1989 NCAA Division I-A football season

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1989 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams106
Preseason AP No. 1Michigan[1]
Post-season
Bowl games18
Heisman TrophyAndre Ware (quarterback, Houston)
Champion(s)Miami (FL) (AP, Coaches, FWAA)
Division I-A football seasons
← 1988
1990 →

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.

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
  • v
  • t
 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
  • v
  • t
 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
  • v
  • t
 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
  • v
  • t
 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
  • v
  • t
 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
  • v
  • t
 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
  • v
  • t
 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
  • v
  • t
 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
  • v
  • t
 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
  • v
  • t
 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[]

Main article: 1989–90 NCAA football 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[]

Main article: 1989 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
  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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Litke, Jim (August 20, 1989). "They're Not All Kicking and Screaming Over the Absence of Tee". Los Angeles Times. 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.
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