defense will have the option to take the result of the play or the safety.
  • Intentional grounding will not be called if a passer throws the ball out of bounds to conserve time.
  • Penalties against the offense that occur behind the scrimmage line will be enforced from the previous spot and not from the spot of the foul.
  • Use of adhesive material (such as stickum) is prohibited.
  • The penalty for ineligible receiver downfield was reduced from 15 yards plus loss of down to 5 yards plus loss of down.

Conference changes and new programs[]

  • This was the first season the Ivy League, Southern Conference, and Southland Conference competed at the I-AA (FCS) level.[6] Southwestern Louisiana was the only team from those three conferences to remain in Division I-A, becoming an independent.
    • Ivy League — Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale
    • Southern Conference — Appalachian State, Chattanooga, East Tennessee State, Furman, Marshall, The Citadel, VMI, and Western Carolina
    • Southland Conference — Arkansas State, Lamar, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, and Texas–Arlington
      • Southwestern Louisiana, who had been a member of the Southland during the 1981 season, remained in Division I-A as an Independent. The school was renamed the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1999.
  • Most of the Missouri Valley Conference football schools were also reclassified. This began the few years where the MVC hosted both I-A and I-AA teams. Drake, Illinois State, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, and West Texas State did not meet I-A standards and were reclassified to I-AA. New Mexico State, Tulsa, and Wichita State remained in I-A.
  • This season also saw the loss of Division I-A independent teams Colgate, Holy Cross, Northeast Louisiana, North Texas State, Richmond, and William & Mary; dropping the total number of Division I-A teams down to 106 from the previous season's 137 teams.
  • As of 2020, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Northeast Louisiana (renamed the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1999), Louisiana Tech, Marshall, and North Texas have returned to Division I-A, renamed FBS in 2006.
School 1981 Conference 1982 Conference
Colgate Raiders I-A Independent I-AA Independent
Holy Cross Crusaders I-A Independent I-AA Independent
Northeast Louisiana Indians I-A Independent Southland (I-AA)
North Texas State Mean Green I-A Independent I-AA Independent
Richmond Spiders I-A Independent I-AA Independent
UNLV Rebels I-A Independent PCAA (Big West)
William & Mary Tribe I-A Independent I-AA Independent

Conference standings[]

1982 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Clemson $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 1
No. 20 Maryland 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 18 North Carolina 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Duke 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
NC State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Virginia 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Wake Forest 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1982 Big Eight Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Nebraska $ 7 – 0 – 0 12 – 1 – 0
No. 16 Oklahoma 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Oklahoma State 3 – 2 – 2 4 – 5 – 2
Kansas State 3 – 3 – 1 6 – 5 – 1
Missouri 2 – 3 – 2 5 – 4 – 2
Iowa State 1 – 5 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Kansas 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 7 – 2
Colorado 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 8 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1982 Big Ten Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Michigan $ 8 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 12 Ohio State 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Iowa 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Illinois 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Wisconsin 5 – 4 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Indiana 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Purdue 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Northwestern 2 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Michigan State 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Minnesota 1 – 8 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1982 Mid-American Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Bowling Green $ 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Western Michigan 5 – 2 – 2 7 – 2 – 2
Miami 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Central Michigan 5 – 3 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
Ohio 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Toledo 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Northern Illinois 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Ball State 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Eastern Michigan 1 – 7 – 1 1 – 9 – 1
Kent State 0 – 9 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1982 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Tulsa $ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Wichita State 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Southern Illinois 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Indiana State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Drake 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
New Mexico State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
West Texas State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Illinois State 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-A and I-AA programs. New Mexico State, Tulsa, and Wichita State were I-A and the other teams were I-AA.
1982 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Fresno State $ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
Long Beach State 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
San Jose State 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Utah State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Pacific (CA) 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
UNLV 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Cal State Fullerton 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1982 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 UCLA $ 5 – 1 – 1 10 – 1 – 1
No. 7 Washington 6 – 2 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 6 Arizona State 5 – 2 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 15 USC 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Arizona 4 – 3 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
California 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Stanford 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Washington State 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
Oregon 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 1
Oregon State 0 – 7 – 1 1 – 9 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1982 Southeastern Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Georgia $ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 11 LSU 4 – 1 – 1 8 – 3 – 1
No. 14 Auburn 4 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Vanderbilt 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Tennessee 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 5 – 1
Alabama 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Florida 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Mississippi State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Ole Miss 0 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Kentucky 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 10 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1982 Southwest Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 SMU $ 7 – 0 – 1 11 – 0 – 1
No. 17 Texas 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 9 Arkansas 5 – 2 – 1 9 – 2 – 1
Houston 4 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Baylor 3 – 4 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Texas Tech 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Texas A&M 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
TCU 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Rice 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1982 Western Athletic Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
BYU $ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
New Mexico 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Air Force 4 – 3 – 0 8 – 5 – 0
San Diego State 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Hawaii 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Colorado State 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Utah 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Wyoming 2 – 6 – 0 5 – 7 – 0
UTEP 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1982 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Penn State   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
No. 10 Pittsburgh   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 13 Florida State   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 19 West Virginia   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Boston College   –   –   8 – 3 – 1
Southwestern Louisiana   –   –   7 – 3 – 1
East Carolina   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Notre Dame   –   –   6 – 4 – 1
Cincinnati   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Georgia Tech   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Navy   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Louisville   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Army   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Temple   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Tulane   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Syracuse   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Memphis State   –   –   1 – 10 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

Notable rivalry games[]

  • Arizona 28, ASU 18
  • Auburn 23, Alabama 22 (Auburn's first victory in the series since 1972; Alabama coach Bear Bryant's last regular season game)
  • Cal 25, Stanford 20 (The Play)
  • UCLA 20, USC 19 – In the first game of this rivalry contested at the Rose Bowl, USC trailed 20–13 and had fourth down and goal from the one-yard line with 0:01 left in the game. USC scored a touchdown and decided to go for the two-point conversion with 0:00 on the clock. USC announcer Tom Kelly remarked, "Typical of this great rivalry--even when it's over, it isn't over!" On the ensuing try for two by USC, UCLA's Karl Morgan sacked USC QB Scott Tinsley. This occurred within minutes of The Play, which was happening 400 miles to the north in Berkeley.
  • USC 17, Notre Dame 13
  • Tulane 31, No. 7 LSU 28 (Tulane's first win at Tiger Stadium since 1948 and the Green Wave's most recent victory in the series. The series has not been played annually since 1994 and not at all since 2009.)
  • Ohio St. 24, Michigan 14
  • No. 8 Nebraska 28, No. 11 Oklahoma 24
  • No. 8 Penn St 27, No. 2 Nebraska 24

September[]

The pre season poll had a top 5 of 1. Pittsburgh, 2. Washington, 3. Nebraska, 4. Alabama, and 5. North Carolina. Penn State was No. 8.

On September 11, No. 5 North Carolina lost at No. 1 Pittsburgh by a score of 7–6; the Tar Heels would never return to the top 5 as they went 8–4. Meanwhile, Washington, by virtue of its 55–0 win over UTEP, moved ahead of Pitt in the next poll. Florida replaced North Carolina in the top 5 that was 1. Washington, 2. Pittsburgh, 3. Nebraska, 4. Alabama, and 5. Florida.

After games of September 18, Pittsburgh was again leapfrogged by a team that dominated a weak opponent, as Nebraska beat New Mexico 68–0 and moved ahead of Pitt to No. 2. The rest of the top 5 was unchanged.

On September 25, No. 2 Nebraska was defeated at No. 8 Penn State by a score of 27–24 in a game that ultimately decided the national title. The outcome of the game was controversial as Penn State tight end Mike McCloskey would later admit catching a key pass out of bounds that kept the winning drive alive. Penn State replaced Nebraska in the new top 5 that was 1. Washington, 2. Pittsburgh, 3. Penn State, 4. Alabama, and 5. Florida.

October[]

On October 2, No. 5 Florida lost at home to unranked LSU 24–13. Georgia replaced Florida in the top 5 and also moved ahead of Alabama. The new poll was 1. Washington, 2. Pittsburgh, 3. Penn State, 4. Georgia, and 5. Alabama.

On October 9, No. 5 Alabama defeated No. 3 Penn State in Birmingham 42–21. Alabama jumped up top to No. 2 while SMU replaced Penn State in the top five. 1. Washington, 2. Alabama, 3. Pittsburgh, 4. Georgia, 5. SMU.

On October 16, No. 2 Alabama was knocked off in Knoxville by Tennessee, 35–28. Nebraska returned to the top five. 1. Washington, 2. Pittsburgh, 3. Georgia, 4. SMU, 5. Nebraska.

On October 23, Washington struggled to beat Texas Tech 10–3 so Pittsburgh moved ahead of them in the poll. The same day, Nebraska squeaked by Missouri at home 23–19 and slipped to No. 6, with Arkansas taking their place in the top 5. The new poll was 1. Pittsburgh, 2. Washington, 3. Georgia, 4. SMU, and 5. Arkansas.

On October 30 in Palo Alto, John Elway and Stanford stunned No. 2 Washington 43–31. SMU jumped ahead of Georgia into the No. 2 spot with a 47–9 drubbing of Texas A&M. Undefeated and No. 7 Arizona State beat No. 12 USC 17–10 and moved up to No. 4. The new poll was 1. Pittsburgh, 2. SMU, 3. Georgia, 4. Arizona State, and 5. Arkansas.

November[]

On November 6, No. 1 Pittsburgh was stunned at home by unranked Notre Dame, 31–16. No. 5 Arkansas was knocked off by Baylor in Waco 24–17. No. 3 Georgia romped over No. 20 Florida 44–0 and moved to the top spot. The new poll was 1. Georgia, 2. SMU, 3. Arizona State, 4. Nebraska, and 5. Penn State.

On November 13 in a Pac-10 showdown in Tempe, No. 7 Washington beat No. 3 Arizona State 17–13. That put the Huskies back in the top 5. Remembering that Penn State defeated Nebraska earlier in the season, the pollsters moved the Nittany Lions ahead of the Cornhuskers in the new poll that was 1. Georgia, 2. SMU, 3. Penn State, 4. Nebraska, 5. Washington.

On November 20, No. 2 SMU was tied by No. 9 Arkansas 17–17. No. 5 Washington had its Rose Bowl hopes ended as rival Washington State upset the Huskies 24–20. Pittsburgh returned to the top five replacing Washington. 1. Georgia, 2. Penn State 3. Nebraska, 4. SMU, 5. Pittsburgh.

On November 26, in a game that likely decided who would meet No. 1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, No. 2 Penn State shut down Dan Marino and No. 5 Pittsburgh, 19–10. The next day, No. 6 Arizona State was knocked out of the Rose Bowl by rival Arizona, 28–18. That gave UCLA the Pac 10 title and Rose Bowl berth. The Bruins replaced Pittsburgh in the top 5 in the final regular season poll. 1. Georgia, 2. Penn State, 3. Nebraska, 4. SMU, 5. UCLA.

No. 1 and No. 2 progress[]

WEEKS No. 1 No. 2 Event
PRE-1 Pittsburgh Washington Washington 55, UTEP 0 Sep 11
2 Washington Pittsburgh Nebraska 68, New Mexico St. 0 Sep 18
3 Washington Nebraska Penn State 27, Nebraska 24 Sep 25
4-5 Washington Pittsburgh Alabama 34, Arkansas St 7 Oct 2
6 Washington Alabama Tennessee 35, Alabama 28 Oct 16
7 Washington Pittsburgh Pittsburgh 14, Syracuse 0 Oct 23
8 Pittsburgh Washington Stanford 43, Washington 31 Oct 30
9 Pittsburgh SMU Notre Dame 31, Pitt 16 Nov 6
10-11 Georgia SMU Arkansas 17, SMU 17 Nov 20
12-14 Georgia Penn State Penn State 27, Georgia 23 Jan 1

Bowl games[]

Main article: 1982–83 NCAA football bowl games
  • Sugar: No. 2 Penn State 27, No. 1 Georgia 23
  • Orange: No. 3 Nebraska 21, No. 13 LSU 20
  • Cotton: No. 4 SMU 7, No. 6 Pittsburgh 3
  • Rose: No. 5 UCLA 24, No. 19 Michigan 14
  • Sun: North Carolina 26, No. 8 Texas 10
  • Gator: Florida State 31, No. 10 West Virginia 12
  • Tangerine: No. 18 Auburn 33, Boston College 26
  • Liberty: Alabama 21, Illinois 15
  • Bluebonnet: No. 14 Arkansas 28, Florida 24
  • Peach: Iowa 28, Tennessee 22
  • Fiesta: No. 11 Arizona State 32, No. 12 Oklahoma 21
  • Independence: Wisconsin 14, Kansas State 3
  • Hall of Fame: Air Force 36, Vanderbilt 28
  • Holiday: No. 17 Ohio State 47, Brigham Young 17
  • Aloha: No. 9 Washington 21, No. 16 Maryland 20
  • California: Fresno State 29, Bowling Green 28

Final AP and UPI rankings[]

Main article: 1982 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Rank AP UPI
1. Penn State Penn State
2. SMU SMU
3. Nebraska Nebraska
4. Georgia Georgia
5. UCLA UCLA
6. Arizona State Arizona State
7. Washington Washington
8. Clemson Arkansas
9. Arkansas Pittsburgh
10. Pittsburgh Florida State
11. LSU LSU
12. Ohio State Ohio State
13. Florida State North Carolina
14. Auburn Auburn
15. USC Michigan
16. Oklahoma Oklahoma
17. Texas Alabama
18. North Carolina Texas
19. West Virginia West Virginia
20. Maryland Maryland

Source:[3][5]

Heisman Trophy[]

  1. Herschel Walker, RB, Georgia, 1,926 points
  2. John Elway, QB, Stanford, 1,231
  3. Eric Dickerson, RB, SMU, 465
  4. Anthony Carter, WR, Michigan, 142
  5. Dave Rimington, C, Nebraska, 137
  6. Todd Blackledge, QB, Penn State, 108
  7. Tom Ramsey, QB, UCLA, 65
  8. Tony Eason, QB, Illinois, 60
  9. Dan Marino, QB, Pittsburgh, 47
  10. Mike Rozier, RB, Nebraska, 40
  11. Curt Warner, RB, Penn State, 40
  • Walker and Rozier were juniors

Source:[7]

Other major awards[]

  • Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman): Dave Rimington, Nebraska
  • Vince Lombardi/Rotary Award (Lineman or Linebacker): Dave Rimington, Nebraska
  • Walter Camp Award (back): Herschel Walker, Georgia
  • Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback): Todd Blackledge, Penn State
  • Maxwell Award (college player of the year): Herschel Walker, Georgia

References[]

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2009-01-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ Mitchell, Billy (December 30, 1982). "Pleasant way to go, Bear says". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). p. 1.
  3. ^ a b "Only dissent on No. 1 comes from No. 2". Eugene Register Guard. (Oregon). AP, UPI. January 3, 1983. p. 1C.
  4. ^ "At long last". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 3, 1983. p. 23.
  5. ^ a b Donovan, Dan (January 3, 1983). "National title belongs to players - Paterno". Pittsburgh Press. p. C1.
  6. ^ New York Times – 2006-11-17
  7. ^ "Walker wins his Heisman on third try". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. December 5, 1982. p. 1D.
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