2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season explained

Year:2013
Number Of Teams:124 full members + 2 transitional
Preseason Ap:Alabama
Regular Season:August 29 – December 14
Number Of Bowls:35
Bowl Start:December 21, 2013
Bowl End:January 6, 2014
Championship System:Bowl Championship Series
Championship Bowl:2014 BCS Championship Game
Championship Location:Rose Bowl Stadium
Pasadena, California
Champions:Florida State
Heisman:Jameis Winston (quarterback, Florida State)

The 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The regular season began on August 29, 2013, and ended on December 14, 2013. The postseason concluded on January 6, 2014, with the final BCS National Championship Game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

The Florida State Seminoles beat the Auburn Tigers in the BCS National Championship Game to become the consensus national champion of the 2013 season. This was the final season in which the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was used to determine the national champion of the Football Bowl Subdivision; the BCS was replaced by the College Football Playoff system starting with the 2014 season.

Rule changes

The following rule changes were made by the NCAA Football Rules Committee for the 2013 season:[1]

A rule that would have required the colors of uniform jerseys and pants to contrast to the field was recommended by the Rules Committee but was denied by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel. This rule was proposed to prevent teams (such as Boise State) from wearing uniforms that matched the color of their field. Another recommended rule would have switched the side of the field on which the line-to-gain and down markers are displayed in each half but was also denied.[4]

The NCAA Legislative Council also approved a new rule that allows any FBS team with a 6–6 record entering a conference championship game to be bowl-eligible regardless of the result of the title game. Previously, such teams (for example, Georgia Tech last season and UCLA in 2011) had to seek an NCAA waiver if they lost in their conference championship.[5]

Conference realignment

See main article: 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment.

See also: 2010–2013 Big East Conference realignment, 2010–2013 Conference USA realignment, 2010–2013 Mountain West Conference realignment, 2010–2013 Sun Belt Conference realignment and 2010–2013 Western Athletic Conference realignment.

On April 3, 2013, the schools remaining in the original Big East Conference, which had sold the "Big East" name to the seven Catholic schools that would later leave the league to form the new Big East in July 2013, announced that they would operate as the American Athletic Conference (shortened to AAC or "The American).[6] The AAC filled its membership by adding schools from Conference USA, which replaced its losses with former Sun Belt and Western Athletic Conference (WAC) members.

The WAC discontinued football as a sponsored sport after the 2012 season when most of its football-playing members announced their departures for other conferences, primarily the Mountain West, in the preceding years. The WAC became the first FBS (formerly Division I-A) conference to drop football since the Big West Conference did so after the 2000 season. Idaho and New Mexico State, the two WAC football members who remained for 2013 season, temporarily became FBS independents in football. The WAC would not reinstate football until 2021, doing so as an FCS conference.

Membership changes

SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference
Florida AtlanticSun BeltConference USA
FIUSun BeltConference USA
Georgia StateCAA (FCS)Sun Belt
HoustonConference USA
WACFBS independent
Louisiana TechWACConference USA
MemphisConference USA
Middle TennesseeSun BeltConference USA
New Mexico StateWACFBS independent
North TexasSun BeltConference USA
PittsburghBig EastACC
San Jose StateWACMountain West
SMUConference USA
SyracuseBig EastACC
Texas StateWACSun Belt
UCFConference USA
Utah StateWACMountain West
UTSAWACConference USA

Other headlines

Updated stadiums

Regular season top 10 matchups

Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 9 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.

Conference champions

Rankings reflect the Week 15 AP Poll before the conference championship games were played.

ConferenceChampionRunner-upChampionship Game ScoreOffensive Player of the YearDefensive Player of the YearCoach of the Year
AmericanNo. 15 UCFN/AN/ABlake Bortles, UCFMarcus Smith, LouisvilleGeorge O'Leary, UCF
ACCNo. 1 Florida StateNo. 20 Duke45–7Jameis Winston, Florida State[20] Aaron Donald, PittsburghDavid Cutcliffe, Duke
Big 12No. 9 BaylorN/AN/ABryce Petty, BaylorJackson Jeffcoat, Texas & Jason Verrett, TCUArt Briles, Baylor
Big TenNo. 10 Michigan State34–24Braxton Miller, Ohio State[21] Chris Borland, WisconsinMark Dantonio, Michigan State
C-USARiceMarshall41–24Rakeem Cato, MarshallShawn Jackson, TulsaDavid Bailiff, Rice
MACBowling GreenNo. 16 Northern Illinois47–27Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois[22] Khalil Mack, BuffaloRod Carey, Northern Illinois
MWNo. 24 Fresno State24–17Derek Carr, Fresno StateShaquil Barrett, Colorado State Matt Wells, Utah State
Pac-12No. 7 StanfordNo. 11 Arizona State38–14Ka'Deem Carey, ArizonaWill Sutton, Arizona StateTodd Graham, Arizona State
SECNo. 3 AuburnNo. 5 Missouri59–42Tre Mason, AuburnMichael Sam, Missouri & C.J. Mosley, AlabamaGus Malzahn, Auburn
Sun BeltArkansas State

Louisiana–Lafayette

  • (vacated)
N/AN/AAntonio Andrews, Western KentuckyXavius Boyd, Western KentuckyJoey Jones, South Alabama

Final BCS rankings

BCSSchoolRecordBowl Game
1Florida State13–0BCS Championship
2Auburn12–1BCS Championship
3Alabama11–1Sugar Bowl
4Michigan State12–1Rose Bowl Game
5Stanford11–2Rose Bowl Game
6Baylor11–1Fiesta Bowl
7Ohio State12–1Orange Bowl
8Missouri11–2Cotton Bowl
9South Carolina10–2Capital One Bowl
10Oregon10–2Alamo Bowl
11Oklahoma10–2Sugar Bowl
12Clemson10–2Orange Bowl
13Oklahoma State10–2Cotton Bowl
14Arizona State10–3Holiday Bowl
15UCF11–1Fiesta Bowl
16LSU9–3Outback Bowl
17UCLA9–3Sun Bowl
18Louisville11–1Russell Athletic Bowl
19Wisconsin9–3Capital One Bowl
20Fresno State11–1Las Vegas Bowl
21Texas A&M8–4Chick-fil-A Bowl
22Georgia8–4Gator Bowl
23Northern Illinois12–1Poinsettia Bowl
24Duke10–3Chick-fil-A Bowl
25USC9–4Las Vegas Bowl

Bowl games

See main article: 2013–14 NCAA football bowl games.

Bowl record by conference

Conference Total games Wins Losses Pct.
Sun Belt 2 2 0
SEC 10 7 3
Pac-12 9 6 3
Independents 3 2 1
C-USA 6 3 3
MW 6 3 3
American 5 2 3
Big 12 6 3 3
ACC 11 5 6
Big Ten 7 2 5
MAC 5 0 5

Awards and honors

Heisman Trophy voting

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

Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Jameis Winston Florida State QB 668 84 33 2,205
QB 79 162 143 704
QB 40 149 140 558
RB 29 127 129 470
QB 30 103 125 421
RB 31 121 69 404
QB 4 40 35 127
QB 6 23 43 107
QB 4 21 37 91
RB 2 14 36 70

Other major awards

Jameis Winston, Florida State

Jameis Winston, Florida State

Special awards

Offense

Quarterback

Running back

Wide receiver

Tight end

Lineman

Defense

Defensive line

Defensive back

Special teams

Coaches

David Cutcliffe, Duke

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

David Cutcliffe, Duke

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

Gus Malzahn, Auburn and David Cutcliffe, Duke

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

Gus Malzahn, Auburn

David Cutcliffe, Duke

Assistants

Chad Morris, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, Clemson

Pat Narduzzi, defensive coordinator, Michigan State

All-Americans

See main article: 2013 College Football All-America Team.

Coaching changes

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2013. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2013, see 2012 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

TeamOutgoing coachDateReasonReplacement
USCLane KiffinSeptember 29Fired[24] Ed Orgeron (interim)
UConnPaul PasqualoniSeptember 30Fired[25] T. J. Weist (interim)
Miami (OH)Don TreadwellOctober 6Fired[26] Mike Bath (interim)[27]
FAUCarl PeliniOctober 30Fired[28] Brian Wright (interim)
Eastern MichiganRon EnglishNovember 8Fired[29] Stan Parrish (interim)
WyomingDave ChristensenDecember 1Fired[30] Craig Bohl[31]
Wake ForestJim GrobeDecember 2Resigned[32] Dave Clawson[33]
USCEd OrgeronResignedClay Helton (interim)
USCClay HeltonPermanent replacementSteve Sarkisian[34]
WashingtonSteve SarkisianHired by USCMarques Tuiasosopo (interim)
Miami (OH)Mike BathDecember 3Permanent replacementChuck Martin[35]
WashingtonMarques TuiasosopoDecember 6Permanent replacementChris Petersen[36]
Boise StateChris PetersenHired by WashingtonBob Gregory (interim)
Bowling GreenDave ClawsonDecember 10Hired by Wake ForestAdam Scheier (interim)[37]
Boise StateBob GregoryDecember 11Permanent replacementBryan Harsin[38]
Arkansas StateBryan HarsinHired by Boise StateJohn Thompson (interim)[39]
Eastern MichiganStan ParrishPermanent replacementChris Creighton[40]
UConnDecember 12Permanent replacementBob Diaco[41]
TexasMack BrownDecember 14Resigned[42] Charlie Strong[43]
ArmyRich EllersonDecember 15Fired[44] Jeff Monken
FAUBrian WrightDecember 17Permanent replacementCharlie Partridge[45]
Bowling GreenAdam ScheierDecember 18Permanent replacementDino Babers[46]
Arkansas StateJohn ThompsonDecember 19Permanent replacementBlake Anderson[47]
MassachusettsCharley MolnarDecember 26FiredMark Whipple
Penn StateBill O'BrienJanuary 2, 2014Hired by the Houston Texans[48] James Franklin
LouisvilleCharlie StrongJanuary 5, 2014Hired by TexasBobby Petrino[49]
Western KentuckyBobby PetrinoJanuary 9, 2014Hired by LouisvilleJeff Brohm[50]
UABGarrick McGeeHired as offensive coordinator at Louisville[51] Bill Clark[52]
VanderbiltJames FranklinHired by Penn StateDerek Mason

Television viewers and ratings

Most watched regular season games

Excludes Conference Championships (see chart below)

Rank Date !Matchup Channel Viewers TV Rating http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/college-football-tv-ratings Significance
1November 30, 3:30 ETNo. 1 Alabama28No. 4 Auburn34CBS13.78 Million8.2Kick Six/Rivalry
2September 14, 3:30 ETNo. 1 Alabama49No. 6 Texas A&M4213.59 Million8.5
3November 9, 8:00 ETNo. 13 LSU17No. 1 Alabama3811.90 Million6.9Rivalry
4November 30, 12:00 ETNo. 3 Ohio State42Michigan41ABC9.5 Million5.8Rivalry
5September 7, 8:00 ETNo. 14 Notre Dame30No. 17 Michigan41ESPN8.65 Million5.3Under the Lights II/Rivalry
6November 2, 8:00 ETNo. 7 Miami14No. 2 Florida State41ABC8.35 Million5.1Rivalry
7August 31, 8:00 ETNo. 5 Georgia35No. 8 Clemson388.14 Million4.8Rivalry
8November 23, 3:30 ETNo. 12 Texas A&M10No. 22 LSU34CBS7.51 Million4.7Rivalry
9September 28, 3:30 ETNo. 6 LSU41No. 9 Georgia447.39 Million4.6
10October 5, 8:00 ETNo. 4 Ohio State40No. 16 Northwestern30ABC7.36 Million4.4

Kickoff games

Rank Date !Matchup Channel Viewers TV Rating Game Location
1August 31, 5:30 ETNo. 1 Alabama 35 10ESPN5.17 Million3.0Chick-fil-A Kickoff GameGeorgia Dome, Atlanta
2August 31, 3:30 ET3No. 13 Oklahoma State21Regional ABC3.67 Million2.4Texas KickoffReliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
3August 31, 9:00 ETNo. 12 LSU37No. 20 TCU27ESPN3.17 Million1.9Cowboys ClassicAT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Conference championship games

Rank Date !Matchup Channel Viewers TV Rating Conference Location
1December 7, 4:00 ETNo. 5 Missouri42 No. 3 Auburn59CBS14.35 Million8.6SECGeorgia Dome, Atlanta
2December 7, 8:17 ETNo. 2 Ohio State24No. 10 Michigan State34Fox13.90 Million7.9Big TenLucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
3December 7, 8:00 ETNo. 20 Duke7No. 1 Florida State45ABC5.66 Million3.4ACCBank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
4December 6, 8:00 ETBowling Green47No. 14 Northern Illinois27ESPN21.87 Million1.2MACFord Field, Detroit
5December 7, 10:00 ETUtah State17No. 23 Fresno State24CBS1.70 Million1.1MWBulldog Stadium, Fresno, California
6December 7, 7:45 ETNo. 7 Stanford38No. 11 Arizona State14ESPN1.45 Million0.9Pac-12Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
7December 7, 12:00 ETMarshall24Rice41ESPN2449K0.3C-USARice Stadium, Houston, Texas

Notes and References

  1. News: NCAA Rules Panel approves ejections for targeted hits to head. CBS Sports . cbssports.com . February 13, 2013 . 13 February 2013.
  2. News: NCAA targeting calls will now have automatic review. AP . . October 4, 2013 . 5 October 2013.
  3. News: Big 12 adds eighth official just to keep up with up-tempo offenses. CBS Sports . cbssports.com . July 22, 2013 . 24 July 2013.
  4. News: NCAA Rules Panel approves more stringent penalty in football . NCAA.org . ncaa.org . March 7, 2013 . 7 March 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130310061928/http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/resources/latest+news/2013/march/playing+rules+panel+approves+more+stringent+penalty+in+football . 10 March 2013 . dead .
  5. News: Midnight Madness to start earlier . ESPN.com . May 3, 2013 . May 4, 2013.
  6. New Name in College Sports – Current BIG EAST Enters New Era as 'American Athletic Conference' . Big East Conference . April 3, 2013 . April 3, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130407022202/http://www.bigeast.org/News/tabid/435/Article/243706/New-Name-in-College-Sports---Current-BIG-EAST-Enters-New-Era-as--American-Athletic-Conference-.aspx . April 7, 2013 . dead . mdy-all .
  7. News: Hawaii to keep 'Rainbow' in name . Associated Press . ESPN.com . May 14, 2013 . May 21, 2013.
  8. News: Military Bowl moving to Annapolis, adds Conference USA for '13 . Chip . Patterson . Eye on College Football blog. . May 20, 2013 . May 21, 2013.
  9. News: Tom . Fornelli . Michigan Stadium sets single-game NCAA attendance record . CBS Sports . September 7, 2013 . September 30, 2013.
  10. News: Jerry Kill to continue treatment . ESPN.com . Associated Press . October 10, 2013 . October 10, 2013.
  11. News: Jerry Kill changes the game plan . Ivan . Maisel . Ivan Maisel . ESPN.com . November 20, 2013 . November 25, 2013.
  12. News: Jerry Kill extendedthrough 2018 . Brian . Bennett . ESPN.com . February 22, 2014 . February 22, 2014.
  13. Web site: Alabama vs. Auburn (Nov 30, 2013) Box Score. ESPN. November 30, 2013. December 1, 2013.
  14. Web site: Marq Burnett commentary: 7 reasons why Alabama will win . Marq . Burnett . Ledger-Enquirer . November 30, 2013 . December 1, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131201212858/http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/11/30/2828473/marq-burnett-commentary-7-reasons.html . December 1, 2013 .
  15. Touchdown! Iron Bowl posts massive ratings. Entertainment Weekly. Lynette. Rice. December 1, 2013. December 2, 2013.
  16. Web site: Auburn-Alabama: The Greatest Play in College Football History?. Here&Now. John. Bacon. December 2, 2013. December 2, 2013.
  17. Web site: Is the 2013 Iron Bowl (Alabama vs. Auburn) the Most Dramatic Finish to a Football Game of All-Time?. Huffington Post. John. DeMarchi. December 2, 2013. December 2, 2013.
  18. Web site: End of Auburn vs. Alabama is one second in college football that will be talked about forever. New York Daily News. Mike. Lupica. December 1, 2013. December 2, 2013.
  19. Web site: An Update to Tiger Nation . Missouri Athletics . August 19, 2013 . December 8, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131212095757/http://www.mutigers.com/genrel/081913aaa.html . December 12, 2013 . dead .
  20. Winston Named ACC Player of the Year . Atlantic Coast Conference . December 4, 2013 . December 4, 2013.
  21. Ohio State's Miller Claims Wins Second Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year Award . Big Ten Conference . December 3, 2013 . December 9, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131207015510/http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120313aaa.html . December 7, 2013 . dead . mdy-all .
  22. News: Lynch, Carey earn MAC top awards . Chicago Tribune . Shannon . Ryan . December 4, 2013.
  23. News: Big NCAA penalties for UL-Lafayette: Cajuns vacate 20-plus wins, two bowls, 2013 Sun Belt title . The Advocate. March 6, 2016 .
  24. News: Trojans dismiss coach Lane Kiffin . ESPNLA . September 19, 2013 . September 29, 2013.
  25. News: UConn fires Paul Pasqualoni . . . September 30, 2013 . September 30, 2013.
  26. Treadwell Relieved of Duties . Miami University Athletics . October 6, 2013 . October 7, 2013 . https://archive.today/20131007060327/http://www.muredhawks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=26100&ATCLID=209277293 . 2013-10-07 . dead .
  27. Bath Named Interim Head Football Coach . Miami University Athletics . October 6, 2013 . October 7, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131007200146/http://www.muredhawks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=26100&ATCLID=209277698 . 2013-10-07 . dead .
  28. FAU now says Carl Pelini has been fired with cause. CBSSPORTS.COM. November 26, 2013 . December 2, 2013.
  29. News: Eastern Michigan fires Ron English . ESPN.com news services . ESPN.com . November 8, 2013 . November 8, 2013.
  30. News: Wyoming fires Dave Christensen . ESPN.com . December 1, 2013 . December 2, 2013.
  31. News: North Dakota State's Bohl will become Wyoming's next head coach . Mike . Vorel . . December 7, 2013 . December 7, 2013.
  32. News: Jim Grobe resigns . ESPN.com . December 2, 2013 . December 3, 2013.
  33. News: Source: Wake hires Dave Clawson . ESPN.com . December 10, 2013 . December 10, 2013.
  34. News: Steve Sarkisian hired as USC head coach . December 2, 2012 . December 2, 2012 . ESPN.com.
  35. News: Miami (OH) hires Notre Dame OC Chuck Martin as next head coach . December 3, 2012 . December 3, 2012 . CBSSports.com.
  36. News: Washington hires Chris Petersen . ESPN.com . December 6, 2013 . December 6, 2013.
  37. Adam Scheier Named Interim Head Coach . . December 10, 2013 . December 11, 2013.
  38. Bryan Harsin Hired as Boise State Football Head Coach . . December 11, 2013 . December 11, 2013 . December 14, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131214081249/http://www.broncosports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121113aaa.html . dead .
  39. Harsin Steps Down as A-State Head Football Coach . . December 11, 2013 . December 11, 2013.
  40. Chris Creighton Named EMU Head Football Coach . . December 11, 2013 . December 17, 2013.
  41. Bob Diaco Named New Head Football Coach . . December 12, 2013 . December 13, 2013.
  42. Brown steps down as Texas head football coach . . December 14, 2013 . December 17, 2013.
  43. Charlie Strong named Texas Football head coach . . January 5, 2014 . January 5, 2014.
  44. Army Announces Football Coaching Change . . December 15, 2013 . December 17, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224354/http://www.goarmysports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121513aaa.html . December 17, 2013 . dead . mdy-all .
  45. News: Florida Atlantic hires Charlie Partridge as coach . https://archive.today/20131224091103/http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/florida-atlantic-hires-charlie-partridge-as-coach/2013/12/17/cb34937a-674b-11e3-997b-9213b17dac97_story.html . December 24, 2013 . Washington Post . December 17, 2013 . December 24, 2013 . dead.
  46. News: Joe . Schad . Bowling Green hires Dino Babers . ESPN.com . December 18, 2013 . December 18, 2013.
  47. Anderson Named Arkansas State Head Football Coach . . December 19, 2013 . December 19, 2013.
  48. Web site: Burke. Chris. Bill O'Brien to be named Texans' new head coach. Sports Illustrated. December 31, 2013. January 1, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140101072821/http://nfl.si.com/2013/12/31/bill-obrien-to-be-named-texans-new-head-coach/. 2014-01-01. dead.
  49. Petrino Returning Home as Football Head Coach . . January 9, 2014 . January 9, 2014 . January 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140109164406/http://www.gocards.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/010914aab.html . dead .
  50. WKU Names Jeff Brohm 19th Head Coach of Hilltopper Football . . January 10, 2014 . January 10, 2014.
  51. News: Garrick McGee dumps UAB head coaching job for assistant post at Louisville . Drew . Champlin . AL.com . January 9, 2014 . January 9, 2014.
  52. News: ESPN.com news services . UAB to hire Bill Clark . ESPN.com . January 21, 2014 . January 21, 2014.