The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The regular season began on August 30, 2007, and ended on December 1, 2007. The postseason concluded on January 7, 2008, with the BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans, where the No. 2-ranked Louisiana State Tigers defeated the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes to win their 2nd BCS and 3rd overall national title.
For just the second time in the Bowl Championship Series era, no FBS team finished the season undefeated. Kansas was the only team from a BCS automatic-qualifying conference to finish the entire season with just one loss.
Rules changes After coaches expressed their disapproval of the timing changes made in the 2006 season, the following changes were made: On kickoffs, the clock will not start until the ball is touched in the field of play. On change of possession, the clock will not start until the snap. The attempt to reduce the time of games sought by those rules was successful, reducing the average college football page from 3:21 hours in 2005 to 3:07 hours in 2006. However, the reduced game time also reduced the average number of plays in a game by 13, 66 fewer offensive yards per game and average points per game by 5.
Other rules changes for the 2007 season include: Moving the kick-off yard-line from 35 to 30, which matches the yard-line used in the National Football League from 1994 to 2010, to reduce the number of touchbacks. Paring the 25-second play clock to 15 seconds after TV timeouts. Team time-outs for televised games are shortened from 60 seconds to 30 seconds. Allowing penalties against the kicking team on kickoffs to be assessed at the end of the runback, avoiding a re-kick, also matching the NFL rule. Once the umpire gives the ball to the kicker, the 25 second play clock starts. Kickoffs out of bounds are now penalized 35 yards from the spot of the kick or a re-kick with a five-yard penalty. Defenders cannot use any part of a teammate to jump over an opponent to block a kick.
Conference and program changes The only change in conference membership for the 2007 season occurred when Temple left its Independent status to become the 13th member of the Mid-American Conference.
One team upgraded from Division I FCS, increasing the number of Division I FBS schools to 120. School 2006 Conference 2007 Conference Temple Owls I-A Independent MAC Western Kentucky Hilltoppers MVC I-A Independent
Regular season top 10 matchups Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 7 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted. Week 2 No. 2 LSU defeated No. 9 Virginia Tech, 48–7 (Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana) Week 6 No. 1 LSU defeated No. 9 Florida, 28–24 (Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana) Week 9 No. 2/2 Boston College defeated No. 8/8 Virginia Tech, 14–10 (Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia) No. 5/5 Oregon defeated No. 12/9 USC, 24–17 (Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon) Week 10 No. 5/4 Oregon defeated No. 4/6 Arizona State, 35–23 (Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon) Week 13 No. 4/3 Missouri defeated No. 2/2 Kansas, 36–28 (Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri) Week 14 No. 9/9 Oklahoma defeated No. 1/1 Missouri, 38–17 (2007 Big 12 Championship Game, Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas)
Year of the Upset and "The Curse of No. 2" Year of the Upset
The 2007 season was highlighted by the remarkable frequency with which ranked teams fell to lower-ranked or unranked opponents, leading the media to dub the season as the "Year of the Upset". An unranked or lower-ranked opponent defeated a higher-ranked team 59 times over the course of the regular season. Teams ranked in the top five of the AP Poll were defeated by unranked opponents 13 times during the regular season, setting a new record in the history of the AP Poll when at least 20 teams were ranked. The only other season to see more such upsets was 1967, which was one of seven seasons when the AP Poll ranked only 10 teams.
The chaos began on the first weekend of the season when FCS program Appalachian State defeated No. 5 Michigan on the road at Michigan Stadium in what was immediately hailed as one of the greatest upsets in the history of college football. Appalachian State became just the second FCS team to defeat a ranked FBS opponent, and the first to do so against a top-five team.
"Curse of the No. 2" The 2007 season became known for the "Curse of the No. 2", where the team ranked No. 2 by the AP Poll was defeated seven times in the final nine weeks of the regular season: Stanford defeated No. 2 USC, 24–23, on October 6 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This result was particularly notable for the fact that USC was favored to win the game by 41 points, having carried winning streaks of 35 games at home and 24 games in Pac-10 play into the matchup. Both streaks ended with this loss. Oregon State defeated No. 2 California, 31–28, on October 13 at California Memorial Stadium. Rutgers defeated No. 2 South Florida, 30–27, on October 18 at Rutgers Stadium. Florida State defeated No. 2 Boston College, 27–17, on November 3 at Alumni Stadium. Arizona defeated No. 2 Oregon, 34–24, on November 15 at Arizona Stadium. No. 4 Missouri defeated No. 2 Kansas, 36–28, on November 24 at Arrowhead Stadium in a Border War rivalry game. This was the only such upset where the winning team was also ranked. Pittsburgh defeated No. 2 West Virginia, 13–9, on December 1 at Mountaineer Field in a Backyard Brawl rivalry game. West Virginia was knocked out of contention for the BCS National Championship on the final weekend of the regular season. The No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams had not lost in the same week of the season since 1996. In 2007 alone, No. 1 and No. 2 fell during the same weekend three times, including in both of the final two weeks of the regular season: No. 1 LSU lost to Kentucky 43–37 in three overtimes, and No. 2 California lost to Oregon State 31–28 on October 13. No. 1 LSU lost to Arkansas 50–48 in three overtimes on November 23, and No. 2 Kansas lost to No. 4 Missouri 36–28 on November 24. No. 1 Missouri lost to No. 9 Oklahoma 38–17 in the Big 12 Championship Game, and No. 2 West Virginia lost to Pittsburgh 13–9 on December 1.
Conference standings
FCS team wins over FBS teams Italics denotes FCS teams.
Conference champions
Conference championship games All games were played on December 1, 2007. Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the games were played. ConferenceChampionRunner-upScoreSiteACCNo. 6 Virginia TechNo. 12 Boston College30–16Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, FloridaBig 12No. 9 OklahomaNo. 1 Missouri38–17Alamodome San Antonio, TexasConference USAUCFTulsa44–25Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FloridaMACCentral MichiganMiami (Ohio)35–10Ford Field DetroitSECNo. 5 LSUNo. 14 Tennessee21–14Georgia Dome Atlanta
Other conference champions Rankings are from the Week 15 AP Poll. ConferenceWinner(s)Big EastConnecticut, No. 11 West Virginia*Big TenNo. 1 Ohio StateMountain WestNo. 19 BYUPac-10No. 12 Arizona State, No. 6 USC*Sun BeltFlorida Atlantic, TroyWACNo. 10 Hawaii * Received conference's automatic BCS bowl bid
Bowl games Winners are listed in boldface.
Bowl Championship Series Bowl Game Date Playing as Visitor Playing as Home Score BCS Title Game (New Orleans, Louisiana) January 7, 2008 No. 2 LSU No. 1 Ohio State 38–24 Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) January 1, 2008 No. 13 Illinois No. 6 USC 49–17 Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) January 1, 2008 No. 10 Hawaii No. 4 Georgia 41–10 Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Arizona) January 2, 2008 No. 11 West Virginia No. 3 Oklahoma 48–28 Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Florida) January 3, 2008 No. 8 Kansas No. 5 Virginia Tech 24–21
January bowl games Bowl Game Date Playing as Visitor Playing as Home Score Outback Bowl (Tampa, Florida) January 1, 2008 No. 18 Wisconsin No. 16 Tennessee 21–17 Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas) January 1, 2008 No. 7 Missouri No. 25 Arkansas 38–7 Capital One Bowl (Orlando, Florida) January 1, 2008 Michigan No. 9 Florida 41–35 Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Florida) January 1, 2008 Texas Tech No. 21 Virginia 31–28 International Bowl (Toronto, ON, Canada) January 5, 2008 Rutgers Ball State 52–30 GMAC Bowl (Mobile, Alabama) January 6, 2008 Bowling Green Tulsa 63–7
December bowl games Bowl Game Date Playing as Visitor Playing as Home Score Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego) December 20, 2007 Utah Navy 35–32 New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans) December 21, 2007 Memphis Florida Atlantic 44–27 PapaJohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Alabama) December 22, 2007 Southern Miss No. 20 Cincinnati 31–21 New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, New Mexico) December 22, 2007 Nevada New Mexico 23–0 Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas) December 22, 2007 UCLA No. 19 BYU 17–16 Hawaii Bowl (Honolulu) December 23, 2007 No. 24 Boise State East Carolina 41–38 Motor City Bowl (Detroit) December 26, 2007 Purdue Central Michigan 51–48 Holiday Bowl (San Diego) December 27, 2007 No. 12 Arizona State No. 17 Texas 52–34 Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, Florida) December 28, 2007 No. 14 Boston College Michigan State 24–21 Texas Bowl (Houston) December 28, 2007 TCU Houston 20–13 Emerald Bowl (San Francisco) December 28, 2007 Maryland Oregon State 21–14 Meineke Car Care Bowl (Charlotte, North Carolina) December 29, 2007 Connecticut Wake Forest 24–10 Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tennessee) December 29, 2007 UCF Mississippi State 10–3 Alamo Bowl (San Antonio) December 29, 2007 Penn State Texas A&M 24–17 Independence Bowl (Shreveport, Louisiana) December 30, 2007 Alabama Colorado 30–24 Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas) December 31, 2007 California Air Force 42–36 Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas) December 31, 2007 No. 23 South Florida Oregon 56–21 Humanitarian Bowl (Boise, Idaho) December 31, 2007 Georgia Tech Fresno State 40–28 Music City Bowl (Nashville, Tennessee) December 31, 2007 Kentucky Florida State 35–28 Insight Bowl (Tempe, Arizona) December 31, 2007 Indiana Oklahoma State 49–33 Chick-fil-A Bowl (Atlanta) December 31, 2007 No. 15 Clemson No. 22 Auburn 23–20 (OT)
Postseason All-Star Games Cornerstone Bancard Hula Bowl – January 12, Aloha Stadium, Halawa, Hawaii – Aina (East) 38, Kai (West) 7. East–West Shrine Game – January 19, Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas – West 31, East 17. Under Armour Senior Bowl – January 26, Ladd–Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama – South 17, North 16. Western Refining Texas vs. The Nation Game – February 2, UTEP Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas – Texas 41, The Nation 14
Bowl Challenge Cup standings +Bowl Challenge Cup Conference Wins Losses Percent Mountain West† 4 1 .800 Southeastern§ 7 2 .777 Pacific-10 4 2 .667 Big 12 5 3 .625 Big East 3 2 .600 Big Ten 3 5 .375 Conference USA 2 4 .333 Atlantic Coast 2 6 .250 Western Athletic 1 3 .250 Mid-American 0 3 .000 † Winner of the Bowl Challenge Cup – § NCAA record for bowl victories in a conference in one bowl season. Notes The Sun Belt Conference, represented by Florida Atlantic University, was not eligible for the Bowl Challenge Cup as they only had one bowl berth. Conferences must have a minimum of three bids to be a part of the challenge.
Awards and honors
Heisman Trophy voting The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player
Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total Tim Tebow Florida QB 462 229 113 1,957 Darren McFadden Arkansas RB 291 355 120 1,703 Colt Brennan Hawaii QB 54 114 242 632 Chase Daniel Missouri QB 25 84 182 425 Dennis Dixon Oregon QB 17 31 65 178 Pat White West Virginia QB 16 28 46 150 Matt Ryan Boston College QB 9 7 22 63 Kevin Smith UCF RB 3 11 24 55 Glenn Dorsey LSU DT 3 6 9 30 Chris Long Virginia DE 1 2 10 17
Other major award winners
Walter Camp Award (top player): Darren McFadden, Arkansas Maxwell Award (top player): Tim Tebow, Florida