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 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 →

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.

School1988 Conference1989 Conference
Louisiana Tech BulldogsI-AA IndependentI-A Independent

Regular season

September

For the first time, the AP Poll ranked 25 teams rather than the previous 20. The first poll of the year featured Michigan at No. 1 and defending champion Notre Dame at No. 2, followed by No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Miami, and No. 5 USC.

August 31-September 4: No. 1 Michigan, No. 3 Nebraska, and No. 4 Miami were idle. No. 2 Notre Dame defeated Virginia 36–13 in the Kickoff Classic, but No. 5 USC blew a late 13–0 lead and lost 14–13 to No. 22 Illinois. No. 8 Auburn, who was also idle this week, moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Miami, No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 5 Auburn.

September 9: No. 1 Notre Dame was idle, and No. 2 Michigan still had not begun their season. No. 3 Miami opened with a 51-3 domination of Wisconsin, No. 4 Nebraska beat Northern Illinois 48–17, and No. 5 Auburn shut out Pacific 55–0. The top five remained the same in the next poll.

September 16: For the fifth consecutive year, there was a regular-season game between the AP's top two teams. And for the second year in a row Notre Dame was the winner of that matchup, as the No. 1-ranked Fighting Irish defeated No. 2 Michigan 24-19 thanks to Rocket Ismail's two kickoff returns for touchdowns. Meanwhile, No. 3 Miami beat California 31–3, No. 4 Nebraska won 42–30 over Utah, and No. 5 Auburn defeated Southern Mississippi 24–3. The top five in the next poll were No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Auburn, and No. 5 Michigan.

September 23: No. 1 Notre Dame defeated Michigan State 21–13, No. 2 Miami won 38–7 at Missouri, and No. 3 Nebraska shut out Minnesota 48–0. No. 4 Auburn was idle. No. 5 Michigan needed a late touchdown and a buzzer-beating field goal to beat No. 24 UCLA 24–23, and the Wolverines fell out of the top five in the next poll. No. 6 Colorado did not play this weekend, but they met with a tragedy as quarterback Sal Aunese (who was also coach Bill McCartney's son-in-law) died of stomach cancer. The Buffaloes moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Auburn, and No. 5 Colorado.

September 30: No. 1 Notre Dame beat their third straight Big Ten opponent, winning 40–7 at Purdue. Michigan State had to play a top-two team for the second week in a row, and the Spartans fell 26–20 to No. 2 Miami. No. 3 Nebraska defeated Oregon State 35–7, but No. 4 Auburn lost 21–14 at No. 12 Tennessee. Just days after Aunese's funeral, No. 5 Colorado traveled to Seattle and won 45–28 over No. 21 Washington. No. 6 Michigan beat Maryland 41–21 to move back into the top five: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Colorado, No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 5 Michigan.

October

October 7: No. 1 Notre Dame won 27–17 at Stanford, No. 2 Miami overwhelmed Cincinnati 56–0, No. 3 Colorado crushed Missouri 49–3, No. 4 Nebraska dominated Kansas State 58–7, and No. 5 Michigan blanked Wisconsin 24–0. The top five remained the same in the next poll.

October 14: No. 1 Notre Dame visited No. 17 Air Force and won 41–27. Gino Torretta, subbing for the injured Craig Erickson, set a school record with 468 passing yards in No. 2 Miami's 48–16 win over San Jose State. No. 3 Colorado won 52–17 at Iowa State, No. 4 Nebraska beat Missouri 50–7, and No. 5 Michigan squeaked past No. 21 Michigan State 10–7. The top five again remained the same in the next poll.

October 21: No. 1 Notre Dame came back from a 10-point halftime deficit to pull out a 28–24 victory over No. 9 USC. No. 2 Miami was idle. No. 3 Colorado beat Kansas 49–17, No. 4 Nebraska won 48–23 at Oklahoma State, and No. 5 Michigan defeated Iowa 26–12. The top five once again remained the same.

October 28: No. 1 Notre Dame defeated No. 7 Pittsburgh 45–7. No. 2 Miami visited No. 9 Florida State, whom they had defeated 31–0 in 1988, and FSU took revenge with a 24–10 victory. No. 3 Colorado won 20–3 over Oklahoma; the Sooners were entering a down period after a series of off-field scandals and the forced resignation of longtime coach Barry Switzer. No. 4 Nebraska beat Iowa State 49–17, and No. 5 Michigan defeated Indiana 38–10. In a matchup between No. 6 Alabama and No. 14 Penn State, the Nittany Lions had the ball inside the one-yard line with 13 seconds left. Penn State coach Joe Paterno elected to go for a field goal rather than a touchdown, but the kick was blocked and Alabama won the game 17–16. The next poll featured No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Colorado, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Alabama.

November–December

November 4: No. 1 Notre Dame shut out Navy 41–0. No. 2 Colorado made it two wins in two weeks against Big 8 powerhouses, preserving a 27–21 victory over No. 3 Nebraska with a last-second deflection in the end zone. No. 4 Michigan defeated Purdue 42–27, No. 5 Alabama beat Mississippi State 23–10, and No. 6 Florida State won 35–10 over South Carolina. The next poll featured No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Colorado, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 Florida State.

November 11: No. 1 Notre Dame overwhelmed SMU 59–6, one of many blowout losses for the Mustangs in their first year back from a NCAA-imposed “death penalty” (they had allowed a record-setting 1,021 yards of offense in a 95–21 loss to Houston three weeks earlier). No. 2 Colorado won 41–17 at Oklahoma State to clinch the Big 8 title and a spot in the Orange Bowl; this was the first time since 1961 that a team other than Oklahoma or Nebraska had won an outright Big 8 championship. No. 3 Michigan visited No. 8 Illinois for a 24–10 victory, No. 4 Alabama defeated LSU 32–16, and No. 5 Florida State was idle. The top five remained the same in the next poll.

November 18: No. 1 Notre Dame won 34–23 at No. 17 Penn State. No. 2 Colorado finished an undefeated regular season with a 59–11 victory at Kansas State. No. 3 Michigan beat Minnesota 49–15, No. 4 Alabama defeated Southern Mississippi 37–14, and No. 5 Florida State won 57–20 over Memphis. The Pac-10 race was decided this weekend, as No. 9 USC topped No. 25 Arizona 24–3 to clinch a Rose Bowl berth. The top five again remained the same in the next poll.

November 25: Notre Dame's most famous victory in their 1988 championship season was their upset of then-No. 1 Miami in the “Catholics vs. Convicts” game. This year's rematch had the opposite result, as the No. 7-ranked Hurricanes upset the top-rated Fighting Irish 27–10. No. 2 Colorado had finished their schedule. No. 3 Michigan wrapped up the Big Ten championship and earned a Rose Bowl bid with a 28–18 defeat of No. 20 Ohio State, while No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Florida State were idle. No. 9 Arkansas held off No. 14 Texas A&M 23–22 to win the SWC title and a spot in the Cotton Bowl. The next poll featured No. 1 Colorado, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Miami, and No. 5 Notre Dame.

December 2: No. 2 Alabama was undefeated going into the last game of the season, but a 30–20 loss to No. 11 Auburn in the Iron Bowl spoiled their perfect record and caused the two rivals to finish in a three-way tie for the SEC title with No. 8 Tennessee. Despite their loss, Alabama was picked to represent the conference in the Sugar Bowl. No. 6 Florida State finished their season with a ninth consecutive win after an 0–2 start, defeating Florida 24–17. The other major teams had already completed their schedules, and the final poll of the regular season featured No. 1 Colorado, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Notre Dame, and No. 5 Florida State.

As sometimes happened in the days before the NCAA had a formal process to pick the national champion, the title was affected by an early bowl game selection. Assuming that Notre Dame would defeat Miami and finish the season at the top of the poll, the Orange Bowl organizers set up what they hoped would be a No. 1 vs. No. 2 game between the Fighting Irish and Colorado. When Notre Dame dropped in the polls after their loss, the Orange Bowl ended up being No. 1 vs. No. 4 with other teams still in contention for the championship. Miami, the actual No. 2 team at the end of the season, ended up playing No. 7 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The other major matchups were No. 3 Michigan against No. 12 USC in the Rose Bowl, No. 5 Florida State against No. 6 Nebraska in the Fiesta, and No. 8 Tennessee against No. 10 Arkansas in the Cotton.

Conference standings
1989 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 18 Virginia + 6 –1 –010 –3 –0
Duke + 6 –1 –08 –4 –0
No. 12 Clemson 5 –2 –010 –2 –0
Georgia Tech 4 –3 –07 –4 –0
NC State 4 –3 –07 –5 –0
Maryland 2 –5 –03 –7 –1
Wake Forest 1 –6 –02 –8 –1
North Carolina 0 –7 –01 –10 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1989 Big Eight Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Colorado $ 7 –0 –011 –1 –0
No. 11 Nebraska 6 –1 –010 –2 –0
Oklahoma 5 –2 –07 –4 –0
Iowa State 4 –3 –06 –5 –0
Oklahoma State 3 –4 –04 –7 –0
Kansas 2 –5 –04 –7 –0
Missouri 1 –6 –02 –9 –0
Kansas State 0 –7 –01 –10 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1989 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 7 Michigan $ 8 –0 –010 –2 –0
No. 10 Illinois 7 –1 –010 –2 –0
No. 16 Michigan State 6 –2 –08 –4 –0
No. 24 Ohio State 6 –2 –08 –4 –0
Minnesota 4 –4 –06 –5 –0
Indiana 3 –5 –05 –6 –0
Iowa 3 –5 –05 –6 –0
Purdue 2 –6 –03 –8 –0
Wisconsin 1 –7 –02 –9 –0
Northwestern 0 –8 –00 –11 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1989 Big West Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Fresno State $ 7 –0 –011 –1 –0
Cal State Fullerton 5 –2 –06 –4 –1
San Jose State 5 –2 –06 –5 –0
Utah State 4 –3 –04 –7 –0
UNLV 3 –4 –04 –7 –0
Long Beach State 2 –5 –04 –8 –0
Pacific (CA) 2 –5 –02 –10 –0
New Mexico State 0 –7 –00 –11 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1989 Mid-American Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Ball State $ 6 –1 –17 –3 –2
Eastern Michigan 6 –2 –07 –3 –1
Toledo 6 –2 –06 –5 –0
Central Michigan 5 –2 –15 –5 –1
Bowling Green 5 –3 –05 –6 –0
Western Michigan 3 –5 –05 –6 –0
Miami (OH) 2 –5 –12 –8 –1
Ohio 1 –6 –11 –9 –1
Kent State 0 –8 –00 –11 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1989 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 8 USC $ 6 –0 –19 –2 –1
No. 23 Washington 5 –3 –08 –4 –0
Oregon 5 –3 –08 –4 –0
No. 25 Arizona 5 –3 –08 –4 –0
Arizona State 3 –3 –16 –4 –1
Oregon State 3 –4 –14 –7 –1
Washington State 3 –5 –06 –5 –0
Stanford 3 –5 –03 –8 –0
UCLA 2 –5 –13 –7 –1
California 2 –6 –04 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1989 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Tennessee + 6 –1 –011 –1 –0
No. 9 Alabama + 6 –1 –010 –2 –0
No. 6 Auburn + 6 –1 –010 –2 –0
Florida 4 –3 –07 –5 –0
Ole Miss 4 –3 –08 –4 –0
Georgia 4 –3 –06 –6 –0
Kentucky 2 –5 –06 –5 –0
LSU 2 –5 –04 –7 –0
Mississippi State 1 –6 –05 –6 –0
Vanderbilt 0 –7 –01 –10 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1989 Southwest Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 13 Arkansas $ 7 –1 –010 –2 –0
No. 20 Texas A&M 6 –2 –08 –4 –0
No. 14 Houston 6 –2 –09 –2 –0
No. 19 Texas Tech 5 –3 –09 –3 –0
Baylor 4 –4 –05 –6 –0
Texas 4 –4 –05 –6 –0
TCU 2 –6 –04 –7 –0
Rice 2 –6 –02 –8 –1
SMU 0 –8 –02 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1989 Western Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 22 BYU $ 7 –1 –010 –3 –0
Air Force 5 –1 –18 –4 –1
Hawaii 5 –2 –19 –3 –1
Wyoming 5 –3 –05 –6 –0
San Diego State 4 –3 –06 –5 –1
Colorado State 4 –3 –05 –5 –1
Utah 2 –6 –04 –8 –0
UTEP 1 –7 –02 –10 –0
New Mexico 0 –7 –02 –10 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1989 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW 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

New Year's Day Bowls:

Other Bowls:

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 voting

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

PlayerSchoolPosition1st2nd3rdTotal
Andre WareHoustonQB242132831,073
Anthony ThompsonIndianaRB1851701081,003
Major HarrisWest VirginiaQB115115134709
Tony RiceNotre DameQB72101105523
Darian HaganColoradoQB524252292
Dee DowisAir ForceQB153138145
Emmitt SmithFloridaRB132943140
Percy SnowMichigan StateLB7151970
Ty DetmerBYUQB3131449
Blair ThomasPenn StateRB4121248
Raghib IsmailNotre DameWR3111748

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. "No More Tee Party - 09.04.89 - SI Vault". Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  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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