The 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Oklahoma Sooners beating the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles to claim the Sooners' seventh national championship and their thirty-seventh conference championship, the first of each since the 1988 departure of head coach Barry Switzer.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was in his second season as head coach, having been the defensive coordinator of Steve Spurrier's 1996 National Champion Florida Gators, and also having helped Bill Snyder turn the Kansas State Wildcats around in the early 1990s.

Virginia Tech also was left out of the BCS bowls, despite being ranked higher than one of the at-large teams, Notre Dame.

The South Carolina Gamecocks broke a 21-game losing streak, stretching back into 1998, to go 8–4 including a win over Ohio State in the Outback Bowl.

1 in the preseason AP Poll, followed by defending national champion Florida State at No.

2 Florida State, who defeated Brigham Young 29-3 in the Pigskin Classic.

3 Alabama lost 35-24 at UCLA; the Crimson Tide turned out to be dramatically overrated to start the season, as they ended up finishing last in the SEC West with a 3-8 record.

After a Notre Dame field goal, Eric Crouch ran for his third touchdown of the game to seal a 27-24 Cornhuskers win.

2 Florida State needed a fourth-quarter comeback of their own to beat Georgia Tech 26-21.

4 Wisconsin barely escaped Cincinnati in a 28-25 overtime win; the Badgers fell out of the top five in the next poll.

5 Texas lost 27-24 to Stanford when a late Cardinal touchdown drive erased a fourth-quarter Longhorns comeback.

The referees ruled that Gaffney had possession long enough for the touchdown to count, giving Florida a 27-23 win.

4 Kansas State won 55-10 over North Texas, but the Wildcats still switched places with idle No.

7 Miami was a case of deja vu, as the Seminoles again missed a potential game-tying field goal at the end of a game with national championship implications.

“Wide Right III” brought back memories of similar Florida State-Miami finishes in 1991 and 1992.

2 Virginia Tech spotted Syracuse a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter but came back to win 22-14.

2 Virginia Tech lost star quarterback Michael Vick to an ankle injury and needed a last-minute field goal to escape Pittsburgh 37-34.

4 Miami, the Hokies’ Big East rival, looked sloppy in a 42-31 win over a 2-7 Louisiana Tech squad.

5 Clemson allowed an 80-yard game-ending touchdown drive and fell 31-28 to Georgia Tech.

The BCS standings were topped by the same five teams, but with Miami ranked fifth behind the Seminoles and Cornhuskers.

1 Oklahoma trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter, but an interception return for a touchdown allowed the Sooners to come back and beat No.

16 Kansas State hoping to clinch a spot in the Big 12 title game.

1 Oklahoma clinched a spot in the Big 12 title game with a 27-13 victory over Texas Tech.

8 Oregon State were both contenders for the Pac-10 title, and for the first time in 36 years the game between the two rivals would help decide the conference’s Rose Bowl representative.

The Ducks had the opportunity to clinch the outright title, but Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington threw five interceptions in a 23-13 loss to the Beavers.

6 Washington blew out Washington State 51-3 to climb into a three-way tie for the conference lead, and the Huskies (who had beaten Oregon State in October) earned a trip to Pasadena.

5 Oregon State had all finished their seasons, and the next AP Poll remained the same.

The game was tied at 17 going into the fourth quarter, but the Sooners scored a touchdown and kicked a 46-yard field goal to go ahead for good.

After Kansas State cut the score to 27-24 with six seconds left, Oklahoma recovered the onside kick to salt away the win.

1 Oklahoma was guaranteed a spot in the Orange Bowl to play for the national championship, but the BCS caused a controversy by selecting AP No.