1999 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State named national champions, defeating Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

Florida State became the first team in history to start out preseason #1 and remain there through the entire season. Their 12-0 season gave them 109 victories in the 90's, the most for any decade.

Virginia Tech also had a remarkable season behind freshman quarterback Michael Vick, who was being touted as college football's best player.

Vick was outshined in the national championship game by Florida State Wide Receiver Peter Warrick. Warrick had early problems with the law, charged with a misdemeanor he sat out two games early in the season. But he scored three touchdowns in the title game, earning MVP honors.

The BCS adopted a new rule, named the "Kansas State Rule," which stated that any team ranked in the top four in the final BCS poll is ensured of an invitation to a BCS bowl game.

A lot of teams faced debacles. East Carolina faced Hurricane Floyd, and in that same week, faced the #9 Miami Hurricanes. The Pirates were down 23-3, but scored 24 unanswered points to win the football game, 27-23.

Kansas State finished 6th in the BCS standings but again received no invitation, this time being passed over in favor of Michigan (ranked 8th). Kansas State's predicament demonstrated early on the problem of trying to balance historic bowl ties and creating a system which gives top bowl bids to the most deserving teams.

Four members from the WAC's Mountain Division and Pacific Division broke off from the unstable sixteen team conference to form the Mountain West Conference.

Final Conference Standings

"W = Wins, L = Losses, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against"

Big Ten Conference

Big 12 championship game: Nebraska beat Texas, 22-6 (Dec. 4).

Big West Conference

Southeastern Conference

I-A Independents

Others receiving votes: 26. Stanford (8-4, 168 points); 27. East Carolina (9-3, 97 pts); 28. Colorado (7-5, 75 pts); 29. TCU (8-4, 45 pts); 30. Syracuse (7-5, 21 pts); 31. Utah (9-3, 20 pts); 32. Hawaii (9-4, 19 pts); 33. Washington (7-5, 7 pts); 34. Wake Forest (7-5, 5 pts); 35. Boise St. (10-3, 3 pts) and Oklahoma (7-5, 3 pts); 37. Colorado St. (8-4, 2 pts).

Final Coaches Poll

1. Florida St
2. Nebraska
3. Virginia Tech
4. Wisconsin
5. Michigan
6. Kansas St
7. Michigan St
8. Alabama
9. Tennessee
10. Marshall
11. Penn St
12. Mississippi St
13. Southern Miss
14. Florida
15. Miami (Fla)
16. Georgia
17. Minnesota
18. Oregon
19. Arkansas
20. Texas A&M
21. Georgia Tech
22. Mississippi
23. Texas
24. Stanford
25. Illinois

Heisman Trophy Voting

"The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the

Most Outstanding Player of the year"
Winner:
Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, Running Back (2042 points)
*2. Joe Hamilton, Ga. Tech (994 points)
*3. Michael Vick, Va. Tech (319 points)
*4. Drew Brees, Purdue (308 points)
*5. Chad Pennington, Marshall (247 points)

Other Major Awards

*Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) - Ron Dayne, Wisconsin
*Walter Camp Award (Back) - Ron Dayne, Wisconsin
*Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) - Joe Hamilton, Georgia Tech
*Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Senior Quarterback) - Chris Redman, Louisville
*Doak Walker Award (Running Back) - Ron Dayne, Wisconsin
*Fred Biletnikoff Award (Wide Receiver) - Troy Walters, Stanford
*Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Defensive Player) - Corey Moore, Virginia Tech, DE
*Chuck Bednarik Award - LaVar Arrington, Penn State
*Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker) - LaVar Arrington, Penn State
*Lombardi Award (Lineman or Linebacker) - Corey Moore, Virginia Tech, DE
*Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) - Chris Samuels, Alabama, OT
*Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back) - Tyrone Carter, Minnesota
*Lou Groza Award (Placekicker) - Sebastian Janikowski, Florida St.
*Paul "Bear" Bryant Award - Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
*Football Writers Association of America Coach of the Year Award - Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech