1984 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season was topsy-turvy from start to finish. It ended with the BYU Cougars being bestowed their first and only national championship by beating Michigan in the Holiday Bowl. While the Cougars finished with a perfect 13-0 record and were the consensus National Champions, some commentators maintain this title was undeserved citing their weak schedule (none of their conference opponents in the WAC finished with fewer than four losses, and even Michigan finished the season at 6-6 after the bowl loss) and argue that the championship should have gone to the 11-1 Washington Huskies. Despite this the Cougars were voted #1 in the final AP and UPI polls. The Huskies (and five other teams) declined an invitation to play BYU in the Holiday Bowl; they decided instead to play Oklahoma in the more prestigious 1985 Orange Bowl. All subsequent national champions have come from what are now known as the Power Five conferences + Notre Dame.

1984 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams110
Preseason AP No. 1Auburn[1]
Post-season
DurationDecember 15, 1984 –
January 1, 1985
Bowl games18
Heisman TrophyDoug Flutie (quarterback, Boston College)
Champion(s)BYU
Division I-A football seasons
← 1983
1985 →

Rule changes
  • Defensive pass interference will be penalized 15 yards from the previous spot if the foul occurs more than 15 yards downfield. If the foul occurred 15 yards or less downfield, the penalty will be enforced at the spot of the foul.
  • Kickoffs that go through the back of the end zone or out of bounds in the end zone in the air untouched will be brought out to the 30-yard line instead of the 20.
  • Clipping is limited to an area 6-10 yards from the line of scrimmage.
  • Wide receivers are only permitted to block below the waist once the ball passes the line of scrimmage.
  • Eliminating the PAT if the game has been decided, and if both teams agree.
  • Offensive face-masking is now a foul, penalized 15 yards.

Conference standings
1984 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 12 Maryland $ 5 –0 –0  9 –3 –0
No. 20 Virginia 3 –1 –2  8 –2 –2
North Carolina 3 –2 –1  5 –5 –1
Wake Forest 3 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Georgia Tech 2 –2 –1  6 –4 –1
NC State 1 –5 –0  3 –8 –0
Duke 1 –5 –0  2 –9 –0
Clemson 0 –0 –0*  7 –4 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – Clemson was under NCAA and ACC probation and was ineligible for the ACC title. As a result, their ACC games did not count in the league standings.[2]
Rankings from AP Poll
1984 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 4 Nebraska + 6 –1 –0  10 –2 –0
No. 6 Oklahoma + 6 –1 –0  9 –2 –1
No. 7 Oklahoma State 5 –2 –0  10 –2 –0
Kansas 4 –3 –0  5 –6 –0
Missouri 2 –4 –1  3 –7 –1
Kansas State 2 –4 –1  3 –7 –1
Colorado 1 –6 –0  1 –10 –0
Iowa State 0 –5 –2  2 –7 –2
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1984 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 13 Ohio State $ 7 –2 –0  9 –3 –0
Illinois 6 –3 –0  7 –4 –0
Purdue 6 –3 –0  7 –5 –0
No. 16 Iowa 5 –3 –1  8 –4 –1
Wisconsin 5 –3 –1  7 –4 –1
Michigan State 5 –4 –0  6 –6 –0
Michigan 5 –4 –0  6 –6 –0
Minnesota 3 –6 –0  4 –7 –0
Northwestern 2 –7 –0  2 –9 –0
Indiana 0 –9 –0  0 –11 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1984 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Toledo $ 7 –1 –1  8 –3 –1
Bowling Green 7 –2 –0  8 –3 –0
Central Michigan 6 –2 –1  8 –2 –1
Ohio 4 –4 –1  4 –6 –1
Northern Illinois 3 –5 –1  4 –6 –1
Miami 3 –5 –0  4 –7 –0
Ball State 3 –5 –0  3 –8 –0
Western Michigan 3 –6 –0  5 –6 –0
Kent State 3 –6 –0  4 –7 –0
Eastern Michigan 2 –5 –2  2 –7 –2
  • $ – Conference champion
1984 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Tulsa $ 5 –0 –0  6 –5 –0
No. 5 Indiana State ^ 3 –1 –0  9 –3 –0
Illinois State 3 –2 –0  5 –6 –0
Wichita State 2 –2 –0  2 –9 –0
Drake 2 –3 –0  4 –7 –0
West Texas State 1 –3 –0  3 –8 –0
Southern Illinois 0 –5 –0  3 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • The MVC was a hybrid of Division I-A and I-AA programs in 1983. Tulsa and Wichita State were Div I-A and the rest were Div I-AA
Rankings from Div I-AA Football Committee poll
1984 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Cal State Fullerton $ 7 –0 –0  12 –0 –0
San Jose State 6 –1 –0  7 –4 –0
Fresno State 4 –3 –0  7 –5 –0
Long Beach State 4 –3 –0  5 –6 –0
Pacific (CA) 3 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Utah State 2 –4 –0  2 –9 –0
New Mexico State 1 –5 –0  3 –8 –0
UNLV 0 –7 –0  0 –13 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Records adjusted for UNLV's forfeit of all 11 victories}
1984 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 10 USC $ 7 –1 –0  9 –3 –0
No. 2 Washington 6 –1 –0  11 –1 –0
No. 9 UCLA 5 –2 –0  9 –3 –0
Arizona 5 –2 –0  7 –4 –0
Washington State 4 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Arizona State 3 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Oregon 3 –5 –0  6 –5 –0
Stanford 3 –5 –0  5 –6 –0
Oregon State 1 –7 –0  2 –9 –0
California 1 –8 –0  2 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1984 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 3 Florida 5 –0 –1  9 –1 –1
No. 15 LSU $ 4 –1 –1  8 –3 –1
No. 14 Auburn 4 –2 –0  9 –4 –0
Georgia 4 –2 –0  7 –4 –1
No. 19 Kentucky 3 –3 –0  9 –3 –0
Tennessee 3 –3 –0  7 –4 –1
Vanderbilt 2 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Alabama 2 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Ole Miss 1 –5 –0  4 –6 –1
Mississippi State 1 –5 –0  4 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Florida was assessed a postseason ban following an NCAA investigation, and the SEC subsequently vacated any championship. The Sugar Bowl automatic bid for the conference champion was awarded to LSU. Under modern rules, LSU would be credited with the conference championship.
Rankings from AP Poll
1984 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 8 SMU + 6 –2 –0  10 –2 –0
Houston + 6 –2 –0  7 –5 –0
TCU 5 –3 –0  8 –4 –0
Arkansas 5 –3 –0  7 –4 –1
Texas 5 –3 –0  7 –4 –1
Baylor 4 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Texas A&M 3 –5 –0  6 –5 –0
Texas Tech 2 –6 –0  4 –7 –0
Rice 0 –8 –0  1 –10 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1984 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 1 BYU $ 8 –0 –0  13 –0 –0
Hawaii 5 –2 –0  7 –4 –0
Air Force 4 –3 –0  8 –4 –0
Utah 4 –3 –1  6 –5 –1
San Diego State 4 –3 –1  4 –7 –1
Wyoming 4 –4 –0  6 –6 –0
Colorado State 3 –5 –0  3 –8 –0
New Mexico 1 –7 –0  4 –8 –0
UTEP 1 –7 –0  2 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1984 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 5 Boston College   –  –   10 –2 –0
No. 11 South Carolina   –  –   10 –2 –0
Army   –  –   8 –3 –1
Rutgers   –  –   7 –3 –0
No. 17 Florida State   –  –   7 –3 –2
Virginia Tech   –  –   8 –4 –0
West Virginia   –  –   8 –4 –0
No. 18 Miami (FL)   –  –   8 –5 –0
Notre Dame   –  –   7 –5 –0
Southwestern Louisiana   –  –   6 –5 –0
Penn State   –  –   6 –5 –0
Syracuse   –  –   6 –5 –0
Temple   –  –   6 –5 –0
Memphis State   –  –   5 –5 –1
Navy   –  –   4 –6 –1
Southern Miss   –  –   4 –7 –0
Pittsburgh   –  –   3 –7 –1
Tulane   –  –   3 –8 –0
Cincinnati   –  –   2 –9 –0
East Carolina   –  –   2 –9 –0
Louisville   –  –   2 –9 –0
Rankings from AP Poll

AP Final poll
Main article: 1984 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
  1. BYU
  2. Washington
  3. Florida
  4. Nebraska
  5. Boston College
  6. Oklahoma
  7. Oklahoma State
  8. SMU
  9. UCLA
  10. USC
  11. South Carolina
  12. Maryland
  13. Ohio State
  14. Auburn
  15. LSU
  16. Iowa
  17. Florida State
  18. Miami (FL)
  19. Kentucky
  20. Virginia

Coaches Final Poll
  1. BYU
  2. Washington
  3. Nebraska
  4. Boston College
  5. Oklahoma State
  6. Oklahoma
  7. Florida
  8. SMU
  9. University of Southern California
  10. UCLA
  11. Maryland
  12. Ohio State
  13. South Carolina
  14. Auburn
  15. Iowa
  16. LSU
  17. Virginia
  18. West Virginia
  19. Kentucky
  20. Florida St.

Notable rivalry games

Bowl games

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the year.

  1. Doug Flutie, QB, Boston College (2,240 points)
  2. Keith Byars, RB, Ohio State (1,251)
  3. Robbie Bosco, QB, Brigham Young (443)
  4. Bernie Kosar, QB, Miami (FL) (320)
  5. Kenneth Davis, RB, TCU (86)
  6. Bill Fralic, OT, Pittsburgh (81 )
  7. Greg Allen, RB, Florida State (37)
  8. Chuck Long, QB, Iowa (37)
  9. Jerry Rice, WR, Mississippi Valley State (36)
  10. Rueben Mayes, RB, Washington State (32)

Source:[3][4]

Other annual awards

References
  1. "1983 Preseason AP Football Poll - AP Poll Archive - Historical College Football and Basketball Polls and Rankings". Archived from the original on 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  2. Williams, Larry (2012). The Danny Ford Years at Clemson.
  3. "Flutie can believe it now: the Heisman is his". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 2, 1984. p. 1B.
  4. "Flutie easy winner in Heisman voting". Sunday Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina). (New York Times). December 2, 1984. p. 1D.
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