In the 1968 NCAA University Division football season, the system of "polls and bowls" changed.
The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls.
In 1968, the UPI issued its final poll before the bowls, but the AP Trophy was withheld until the postseason was completed.
In 1969, there were four regular season games that matched "Top Five" teams.
In the preseason poll released on September 9, the Purdue Boilermakers were picked No.
Third was the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, followed by the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns.
A second poll was taken on September 16 (with Texas and Oklahoma trading places), although most teams would not begin play until the 21st.
4 Florida beat Mississippi State 31–14, but fell from the Top Five, and No.
6 Tennessee, which had reached 4–0–1 the week before with a 10–9 win over Alabama, moved up in the rankings.
7 Michigan, riding a seven-game winning streak after losing their opener to California, won 36–0 over Illinois.
9 Georgia, which had been tied by Tennessee and Houston but was otherwise unbeaten, defeated Florida 51–0 in Jacksonville.
13 Oregon State 17–13 and effectively clinched a Rose Bowl bid; the Beavers had been USC's only remaining rival for the Pac-8 title and this victory gave the Trojans the head-to-head advantage.
1 USC beat UCLA 28–16 to stay unbeaten and clinch an outright Pac-8 championship.
In what would become a recurring pattern over the next decade, both teams were unbeaten in conference play and the game would determine who would represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl.
Kansas' only loss was to Oklahoma, their co-champions in the Big 8; the Jayhawks, who were ranked higher and had a better overall record than the Sooners, were chosen for the conference's spot in the Orange Bowl.
[2] Though USC had more first place votes than Ohio State (24½ vs 21½), the Buckeyes were 10 points ahead overall in the AP poll (935–925).
In the UPI poll of coaches, however, USC remained in first place and Ohio State second.
Also this week, Yale and Harvard (both of which were undefeated) met and ended their game in a 29–29 tie.
As the SEC champs, the Bulldogs went to the Sugar Bowl against SWC co-champion Arkansas.
After a loss and a tie in their first two games, the Longhorns won their final eight in a row, including a 39–29 win over Arkansas.
The head-to-head victory gave Texas the conference's Cotton Bowl bid against SEC runner-up Tennessee.
Following USC's 9–0–1 finish, the UPI coaches voted unbeaten and untied (9–0) Ohio State as the national champion in their final poll on December 3.
3 Penn State remained undefeated by beating Syracuse 30–12 on December 7.
The Nittany Lions prepared for a matchup against Kansas in the Orange Bowl.
2 USC (9–0–1) were the champions of the Big Ten and Pac-8 conferences, respectively, they were automatically set to meet in the Rose Bowl.
6 Kansas (9–1), which shared the Big 8 crown with Oklahoma (even after losing to the Sooners) got the other bid.
The Sugar Bowl featured the SEC champion against the SWC runner-up (No.
9 Arkansas (9–1)) while the Cotton Bowl pitted the SWC champion against the SEC runner-up (No.
8 Tennessee (8–1–1)) When the sportswriters voted for the Top 20 after the bowl games, Rose Bowl winner Ohio State won the AP Trophy and the unofficial national championship, taking all but five of the 49 first place votes.
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player Source: [4]