The 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its third National Championship during the 1980s, cementing its claim as the decade's top team, winning more titles than any other program.

Notre Dame signed a six-year, $30 million deal with NBC, granting the network the exclusive rights to broadcast Notre Dame football.

Florida State began 0–2 but finished the season 10–2, having beaten the National Champions Miami earlier in the season and beating Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.

Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer resigned June 19 after 16 seasons, during which he led the Sooners to three national championships (1974, 1975, 1985).

Steve Spurrier was hired by Florida away from Duke in an effort to clean up after a decade of NCAA sanctions.

Houston quarterback Andre Ware ran the run and shoot offense all the way to the Heisman Trophy and numerous records.

September 16: For the fifth consecutive year, there was a regular-season game between the AP's top two teams.

And for the second year in a row Notre Dame was the winner of that matchup, as the No.

5 Michigan needed a late touchdown and a buzzer-beating field goal to beat No.

6 Colorado did not play this weekend, but they met with a tragedy as quarterback Sal Aunese (who was also coach Bill McCartney's son-in-law) died of stomach cancer.

1 Notre Dame beat their third straight Big Ten opponent, winning 40–7 at Purdue.

Michigan State had to play a top-two team for the second week in a row, and the Spartans fell 26–20 to No.

Gino Torretta, subbing for the injured Craig Erickson, set a school record with 468 passing yards in No.

1 Notre Dame came back from a 10-point halftime deficit to pull out a 28–24 victory over No.

3 Colorado won 20–3 over Oklahoma; the Sooners were entering a down period after a series of off-field scandals and the forced resignation of longtime coach Barry Switzer.

14 Penn State, the Nittany Lions had the ball inside the one-yard line with 13 seconds left.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno elected to go for a field goal rather than a touchdown, but the kick was blocked and Alabama won the game 17–16.

2 Colorado made it two wins in two weeks against Big 8 powerhouses, preserving a 27–21 victory over No.

1 Notre Dame overwhelmed SMU 59–6, one of many blowout losses for the Mustangs in their first year back from an NCAA-imposed "death penalty" (they had allowed a record-setting 1,021 yards of offense in a 95–21 loss to Houston three weeks earlier).

2 Colorado won 41–17 at Oklahoma State to clinch the Big 8 title and a spot in the Orange Bowl; this was the first time since 1961 that a team other than Oklahoma or Nebraska had won an outright Big 8 championship.

2 Colorado finished an undefeated regular season with a 59–11 victory at Kansas State.

November 25: Notre Dame's most famous victory in their 1988 championship season was their upset of then-No.

3 Michigan wrapped up the Big Ten championship and earned a Rose Bowl bid with a 28–18 defeat of No.

14 Texas A&M 23–22 to win the SWC title and a spot in the Cotton Bowl.

11 Auburn in the Iron Bowl spoiled their perfect record and caused the two rivals to finish in a three-way tie for the SEC title with No.

Despite their loss, Alabama was picked to represent the conference in the Sugar Bowl.

The other major teams had already completed their schedules, and the final poll of the regular season featured No.

As sometimes happened in the days before the NCAA had a formal process to pick the national champion, the title was affected by an early bowl game selection.

Assuming that Notre Dame would defeat Miami and finish the season at the top of the poll, the Orange Bowl organizers set up what they hoped would be a No.

When Notre Dame dropped in the polls after their loss, the Orange Bowl ended up being No.