Unlike several seasons to come in the 1990s, the two teams that became split national champions could have actually met in a 1 vs. 2 bowl game.

16 Brigham Young, led by eventual Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, held off the defending champion, No.

The Steve Spurrier era also began at Florida, as the unranked Gators beat Oklahoma State 50-7.

24 Michigan State 20-19, with the crucial moment being a bizarre play where a Rick Mirer pass bounced off the chest of Spartans cornerback Todd Murray and into the hands of receiver Adrian Jarrell, putting the Irish in position to score the game-winning touchdown.

3 Auburn rallied from a 17-point deficit to even the score; a missed Volunteers field goal with 15 seconds left led to a 26-26 final tally.

Meanwhile, Stanford’s Tommy Vardell scored four touchdowns (all on runs from the one-yard line) to lead the Cardinal to a 36-31 upset of No.

5 Auburn barely escaped unheralded Louisiana Tech, winning 16-14 on a last-second field goal, and the Tigers fell out of the top five in the next poll.

After sitting on top of the college rankings for only four days, Michigan became the third number one team of the year to get knocked off the top spot, losing 28–27 at home in Ann Arbor to archrival Michigan State; the Wolverines failed a two-point conversion with seconds to go as Desmond Howard could not hold on to the ball when he was allegedly interfered with, in a very controversial no-call by the referees.

2 Virginia, who moved atop the polls for the first time in team history with a 31-0 shutout of North Carolina State.

1 Virginia won 49-14 at Wake Forest, but otherwise the season continued to shock as ten of the 25 ranked teams went down to defeat on an unforgettable Saturday.

The momentum from the block sent the ball forty yards back downfield and put Alabama in position to win on a last second field goal by All-American Phillip Doyle.

11 Georgia Tech suffered their first imperfection of the season, but they did not lose the game thanks to a Scott Sisson field goal in the closing seconds.

Michigan lost their second game in a row by a single point, this time to Iowa, 24–23, following their ascent to number one.

16 Georgia Tech short-handed, as star tight end Bruce McGonnigal ruptured his spleen in a freak accident when he fell into a concrete pit while looking for a lost dog.

A late Cavaliers touchdown was nullified by a penalty called on one of McGonnigal’s backups, and this play proved to be the difference when Georgia Tech's Scott Sisson kicked a field goal with time running out for a 41-38 victory.

In keeping with the strange season where the uncommon became commonplace, four of the top nine teams lost and the muddy national title picture got a little clearer.

6 Iowa stumbled at home and lost to Ohio State, 27–26, as the Buckeyes scored the game-winning touchdown with one second left, ending the Hawkeyes' title bid.

4 Colorado beat Oklahoma State 41-22 to clinch the Big 8 title and an Orange Bowl berth, while No.

The championship picture, much clearer just a week earlier, was considerably muddied again when top-ranked Notre Dame became the fifth number one to fall from the top spot as No.

6 Texas, who clinched the SWC title and a Cotton Bowl berth with a 22-13 win at Baylor, moved up in the next poll: No.

7 Notre Dame, who had already finished their schedule, moved back into the top five in the final regular-season poll: No.

The Buffaloes had an inferior record and were the beneficiaries of the referee’s error in the Fifth Down Game, but they also played an extraordinarily tough schedule (their non-conference opponents included the champions of the Big Ten, Pac-10, and SWC as well as the second-place team in the SEC), while the Yellow Jackets faced easier opposition.

As the champions of the Big 8 and ACC, the two teams were locked into the Orange and Citrus Bowls and were not able to play each other in a de facto national championship game.

For the second year in a row, the Orange Bowl organizers had invited top-ranked Notre Dame to play Big 8 champion Colorado in what they hoped would be a No.

22 Michigan State; the Hawkeyes, who beat all three of the other teams but lost to two lesser opponents, got the Rose Bowl bid against No.

4 Miami, but the Fiesta Bowl, faced with a potential boycott over the state of Arizona’s refusal to declare Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a holiday, had to settle for No.

The wins by Miami and Georgia Tech ensured Notre Dame could not wind up as champion, but the Irish and Buffaloes fought to the finish with Colorado prevailing, 10–9, on a blocked extra point.

With only 65 seconds left, it appeared Notre Dame had won when Rocket Ismail ran 91 yards with a punt return for touchdown that was called back on a clipping penalty.

Deon Figures intercepted Rick Mirer's desperation pass to clinch the national title for Colorado.

Colorado beat Nebraska, 27–12, in Lincoln while Georgia Tech had beaten them in the Florida Citrus Bowl, 45–21.