The 1974 NCAA Division I football season finished with two national champions.

The Associated Press (AP) writers' poll ranked the University of Oklahoma, which was on probation and barred by the NCAA from postseason play, No.

During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams, later known as "Division I-A".

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.

Starting in 1974, the UPI joined AP in issuing its final poll after the bowl games were completed.

In the preseason poll released on September 2, 1974, the AP ranked Oklahoma No.

Elsewhere, the scheduled Ole Miss-Tulane game in New Orleans was postponed until November 30 due to the threat of Hurricane Carmen.

There was considerable disagreement between AP voters at the top of the next poll, with 19 first-place votes going to Notre Dame, 18 to Oklahoma, and 17 to Ohio State.

In the next poll, Notre Dame had the edge in first-place votes (26 to 23), but Ohio State took the lead based on overall points.

The latest battle of "The Ten Year War" took place in Columbus, Ohio, as No.

4 Ohio State (9–1) in their annual clash for the Big Ten title.

6 USC topped UCLA 34–9 for the Pac-8 title and the right to face Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

November 29−30: The annual Alabama-Auburn game took place on a Friday night in Birmingham, with No.

With Oklahoma barred from the postseason due to NCAA probation, the Orange Bowl organizers had already arranged for Alabama to meet No.

After trailing 24–0, the Trojans scored 55 unanswered points and cruised to victory, keeping themselves in national championship contention and effectively eliminating Notre Dame.

Since teams on probation were ineligible to be ranked in the coaches' poll, the UPI named Alabama as No.

Tuesday, December 31, 1974 Wednesday, January 1, 1975 Nebraska erased a 10-point deficit by defeating Florida in the Sugar Bowl played on New Year's Eve.

The following afternoon, Penn State defeated the surprise SWC champion Baylor in the Cotton Bowl.

5 USC (coached by John McKay) played in the Rose Bowl before a crowd of 106,721 in Pasadena.

With 2:03 left, Pat Haden fired a 38-yard pass to John McKay Jr. (son of USC's coach) to make the score 17–16.

Coach McKay then passed up a chance for a tie over the favored Buckeyes, and ordered the Trojans to go for two.

Shelton Diggs dove and caught Haden's low pass in the end zone to give USC an 18–17 lead.

Ohio State could only get close enough for a desperation 62-yard field goal attempt that fell about 8 yards short as time expired.

2 (behind on-probation Oklahoma) in the AP, as it went to the Orange Bowl, where it faced 9th ranked Notre Dame, playing its final game under Ara Parseghian.

The Irish went out to a 13–0 lead early in the game, but Bama battled back with a field goal, a touchdown and a two-point run to close the score to 13–11 with three minutes left.

After ruling out an onside kick attempt, the Tide force a Notre Dame punt and got the ball back with 1:37 left.

Quarterback Richard Todd attempted to drive the team to field goal range, but he threw his 3rd interception of the game, and Notre Dame ran out the clock to preserve the upset win.

In the final polls, USC was ranked first by UPI, followed by Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame.

The Trojans were second in the AP poll, where the Oklahoma Sooners were the first place choice for 51 of the 60 writers.

The NCAA recognized both the Sooners and the Trojans as champions in its football guide.