The 2006 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 31, 2006, and ended on December 2, 2006. The postseason concluded on January 8, 2007, with the BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona, where the No. 2 Florida Gators defeated the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 41–14 to win the national title.
The Boise State Broncos were the year's only undefeated team in both levels of Division I football after defeating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.
Rules changes The NCAA instituted the following rule changes for the 2006 season.
The NCAA ruled that teams could schedule twelve regular-season games (up from eleven) beginning in the 2006 season. (NCAA teams in Alaska and Hawaii, and their home opponents, are allowed to schedule an extra game over and above this limit.) Instant replay is now officially sanctioned and standardized. All plays are reviewed by the replay officials as the play occurs. They may call down to the on-field officials to stop play if they need extra time to make a review. Each coach may also make one challenge per game. In the case of a coach's challenge, the coach must have at least one time-out remaining. If the challenge is upheld the coach gets the time-out back but the challenge is spent. If the challenge is rejected, both the challenge and the time-out are spent. Players may only wear clear eyeshields. Previously, both tinted and orange were also allowed. The kicking tee has been lowered from two inches tall to only one inch. Halftime lasts twenty minutes. Previously, it was only fifteen minutes, except for special ceremonies (i.e. homecoming). On a kickoff, the game clock starts when the ball is kicked rather than when the receiving team touches it. This rule change has resulted in controversy, highlighted by the matchup between Wisconsin and Penn State on November 4, 2006, in which Wisconsin deliberately went off-sides on two consecutive kickoffs to run extra time off the clock at the close of the first half. On a change of possession, the clock starts when the referee marks the ball ready for play, instead of on the snap. This was the rule in the National Football League prior to 1973, and in high school football prior to 1996. The referee may no longer stop the game due to excessive crowd noise. When a live-ball penalty such as an illegal formation occurs on a kick, the receiving team may choose either to add the penalty yardage to the end of the return or require the kick to be attempted again with the spot moved back. Previously, only the latter option was available. If a team scores at the end of the game, they will not kick the extra point unless it would affect the outcome of the game.
Regular season top 10 matchups Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 8 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. 1 Ohio State defeated No. 2 Texas, 24–7 (Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas) Week 3 No. 3 Auburn defeated No. 6 LSU, 7–3 (Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama) Week 6 No. 5 Florida defeated No. 9 LSU, 23–10 (Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida) Week 10 No. 5/5 Louisville defeated No. 3/3 West Virginia, 44–34 (Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky) Week 12 No. 1/1 Ohio State defeated No. 2/2 Michigan, 42–39 (Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio) Week 13 No. 3/3 USC defeated No. 5/6 Notre Dame, 44–24 (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California) No. 10/9 LSU defeated No. 6/5 Arkansas, 31–26 (War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock, Arkansas) Week 14 No. 4/4 Florida defeated No. 9/8 Arkansas, 38–28 (2006 SEC Championship Game, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia)
Conference standings
FCS team wins over FBS teams Italics denotes FCS teams.
Conference champions
Conference championship games Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the games were played. ConferenceChampionRunner-upScoreSiteACCNo. 16 Wake ForestNo. 23 Georgia Tech9–6Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FloridaBig 12No. 8 OklahomaNo. 19 Nebraska21–7Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MissouriConference USAHoustonSouthern Miss34–20Robertson Stadium HoustonMACCentral MichiganOhio31–10Ford Field DetroitSECNo. 4 FloridaNo. 8 Arkansas38–28Georgia Dome Atlanta
Other conference champions Rankings are from the Week 15 AP Poll. ConferenceWinner(s)Big EastNo. 6 LouisvilleBig TenNo. 1 Ohio StateMountain WestNo. 19 BYUPac-10No. 20 California, No. 8 USC*Sun BeltMiddle Tennessee, TroyWACNo. 9 Boise State * Received conference's automatic BCS bowl bid.
BCS rankings progress
Ohio State was ranked No. 1 in all of the BCS-component polls (AP, Coaches', USA Today) in the preseason and the 14 polls taken in the regular season. When the BCS rankings began on October 15, Ohio State was No. 1 on all 8 rankings released during the season.
WEEKNo. 1No. 2EVENTOCT 15Ohio StateUSCOregon State 33, USC 31OCT 22Ohio StateMichiganOhio St 44, Minnesota 0OCT 29Ohio StateMichiganOhio St 17, Illinois 10NOV 5Ohio StateMichiganOhio St 54, Northwestern 10NOV 12Ohio StateMichiganOhio St 42, Michigan 39NOV 19Ohio StateMichiganOhio St 42, Michigan 39NOV 26Ohio StateUSCUCLA 13, USC 9DEC 3Ohio StateFloridaFlorida 38, Arkansas 28
Bowl games Winners are listed in boldface.
Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series selected the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams to play for the national championship on January 8. The 2006 season marked a change for the BCS system, as the BCS National Championship Game became a standalone bowl game for the first time, to be played at the site of one of the four BCS bowls (the Fiesta, Orange, Sugar, and Rose Bowls) on a rotating basis. Under the previous format used from 1998 to 2006, the BCS National Championship coincided with one of the BCS bowls. The 2007 BCS Championship Game was played in Glendale, Arizona, the week after the Fiesta Bowl had been played there.
Rankings are from the Week 15 AP Poll. Bowl game Date Playing as visitor Playing as home ScoreBCS National Championship Game January 8 No. 2 Florida No. 1 Ohio State 41 – 14Sugar Bowl January 3 No. 11 Notre Dame No. 4 LSU 14 – 41Orange Bowl January 2 No. 5 Louisville No. 15 Wake Forest 24 – 13Fiesta Bowl January 1 No. 9 Boise State No. 7 Oklahoma 43 – 42 (OT)Rose Bowl January 1 No. 8 Southern California No. 3 Michigan 32 – 18
January bowl games Bowl game Day Playing as visitor Playing as home ScoreGMAC Bowl 7th Ohio Southern Mississippi 7 – 28International Bowl 6th Western Michigan Cincinnati 24 – 27Cotton Bowl 1st No. 10 Auburn No. 22 Nebraska 17 – 14Capital One Bowl 1st No. 12 Arkansas No. 6 Wisconsin 14 – 17 Gator Bowl 1st Georgia Tech No. 13 West Virginia 35 – 38 Outback Bowl 1st No. 17 Tennessee Penn State 10 – 20
December bowl games Bowl game Day Playing as visitor Playing as home ScoreMPC Computers Bowl 31st Miami Nevada 21 – 20Chick-fil-A Bowl 30th Georgia No. 14 Virginia Tech 31 – 24Alamo Bowl 30th No. 18 Texas Iowa 26 – 24Meineke Car Care Bowl 30th Navy No. 23 Boston College 24 – 25Champs Sports Bowl 29th Purdue Maryland 7 – 24Insight Bowl 29th Texas Tech Minnesota 44 – 41Liberty Bowl 29th Houston South Carolina 36 – 44Sun Bowl 29th No. 24 Oregon State Missouri 39 – 38Music City Bowl 29th Clemson Kentucky 20 – 28Holiday Bowl 28th No. 21 Texas A&M No. 20 California 10 – 45Texas Bowl 28th No. 16 Rutgers Kansas State 37 – 10Independence Bowl 28th Oklahoma State Alabama 34 – 31Emerald Bowl 27th Florida State UCLA 44 – 27Motor City Bowl 26th Middle Tennessee Central Michigan 14 – 31Hawaii Bowl 24th Arizona State Hawaii 24 – 41Armed Forces Bowl 23rd Tulsa Utah 13 – 25New Mexico Bowl 23rd New Mexico San José State 12 – 20PapaJohns.com Bowl 23rd South Florida East Carolina 24 – 7New Orleans Bowl 22nd Rice Troy 17 – 41Las Vegas Bowl 21st No. 19 BYU Oregon 38 – 8Poinsettia Bowl 19th Northern Illinois No. 25 TCU 7 – 37
Bowl Challenge Cup standings Conference Wins Losses Pct.Big East Conference 5 0 1.000Mountain West Conference 3 1 .750Western Athletic Conference 3 1 .750Southeastern Conference 6 3 .667Atlantic Coast Conference 4 4 .500Pacific-10 Conference 3 3 .500Sun Belt Conference 1 1 .500Big 12 Conference 3 5 .375Big Ten Conference 2 5 .286Mid-American Conference 1 3 .250Conference USA 1 4 .200Independents 0 2 .000
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 Troy Smith Ohio State QB 801 62 13 2,540 Darren McFadden Arkansas RB 45 298 147 878 Brady Quinn Notre Dame QB 13 276 191 782 Steve Slaton West Virginia RB 6 51 94 214 Mike Hart Michigan RB 5 58 79 210 Colt Brennan Hawaii QB 6 44 96 202 Ray Rice Rutgers RB 1 16 44 79 Ian Johnson Boise State RB 1 13 44 73 Dwayne Jarrett USC WR 1 11 22 47 Calvin Johnson Georgia Tech WR 1 8 24 43
Other major award winners Walter Camp Award (top player): Troy Smith, Ohio State Maxwell Award (top player): Brady Quinn, Notre Dame Associated Press College Football Player of the Year Award: Troy Smith, Ohio State Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player): James Laurinaitis, Ohio State Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): Paul Posluszny, Penn State Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Dan Mozes, West Virginia Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Troy Smith, Ohio State Dick Butkus Award (linebacker): Patrick Willis, Ole Miss Doak Walker Award (running back): Darren McFadden, Arkansas Draddy Trophy ("academic Heisman"): Brian Leonard, Rutgers Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Aaron Ross, Texas John Mackey Award (tight end): Matt Spaeth, Minnesota Johnny Unitas Award (Sr. quarterback): Brady Quinn, Notre Dame Lombardi Award (top lineman): LaMarr Woodley, Michigan Lott Trophy (defensive impact): Dante Hughes, California Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Art Carmody, Louisville Manning Award (quarterback): JaMarcus Russell, LSU Mosi Tatupu Award (special teams): A. J. Trapasso, Ohio State Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Joe Thomas, Wisconsin Ray Guy Award (punter): Daniel Sepulveda, Baylor Ted Hendricks Award (defensive end): LaMarr Woodley, Michigan The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award: Greg Schiano, Rutgers Associated Press Coach of the Year: Jim Grobe, Wake Forest Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (head coach): Chris Petersen, Boise State Walter Camp Coach of the Year (head coach): Greg Schiano, Rutgers Broyles Award (assistant coach): Bud Foster, Virginia Tech
Postseason coaching changes
Team Former coach Interim New coachAir ForceFisher DeBerryTroy CalhounAlabama Mike Shula Joe Kines Nick SabanArmyBobby RossStan BrockArizona StateDirk KoetterDennis EricksonBoston CollegeTom O'Brien Frank Spaziani Jeff JagodzinskiCentral MichiganBrian Kelly Jeff QuinnButch JonesCincinnatiMark DantonioBrian KellyFlorida InternationalDon StrockMario CristobalIdahoDennis EricksonRobb AkeyIowa StateDan McCarneyGene ChizikLouisiana TechJack Bicknell IIIDerek DooleyLouisvilleBobby PetrinoSteve KragthorpeMiami (FL)Larry CokerRandy ShannonMichigan StateJohn L. Smith Mark DantonioMinnesotaGlen MasonTim BrewsterNorth CarolinaJohn BuntingButch DavisNC StateChuck Amato Tom O'BrienNorth TexasDarrell DickeyTodd DodgeRiceTodd GrahamDavid BailiffStanfordWalt HarrisJim HarbaughTulaneChris ScelfoBob ToledoTulsaSteve KragthorpeTodd GrahamUABWatson BrownNeil Callaway
Attendances