2005 NCAA Division I-A football season

2005 NCAA Division I-A season
Texas team and coach Mack Brown with president George W. Bush, after winning the 2005 national championship
Number of teams	119
Duration	September 1–December 3
Preseason AP #1	USC Trojans
Post-season
Duration	December 20, 2005 – January 4, 2006
Bowl games	33 (28 team-competitive and 5 all-star)
Heisman Trophy	Reggie Bush, USC RB (vacated)
Bowl Championship Series
2006 Rose Bowl
Site	Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California
Winner	Texas Longhorns
Division I-A football seasons
← 2004 2006 →

The 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the little controversy surrounding the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title game.

All eight BCS teams were traditional powerhouses. Penn State and Florida State had the same coaches for nearly half a century. Alabama competed for the SEC title, shaking off the residual effects of NCAA sanctions. Ohio State and Michigan were both still in the running for the conference title until the last game.

The USC Trojans and the Texas Longhorns, went wire to wire as #1 and #2, respectively—the second year in a row that had happened—and finished as Division I-A's only undefeated teams after the regular season. As a result, there was no dispute over the choice of teams selected for the BCS title game. Conversely, there were five undefeated teams in the 2004 regular season: Oklahoma, USC, Auburn, Utah, and Boise State.

The BCS title game was played at the Rose Bowl, where Texas edged the favored, defending champion Trojans in large part due to the performance of Texas quarterback Vince Young, who gained 467 yards of total offense and ran for three touchdowns. The victory earned the Longhorns their first consensus national championship since 1969. (Texas won a split title in 1970.)

The UCF Golden Knights were an unlikely comeback team but they came from a helpless 0–11 record in 2004, to a respectable 8–5 record and an appearance in the Conference USA Championship game and a Hawaii Bowl berth. Although their season had a poor start with a loss to South Carolina on opening day and another by their intrastate rival, South Florida. They had 8 wins over a 9-game span (only loss was a 31–52 loss to Southern Miss) including getting a win over eventual conference champions, Tulsa. Tulsa ended up beating UCF 44–27. In the Hawaii Bowl, the Golden Knights were a failed PAT away from sending Nevada to double overtime.

Penn State, who went 4-7 in 2004, managed an 11-1 record and #3 ranking in 2005, despite not being ranked until after a 44-14 victory over then #19 Minnesota, where Penn State took control of the Governor's Victory Bell for the first time since 1998.

Rule changes

• After the Big Ten Conference's 2004 experiment with instant replay, its use was expanded to all but the Sun Belt and the WAC conferences in Division I-A. The rules varied between conferences (including the use of coaches' challenges similar to the NFL in the Mountain West Conference) until the NCAA standardized the rules in 2006. Replay was also permitted in bowl games and, provided the visiting team agreed to its use, in non-conference regular season games.
• The protection for a receiver who signals a fair catch includes situations when the ball is muffed until it hits the ground.
• Penalties for spearing or similar hits in which the tackler leads with the crown of the head are enforced regardless of the "intent" of the tackler.
• The penalty for leaping on field goals/PATs now states it is a foul if a player lined up more than one yard behind the line of scrimmage jumps and lands on players of any team trying to block the kick. If lined up one yard or closer to the line, it is not a foul.
• Eliminated the "legal clipping zone"; hits from behind below the knee are prohibited anywhere on the field.
• Provided for officials a specific list of acts by players considered unsportsmanlike conduct, which include:
  • Simulated throat-slashing and gun-firing
  • Pointing the ball at, verbally taunting, or standing over an opposing player
  • Bowing at the waist
  • Chest-pounding and crossing hands in front of the chest
  • Spinning the ball like a top, spiking the ball (except to conserve time by the quarterback), or throwing/kicking the ball into the stands or into the air
  • Obviously altering stride (ex. high-stepping) or diving into the end zone unchallenged
  • Placing a hand on the ear simulating not being able to hear the crowd
  • Jumping into the crowd (similar to the "Lambeau Leap")
  • Removing the helmet in the field of play (exceptions: injury to the player, during timeouts, adjustment of equipment, or during first down measurement)
  • Choreographed celebrations with teammates.

Non-choreographed or spontaneous celebrations after a score or a play are permitted provided the player(s) are not bringing attention to themselves.

Conference changes

Quite a few conference changes took place in 2005 with 18 teams changing conferences:

• Boston College left the Big East to become the ACC's 12th member, allowing that league to split into divisions and start a conference championship game.
• Temple became an independent football program after expulsion from the Big East Conference
• Army ended its brief affiliation with Conference USA and also returned to football independence.
• Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida left Conference USA to join the Big East.
• TCU also left Conference USA to become the Mountain West Conference's ninth member.
• Conference USA responded and increased its membership to 12 by adding Central Florida and Marshall from the Mid-American Conference (knocking the MAC's membership down from 14 to 12) and Rice, Southern Methodist, UTEP, and Tulsa from the WAC. Like the ACC, C-USA split into two divisions and started a conference championship game.
• The WAC added Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State from the Sun Belt Conference.
• The Sun Belt picked up independent Florida Atlantic and Florida International, who had just transitioned from Division I-AA.

By the end of realignment, Division I-A membership had increased from 118 to 119 schools.

School	2004 Conference	2005 Conference
Army Black Knights	Conference USA	I-A Independent
Boston College Eagles	Big East	ACC
Central Florida Knights	MAC	Conference USA
Cincinnati Bearcats	Conference USA	Big East
Louisville Cardinals	Conference USA	Big East
Marshall Thundering Herd	MAC	Conference USA
Florida Atlantic Owls	I-A Independent	Sun Belt
Florida International Panthers	I-A Independent	Sun Belt
Idaho Vandals	Sun Belt	WAC
New Mexico State Aggies	Sun Belt	WAC
Rice Owls	WAC	Conference USA
South Florida Bulls	Conference USA	Big East
SMU Mustangs	WAC	Conference USA
Temple Owls	Big East Conference	I-A Independent
TCU Horned Frogs	Conference USA	Mountain West
Tulsa Golden Hurricane	WAC	Conference USA
Utah State Aggies	Sun Belt	WAC
UTEP Miners	WAC	Conference USA

Coaching changes

Steve Spurrier: American football coach (for the University of Florida at time of photo)

Steve Spurrier returned to the college coaching ranks for the first time since 2001, taking the reins at South Carolina and turning out a respectable 7–5 season. Urban Meyer, the previous year's hot coach after leading Utah to an undefeated season, took over at Spurrier's old job, Florida. Charlie Weis left the New England Patriots to take over the head coach job at his alma mater, Notre Dame, and was able to lead them to a BCS bowl.

Barry Alvarez, who took over Wisconsin's football program in 1990 and turned it into a Big Ten force, retired. As did Bill Snyder, who turned Big 8 doormat Kansas State into a Big 12 power. Dan Hawkins, who helped lead Boise State to the status of a mid-major powerhouse, left the Broncos to coach the Colorado Buffaloes, a team trying to change its image after recruiting scandals broke out the previous season.

Conference standings

2005 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Atlantic Division #23 Florida State xy$   5 – 3         8 – 5   #18 Boston College x   5 – 3         9 – 3   #21 Clemson   4 – 4         8 – 4   Wake Forest   3 – 5         4 – 7   NC State   3 – 5         7 – 5   Maryland   3 – 5         5 – 6   Coastal Division #7 Virginia Tech x   7 – 1         11 – 2   #17 Miami   6 – 2         9 – 3   Georgia Tech   5 – 3         7 – 5   North Carolina   4 – 4         5 – 6   Virginia   3 – 5         7 – 5   Duke   0 – 8         1 – 10   Championship: Florida State 27, Virginia Tech 22 $ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2005 Big East football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #5 West Virginia $   7 – 0         11 – 1   #19 Louisville   5 – 2         9 – 3   South Florida   4 – 3         6 – 6   Rutgers   4 – 3         7 – 5   Pittsburgh   4 – 3         5 – 6   Cincinnati   2 – 5         4 – 7   Connecticut   2 – 5         5 – 6   Syracuse   0 – 7         0 – 10   $ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2005 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #3 Penn State $+   7 – 1         11 – 1   #4 Ohio State %+   7 – 1         10 – 2   #15 Wisconsin   5 – 3         10 – 3   Michigan   5 – 3         7 – 5   Northwestern   5 – 3         7 – 5   Iowa   5 – 3         7 – 5   Minnesota   4 – 4         7 – 5   Purdue   3 – 5         5 – 6   Michigan State   2 – 6         5 – 6   Indiana   1 – 7         4 – 7   Illinois   0 – 8         2 – 9   $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
2005 Big 12 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Northern Division Colorado x   5 – 3         7 – 6   #24 Nebraska   4 – 4         8 – 4   Iowa State   4 – 4         7 – 5   Missouri   4 – 4         7 – 5   Kansas   3 – 5         7 – 5   Kansas State   2 – 6         5 – 6   Southern Division #1 Texas x$#   8 – 0         13 – 0   #20 Texas Tech   6 – 2         9 – 3   #22 Oklahoma   6 – 2         8 – 4   Texas A&M   3 – 5         5 – 6   Baylor   2 – 6         5 – 6   Oklahoma State   1 – 7         4 – 7   Championship: Texas 70, Colorado 3 # – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2005 Conference USA football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division UCF x   7 – 1         8 – 5   Southern Miss   5 – 3         7 – 5   Memphis   5 – 3         7 – 5   East Carolina   4 – 4         5 – 6   Marshall   3 – 5         4 – 7   UAB   3 – 5         5 – 6   West Division Tulsa x$   6 – 2         9 – 4   UTEP   5 – 3         8 – 4   Houston   4 – 4         6 – 6   SMU   4 – 4         5 – 6   Tulane   1 – 7         2 – 9   Rice   1 – 7         1 – 10   Championship: Tulsa 44, Central Florida 27 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2005 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Akron xy$   5 – 3         7 – 6   Miami x   5 – 3         7 – 4   Bowling Green x   5 – 3         6 – 5   Ohio   3 – 5         4 – 7   Buffalo   1 – 7         1 – 10   Kent State   0 – 8         1 – 10   West Division Northern Illinois xy   6 – 2         7 – 5   Toledo x   6 – 2         9 – 3   Western Michigan   5 – 3         7 – 4   Central Michigan   5 – 3         6 – 5   Ball State   4 – 4         4 – 7   Eastern Michigan   3 – 5         4 – 7   Championship: Akron 31, NIU 30 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
2005 Mountain West football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #11 TCU $   8 – 0         11 – 1   BYU   5 – 3         6 – 6   Colorado State   5 – 3         6 – 6   Utah   4 – 4         7 – 5   New Mexico   4 – 4         6 – 5   San Diego State   4 – 4         5 – 7   Air Force   3 – 5         4 – 7   Wyoming   2 – 6         4 – 7   UNLV   1 – 7         2 – 9   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2005 Pacific-10 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #2 USC * $   8 – 0         12 – 1   #13 Oregon   7 – 1         10 – 2   #16 UCLA   6 – 2         10 – 2   #25 California   4 – 4         8 – 4   Arizona State   4 – 4         7 – 5   Stanford   4 – 4         5 – 6   Oregon State   3 – 5         5 – 6   Arizona   2 – 6         3 – 8   Washington State   1 – 7         4 – 7   Washington   1 – 7         2 – 9   $ – Conference champion * – USC later vacated 12 wins (8 in conference) due to NCAA sanctions. Rankings from AP Poll	2005 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Eastern Division #10 Georgia x$   6 – 2         10 – 3   South Carolina   5 – 3         7 – 5   #12 Florida   5 – 3         9 – 3   Vanderbilt   3 – 5         5 – 6   Tennessee   3 – 5         5 – 6   Kentucky   2 – 6         3 – 8   Western Division #5 LSU xy   7 – 1         11 – 2   #14 Auburn x   7 – 1         9 – 3   #8 Alabama   6 – 2         10 – 2   Arkansas   2 – 6         4 – 7   Mississippi State   1 – 7         3 – 8   Ole Miss   1 – 7         3 – 8   Championship: Georgia 34, LSU 14 $ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Alabama had all victories vacated by the NCAA in 2010. As such, the official record for Alabama is 0–2 (0–2). Rankings from AP Poll
2005 Sun Belt football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Arkansas State +   5 – 2         6 – 6   Louisiana–Lafayette +   5 – 2         6 – 5   Louisiana–Monroe +   5 – 2         5 – 6   FIU   3 – 4         5 – 6   Middle Tennessee   3 – 4         4 – 7   Troy   3 – 4         4 – 7   Florida Atlantic   2 – 5         2 – 9   North Texas   2 – 5         2 – 9   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2005 WAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Boise State +   7 – 1         9 – 4   Nevada +   7 – 1         9 – 3   Louisiana Tech   6 – 2         7 – 4   Fresno State   6 – 2         8 – 5   Hawaii   4 – 4         5 – 7   San Jose State   2 – 6         3 – 8   Utah State   2 – 6         3 – 8   Idaho   2 – 6         2 – 9   New Mexico State   0 – 8         0 – 12   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2005 Division I-A independents football records Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #9 Notre Dame %   –         9 – 2   Navy   –         8 – 4   Army   –         4 – 7   Temple   –         0 – 11   % – BCS at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll

Bowl games

BCS bowls

Rankings given are AP rankings going into bowl games

• Rose Bowl: #2 (BCS #2, Big 12 Champ) Texas 41, #1 (BCS #1, Pac 10 Champ) Southern California 38
• Fiesta Bowl: (BCS #4) #4 Ohio State 34, (At Large) #5 Notre Dame 20
• Sugar Bowl: (Big East Champ) #11 West Virginia 38, (SEC Champ) #8 Georgia 35
• Orange Bowl: (Big Ten Champ) #3 Penn State 26, (ACC Champ) #25 Florida State 23 (3 OT)

Other New Years Day bowls

• Cotton Bowl: #13 Alabama 13, #18 Texas Tech 10
• Capital One Bowl: #21 Wisconsin 24, #7 Auburn 10
• Gator Bowl: #12 Virginia Tech 35, #15 Louisville 24
• Outback Bowl: #16 Florida 31, #25 Iowa 24

December bowl games

• Peach Bowl: #10 LSU 40, #9 Miami (FL) 3
• Houston Bowl: #14 TCU 27, Iowa State 24
• Liberty Bowl: (C-USA Champ) Tulsa 31, Fresno State 24
• MPC Computers Bowl: #19 Boston College 27, Boise State 21
• Meineke Car Care Bowl: NC State 14, South Florida 0
• Independence Bowl: Missouri 38, South Carolina 31
• Sun Bowl: #17 UCLA 50, Northwestern 38
• Music City Bowl: Virginia 34, Minnesota 31
• Holiday Bowl: Oklahoma 17, #6 Oregon 14
• Emerald Bowl: Utah 38, #24 Georgia Tech 10
• Alamo Bowl: Nebraska 32, #20 Michigan 28
• Insight Bowl: Arizona State 45, Rutgers 40
• Champs Sports Bowl: #23 Clemson 19, Colorado 10
• Motor City Bowl: Memphis 38, (MAC Champ) Akron 31
• Hawai'i Bowl: (WAC Champ) Nevada 49, UCF 48 (OT)
• Fort Worth Bowl: Kansas 42, Houston 13
• Las Vegas Bowl: California 35, BYU 28
• Poinsettia Bowl: Navy 51, Colorado State 30
• GMAC Bowl: Toledo 45, UTEP 13
• New Orleans Bowl: Southern Mississippi 31, (Sun Belt Champ) Arkansas State 19

Awards and honors

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Trophy voting was largely a 3-man race: Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart (who won the Heisman Trophy in 2004), and Vince Young. Bush won the trophy, with Young coming in second. Although he lost the Heisman race, Vince Young helped Texas win the national championship for the 1st time since 1970.

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player. There is no winner for 2005 because of irregularities discovered in 2010.

• 1: Reggie Bush, Jr. USC TB (2,541 pts)
• 2. Vince Young, Jr. Texas QB (1,608 pts)
• 3. Matt Leinart, Sr. USC QB (797 pts)
• 4. Brady Quinn Jr. Notre Dame QB (191 pts)
• 5. Michael Robinson, Sr. Penn State QB (49 pts)

In June 2010, the NCAA ruled that Bush had received improper gifts in violation of NCAA policies. On September 14, 2010, Bush announced in a statement from the New Orleans Saints that he would forfeit his title of 2005 Heisman Trophy winner and return his trophy. Vince Young, the runner-up in 2005, commented that he would not accept the trophy if it was taken away from Bush. On September 15, 2010, the Heisman Trust announced that the 2005 trophy would be vacated, and there would be no winner for that season.^[1]

Other major award winners

• Walter Camp Award (top player): Reggie Bush*
• Maxwell Award (top player): Vince Young, QB, Texas
• AP Player Of the Year: Reggie Bush, RB, USC (AP does not vacate titles stripped by ineligible teams or players.)
• Lombardi Award (top lineman/linebacker): A.J. Hawk, Ohio State
• John Mackey Award (tight end): Marcedes Lewis, UCLA
• Doak Walker Award (running back): Vacated*
• Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): Paul Posluszny, LB, Penn State
• Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Greg Eslinger, C, Minnesota
• Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Greg Eslinger, Minnesota
• Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Vince Young, QB, Texas
• Johnny Unitas Award (Sr. quarterback): Matt Leinart, USC
• Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Mike Hass, Oregon State
• Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Michael Huff, Texas
• Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Alexis Serna, Oregon State
• Ray Guy Award (punter): Ryan Plackemeier, Wake Forest
• The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award: Joe Paterno, Penn State
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (head coach): Mack Brown, Texas
• Broyles Award (assistant coach): Greg Davis, Texas

* Vacated due to ineligibility

All-Americans

2005 Consensus All-America Team

Offense Position Name Height Weight (lbs.) Class Hometown Team QB Vince Young 6'5" 229 Jr. Houston, Texas Texas RB Reggie Bush 6'0" 200 Jr. Spring Valley, California USC RB Jerome Harrison 5'10" 199 Sr. Kalamazoo, Michigan Washington State WR Dwayne Jarrett 6'5" 210 So. New Brunswick, New Jersey USC WR Jeff Samardzija 6'5" 218 Jr. Valparaiso, Indiana Notre Dame TE Marcedes Lewis 6'6" 256 Sr. Lakewood, California UCLA T Jonathan Scott 6'7" 315 Sr. Dallas, Texas USC T Marcus McNeill 6'9" 338 Sr. Decatur, Georgia Auburn G Deuce Lutui 6'6" 370 Sr. Mesa, Arizona USC G Max Jean-Gilles 6'4" 355 Sr. North Miami Beach, Florida Georgia C Greg Eslinger 6'3" 292 Sr. Bismarck, North Dakota Minnesota

Defense Position Name Height Weight (lbs.) Class Hometown Team DE Tamba Hali 6'3" 275 Sr. Teaneck, New Jersey Penn State DT Haloti Ngata 6'4" 338 Sr. Salt Lake City, Utah Oregon DT Rodrique Wright 6'5" 315 Sr. Houston, Texas Texas DE Elvis Dumervil 6'0" 256 Sr. Miami, Florida Louisville LB A. J. Hawk 6'1" 248 Sr. Centerville, Ohio Ohio State LB DeMeco Ryans 6'1" 236 Sr. Bessemer, Alabama Alabama LB Paul Posluszny 6'2" 238 Jr. Hopewell Township, Pennsylvania Penn State CB Jimmy Williams 6'3" 216 Sr. Hampton, Virginia Virginia Tech CB Tye Hill 5'10" 185 Sr. Dorchester, South Carolina Clemson Safety Michael Huff 6'0" 204 Sr. Irving, Texas Texas Safety Greg Blue 6'2" 216 Sr. Atlanta, Georgia Georgia

Special teams

Position	Name	Height	Weight (lbs.)	Class	Hometown	Team
Kicker	Mason Crosby	6'2"	215	Jr.	Georgetown, Texas	Colorado
Punter	Ryan Plackemeier	6'3"	235	Sr.	Bonsall, California	Wake Forest
RS	Maurice Drew	5'8"	205	Jr.	Antioch, California	UCLA

Statistical leaders

• Team scoring most points: Texas, 652 ^[2][3]

References

1. "Heisman Trust: 2005 award will be vacated". Chicago Tribune. September 15, 2010. Archived from the original on 19 September 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
2. 2005 College Football Team Offense (Sports Reference)
3. 2005 Texas Longhorns Stats (Sports-Reference)