National Champions: Louisiana State (BCS, NFF, USA-ESPN), Southern California (AP, FWAA)
Heisman Memorial Trophy: Jason White (Oklahoma)
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award: Nick Saban (Louisiana State)
AP Preseason #1: Oklahoma ▪ AP Final #1: Southern California
| Overall | Bowls | SRS | Polls | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Conference | Schs | G | W | L | Pct | G | W | L | Pct | SRS | SOS | Pre | Final | Champion |
| 1 | Southeastern Conference | 12 | 154 | 86 | 68 | .558 | 7 | 5 | 2 | .714 | 7.10 | 4.54 | 4 | 5 | Louisiana State |
| 2 | Atlantic Coast Conference | 9 | 114 | 63 | 51 | .553 | 6 | 5 | 1 | .833 | 7.04 | 4.75 | 4 | 3 | Florida State |
| 3 | Big Ten Conference | 11 | 140 | 77 | 63 | .550 | 8 | 3 | 5 | .375 | 5.83 | 3.91 | 4 | 5 | Michigan |
| 4 | Big 12 Conference | 12 | 155 | 88 | 67 | .568 | 8 | 2 | 6 | .250 | 5.29 | 2.88 | 4 | 4 | Kansas State |
| 5 | Pacific-10 Conference | 10 | 126 | 69 | 57 | .548 | 6 | 4 | 2 | .667 | 5.07 | 3.63 | 3 | 2 | Southern California |
| 6 | Big East Conference | 8 | 101 | 55 | 46 | .545 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | 4.02 | 1.53 | 3 | 1 | Miami (FL) West Virginia |
| 7 | Mountain West Conference | 8 | 98 | 52 | 46 | .531 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 1.21 | 0.07 | 1 | 1 | Utah |
| 8 | Independent | 4 | 49 | 28 | 21 | .571 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | -0.51 | -2.00 | 1 | 0 | |
| 9 | Conference USA | 11 | 137 | 68 | 69 | .496 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | -5.08 | -3.96 | 1 | 1 | Southern Mississippi |
| 10 | Western Athletic Conference | 10 | 127 | 60 | 67 | .472 | 4 | 3 | 1 | .750 | -6.09 | -4.19 | 0 | 1 | Boise State |
| 11 | Mid-American Conference | 14 | 172 | 83 | 89 | .483 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | -6.42 | -4.84 | 0 | 2 | Miami (OH) |
| 12 | Sun Belt Conference | 8 | 97 | 32 | 65 | .330 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | -11.51 | -5.83 | 0 | 0 | North Texas |
| School | Conf | Pre | 9/1 | 9/7 | 9/14 | 9/21 | 9/28 | 10/5 | 10/12 | 10/19 | 10/26 | 11/2 | 11/9 | 11/16 | 11/23 | 11/30 | 12/7 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern California | Pac-10 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Louisiana State | SEC | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Oklahoma | Big 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Ohio State | Big Ten | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 |
| Miami (FL) | Big East | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 5 |
| Michigan | Big Ten | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Georgia | SEC | 11 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 7 |
| Iowa | Big Ten | 23 | 18 | 13 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 8 | ||
| Washington State | Pac-10 | 24 | 21 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 9 | |||
| Miami (OH) | MAC | 23 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 10 | |||||||||||
| Florida State | ACC | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Texas | Big 12 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 12 |
| Mississippi | SEC | 20 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 13 | |||||||||
| Kansas State | Big 12 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 14 | |||||
| Tennessee | SEC | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 15 |
| Boise State | WAC | 24 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | |||||||||||
| Maryland | ACC | 15 | 24 | 23 | 17 | |||||||||||||
| Purdue | Big Ten | 19 | 16 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 10 | 18 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 18 | |
| Nebraska | Big 12 | 23 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 19 | |
| Minnesota | Big Ten | 24 | 21 | 17 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 25 | 24 | 20 | |||||||
| Utah | MWC | 24 | 25 | 21 | ||||||||||||||
| Clemson | ACC | 22 | ||||||||||||||||
| Bowling Green State | MAC | 23 | 17 | 15 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 23 | |||||||||
| Florida | SEC | 21 | 19 | 17 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 16 | 17 | 24 | |||
| Texas Christian | CUSA | 25 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 25 |
| School | Conf | Pre | 9/1 | 9/7 | 9/14 | 9/21 | 9/28 | 10/5 | 10/12 | 10/19 | 10/26 | 11/2 | 11/9 | 11/16 | 11/23 | 11/30 | 12/7 | Final |
| Alabama | SEC | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State | Pac-10 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 16 | |||||||||||||
| Arkansas | SEC | 14 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 21 | |||||||||||
| Auburn | SEC | 6 | 17 | 19 | 17 | |||||||||||||
| Colorado | Big 12 | 24 | 17 | |||||||||||||||
| Colorado State | MWC | 23 | ||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | Big Ten | 25 | 21 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 21 | ||||||||||
| Missouri | Big 12 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 21 | 22 | ||||||||||||
| North Carolina State | ACC | 16 | 14 | 24 | ||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | MAC | 20 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 21 | 23 | 21 | |||||||||
| Notre Dame | Ind | 20 | 19 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 24 | 23 | 18 | 14 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | ||||||||
| Oregon | Pac-10 | 22 | 10 | 19 | ||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | Pac-10 | 24 | 22 | |||||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh | Big East | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 25 | 25 | 16 | 21 | 20 | |||||
| South Carolina | SEC | 25 | ||||||||||||||||
| Virginia | ACC | 18 | 15 | 25 | ||||||||||||||
| Virginia Tech | Big East | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 21 | |||
| Wake Forest | ACC | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| Washington | Pac-10 | 17 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 18 | |||||||||||
| West Virginia | Big East | 25 | 24 | 21 | 20 | |||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | Big Ten | 21 | 18 | 14 | 23 | 14 | 20 |
|
Offense Jason White*, QB, Oklahoma Kevin Jones, RB, Virginia Tech Chris Perry, RB, Michigan Larry Fitzgerald*, WR, Pittsburgh Mike Williams, WR, Southern California Kellen Winslow*, TE, Miami (FL) Shawn Andrews*, OL, Arkansas Alex Barron, OL, Florida State Robert Gallery*, OL, Iowa Jake Grove*, OL, Virginia Tech Jacob Rogers, OL, Southern California Nick Browne, K, Texas Christian Nate Kaeding, K, Iowa Antonio Perkins*, KR, Oklahoma |
Defense Dave Ball*, DL, UCLA Tommie Harris*, DL, Oklahoma Chad Lavalais, DL, Louisiana State Kenechi Udeze, DL, Southern California Derrick Johnson, LB, Texas Teddy Lehman*, LB, Oklahoma Grant Wiley, LB, West Virginia Will Allen, DB, Ohio State Keiwan Ratliff, DB, Florida Derrick Strait*, DB, Oklahoma Sean Taylor*, DB, Miami (FL) Dustin Colquitt, P, Tennessee |