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2005 NCAA Division I-A football season

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2005 NCAA Division I-A season
Texas Longhorns and head coach Mack Brown with President George W. Bush after winning the national championship
Number of teams119
DurationSeptember 1 – December 3
Preseason AP No. 1USC
Postseason
DurationDecember 20, 2005 –
January 4, 2006
Bowl games28
Heisman TrophyUSC running back Reggie Bush
Bowl Championship Series
2006 Rose Bowl
SiteRose Bowl Stadium,
Pasadena, California
Champion(s)Texas
Division I-A football seasons
← 2004
2006 →

The 2005 NCAA Division I-A 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 September 1, 2005, and ended on December 3, 2005. The postseason concluded on January 4, 2006, with the Rose Bowl, which served as the season's BCS National Championship Game.

The USC Trojans and the Texas Longhorns finished the regular season as the only undefeated teams in Division I-A and consequently met in the Rose Bowl to play for the national title. Texas defeated USC largely due to the performance of quarterback Vince Young, who gained 467 yards of total offense and ran for three touchdowns. The Longhorns won their first national championship since 1970, and their first consensus national title since 1969.

Rule changes

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  • After the Big Ten Conference's 2004 experiment with instant replay, its use was expanded to all but the Sun Belt and the WAC conferences in Division I-A. The rules varied between conferences (including the use of coaches' challenges similar to the NFL in the Mountain West Conference) until the NCAA standardized the rules in 2006. Replay was also permitted in bowl games and, provided the visiting team agreed to its use, in non-conference regular season games.
  • The protection for a receiver who signals a fair catch includes situations when the ball is muffed until it hits the ground.
  • Penalties for spearing or similar hits in which the tackler leads with the crown of the head are enforced regardless of the "intent" of the tackler.
  • The penalty for leaping on field goals/PATs now states it is a foul if a player lined up more than one yard behind the line of scrimmage jumps and lands on players of any team trying to block the kick. If lined up one yard or closer to the line, it is not a foul.
  • Eliminated the "legal clipping zone"; hits from behind below the knee are prohibited anywhere on the field.
  • Provided for officials a specific list of acts by players considered unsportsmanlike conduct, including the "throat slash", high stepping and diving into the end zone unchallenged among others. Spontaneous celebrations by players are allowed provided they are not prolonged, taunting, or bring attention to themselves.

Conference changes

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A major conference realignment occurred prior to the 2005 season, when 18 teams in Division I-A changed conferences.

Temple was expelled from the Big East Conference while Army ended its brief affiliation with Conference USA, resulting in both schools becoming Independents.

Boston College left the Big East to become the 12th member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), allowing the league to split into two divisions and hold an annual championship game.

Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida left Conference USA to join the Big East. Texas Christian University also left Conference USA to become the Mountain West Conference's ninth member.

Despite its losses, Conference USA added six schools to increase its membership to twelve, poaching Marshall and UCF from the Mid-American Conference and Rice, Southern Methodist, Tulsa, and UTEP from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Like the ACC, Conference USA split into two divisions and started a conference championship game.

The Western Athletic Conference added Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State from the Sun Belt Conference.

The Sun Belt picked up I-A Independents Florida Atlantic and Florida International.

School2004 Conference2005 Conference
Army Black KnightsConference USAI-A Independent
Boston College EaglesBig EastACC
Central Florida KnightsMACConference USA
Cincinnati BearcatsConference USABig East
Louisville CardinalsConference USABig East
Marshall Thundering HerdMACConference USA
Florida Atlantic OwlsI-A IndependentSun Belt
Florida International PanthersI-A IndependentSun Belt
Idaho VandalsSun BeltWAC
New Mexico State AggiesSun BeltWAC
Rice OwlsWACConference USA
South Florida BullsConference USABig East
SMU MustangsWACConference USA
Temple OwlsBig East ConferenceI-A Independent
TCU Horned FrogsConference USAMountain West
Tulsa Golden HurricaneWACConference USA
Utah State AggiesSun BeltWAC
UTEP MinersWACConference USA

Coaching changes

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Steve Spurrier, in sunglasses
Steve Spurrier as coach at the University of Florida

Steve Spurrier returned to college coaching for the first time since 2001 after a stint in the NFL, leading South Carolina to a respectable 7–5 season. Urban Meyer, after leading Utah to an undefeated season in 2004, took over at Florida (Spurrier's old school). Charlie Weis left the New England Patriots to become head coach at alma mater Notre Dame, taking the team to a BCS bowl.

Longtime head coaches Barry Alvarez of Wisconsin and Bill Snyder of Kansas State, both of whom took struggling programs to national prominence during their tenures, retired. Dan Hawkins, having helped make Boise State a powerhouse in the Western Athletic Conference, left the Broncos to coach struggling Colorado.

Regular season top 10 matchups

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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.

Conference standings

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2005 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Atlantic Division
No. 23 Florida State xy$ 5–3  8–5 
No. 18 Boston College x 5–3  9–3 
No. 21 Clemson 4–4  8–4 
Wake Forest 3–5  4–7 
NC State 3–5  7–5 
Maryland 3–5  5–6 
Coastal Division
No. 7 Virginia Tech x 7–1  11–2 
No. 17 Miami (FL) 6–2  9–3 
Georgia Tech 5–3  7–5 
North Carolina 4–4  5–6 
Virginia 3–5  7–5 
Duke 0–8  1–10 
Championship: Florida State 27, Virginia Tech 22
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
2005 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
North Division
Colorado x 5–3  7–6 
No. 24 Nebraska 4–4  8–4 
Missouri 4–4  7–5 
Iowa State 4–4  7–5 
Kansas 3–5  7–5 
Kansas State 2–6  5–6 
South Division
No. 1 Texas x$# 8–0  13–0 
No. 20 Texas Tech 6–2  9–3 
No. 22 Oklahoma 6–2  8–4 
Texas A&M 3–5  5–6 
Baylor 2–6  5–6 
Oklahoma State 1–7  4–7 
Championship: Texas 70, Colorado 3
  • # – BCS National Champion
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2005 Big East Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 5 West Virginia $ 7–0  11–1 
No. 19 Louisville 5–2  9–3 
Rutgers 4–3  7–5 
South Florida 4–3  6–6 
Pittsburgh 4–3  5–6 
Connecticut 2–5  5–6 
Cincinnati 2–5  4–7 
Syracuse 0–7  1–10 
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
2005 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 3 Penn State $+ 7–1  11–1 
No. 4 Ohio State %+ 7–1  10–2 
No. 15 Wisconsin 5–3  10–3 
Michigan 5–3  7–5 
Northwestern 5–3  7–5 
Iowa 5–3  7–5 
Minnesota 4–4  7–5 
Purdue 3–5  5–6 
Michigan State 2–6  5–6 
Indiana 1–7  4–7 
Illinois 0–8  2–9 
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2005 Conference USA football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
UCF x 7–1  8–5 
Southern Miss 5–3  7–5 
Memphis 5–3  7–5 
East Carolina 4–4  5–6 
Marshall 3–5  4–7 
UAB 3–5  5–6 
West Division
Tulsa x$ 6–2  9–4 
UTEP 5–3  8–4 
Houston 4–4  6–6 
SMU 4–4  5–6 
Tulane 1–7  2–9 
Rice 1–7  1–10 
Championship: Tulsa 44, UCF 27
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2005 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
Akron xy$ 5–3  7–6 
Miami (OH) x 5–3  7–4 
Bowling Green x 5–3  6–5 
Ohio 3–5  4–7 
Buffalo 1–7  1–10 
Kent State 0–8  1–10 
West Division
Northern Illinois xy 6–2  7–5 
Toledo x 6–2  9–3 
Western Michigan 5–3  7–4 
Central Michigan 5–3  6–5 
Ball State 4–4  4–7 
Eastern Michigan 3–5  4–7 
Championship: Akron 31, NIU 30
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
2005 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 11 TCU $ 8–0  11–1 
BYU 5–3  6–6 
Colorado State 5–3  6–6 
Utah 4–4  7–5 
New Mexico 4–4  6–5 
San Diego State 4–4  5–7 
Air Force 3–5  4–7 
Wyoming 2–6  4–7 
UNLV 1–7  2–9 
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
2005 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 2 USC † $ 8–0  12–1 
No. 13 Oregon 7–1  10–2 
No. 16 UCLA 6–2  10–2 
No. 25 California 4–4  8–4 
Arizona State 4–4  7–5 
Stanford 4–4  5–6 
Oregon State 3–5  5–6 
Arizona 2–6  3–8 
Washington State 1–7  4–7 
Washington 1–7  2–9 
  • $ – Conference champion
  • † – USC later vacated 12 wins (8 in conference) and 1 loss due to NCAA sanctions.
Rankings from AP Poll
2005 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Eastern Division
No. 10 Georgia x$ 6–2  10–3 
South Carolina 5–3  7–5 
No. 12 Florida 5–3  9–3 
Vanderbilt 3–5  5–6 
Tennessee 3–5  5–6 
Kentucky 2–6  3–8 
Western Division
No. 5 LSU xy 7–1  11–2 
No. 14 Auburn x 7–1  9–3 
No. 8 Alabama 6–2  10–2 
Arkansas 2–6  4–7 
Mississippi State 1–7  3–8 
Ole Miss 1–7  3–8 
Championship: Georgia 34, LSU 14
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Alabama had all victories vacated by the NCAA in 2010. As such, the official record for Alabama is 0–2 (0–2).
Rankings from AP Poll
2005 Sun Belt Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Arkansas State + 5–2  6–6 
Louisiana–Lafayette + 5–2  6–5 
Louisiana–Monroe + 5–2  5–6 
Middle Tennessee 3–4  4–7 
Troy 3–4  4–7 
Florida Atlantic 2–5  2–9 
North Texas 2–5  2–9 
FIU† 0–4  0–6 
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • † – The NCAA vacated all 5 of FIU's (3–4, 5–6) wins
2005 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Boise State + 7–1  9–4 
Nevada + 7–1  9–3 
Louisiana Tech 6–2  7–4 
Fresno State 6–2  8–5 
Hawaii 4–4  5–7 
San Jose State 2–6  3–8 
Utah State 2–6  3–8 
Idaho 2–6  2–9 
New Mexico State 0–8  0–12 
  • + – Conference co-champions
2005 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 9 Notre Dame  % –  9–3 
Navy –  8–4 
Army –  4–7 
Temple –  0–11 
  • % – BCS at-large representative
Rankings from AP Poll

I-AA team wins over I-A teams

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Italics denotes I-AA teams.

DateVisiting teamHome teamSiteResultAttendanceRef.
September 1 Northwestern State UL Monroe Malone Stadium • Monroe, Louisiana (rivalry)  27–23  21,726[1]
September 17 UC Davis Stanford Stanford Stadium • Stanford, California  20–18  31,250[1]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game.

Bowl games

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BCS bowls

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Other New Year's Day bowls

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December bowl games

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Awards and honors

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Heisman Trophy

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Heisman Trophy voting was primarily for three players: Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart (who won the trophy in 2004) and Vince Young. Bush won the trophy, with Young (who helped Texas win their first national championship since 1970) second in the voting:

PlayerSchoolPosition1st2nd3rdTotal
Reggie BushUSCRB78489112,541
Vince YoungTexasQB796131451,608
Matt LeinartUSCQB18147449797
Brady QuinnNotre DameQB721128191
Michael RobinsonPenn StateQB272949
A. J. HawkOhio StateLB032329
DeAngelo WilliamsMemphisRB121926
Drew OlsonUCLAQB121421
Jerome HarrisonWashington StateRB041220
Elvis DumervilLouisvilleDE0099

In June 2010 the NCAA ruled that Bush had received "improper benefits", violating NCAA policy. On September 14, he announced in a statement from the New Orleans Saints that he would forfeit his 2005 Heisman Trophy. Runner-up Vince Young said that he would not accept the trophy if Bush forfeited it. On September 15, the Heisman Trust announced that the 2005 trophy would be vacated and there would be no winner for the season.[2] Bush's Heisman win would be reinstanted on April 24, 2024, with the Heisman Trophy Trust citing "enormous" changes in college athletics, including the introduction of name, image and likeness (NIL) a few years prior.[3]

Major award winners

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All-Americans

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2005 Consensus All-America team

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Offense
Position Name Height Weight (lbs.) Class Hometown Team
QB Vince Young 6'5" 229 Jr. Houston, Texas Texas
RB Reggie Bush 6'0" 200 Jr. Spring Valley, California USC
RB Jerome Harrison 5'10" 199 Sr. Kalamazoo, Michigan Washington State
WR Dwayne Jarrett 6'5" 210 So. New Brunswick, New Jersey USC
WR Jeff Samardzija 6'5" 218 Jr. Valparaiso, Indiana Notre Dame
TE Marcedes Lewis 6'6" 256 Sr. Lakewood, California UCLA
T Jonathan Scott 6'7" 315 Sr. Dallas, Texas Texas
T Marcus McNeill 6'9" 338 Sr. Decatur, Georgia Auburn
G Deuce Lutui 6'6" 370 Sr. Mesa, Arizona USC
G Max Jean-Gilles 6'4" 355 Sr. North Miami Beach, Florida Georgia
C Greg Eslinger 6'3" 292 Sr. Bismarck, North Dakota Minnesota
Defense
Position Name Height Weight (lbs.) Class Hometown Team
DE Tamba Hali 6'3" 275 Sr. Teaneck, New Jersey Penn State
DT Haloti Ngata 6'4" 338 Sr. Salt Lake City, Utah Oregon
DT Rodrique Wright 6'5" 315 Sr. Houston, Texas Texas
DE Elvis Dumervil 6'0" 256 Sr. Miami, Florida Louisville
LB A. J. Hawk 6'1" 248 Sr. Centerville, Ohio Ohio State
LB DeMeco Ryans 6'1" 236 Sr. Bessemer, Alabama Alabama
LB Paul Posluszny 6'2" 238 Jr. Hopewell Township, Pennsylvania Penn State
CB Jimmy Williams 6'3" 216 Sr. Hampton, Virginia Virginia Tech
CB Tye Hill 5'10" 185 Sr. Dorchester, South Carolina Clemson
Safety Michael Huff 6'0" 204 Sr. Irving, Texas Texas
Safety Greg Blue 6'2" 216 Sr. Atlanta Georgia
Special teams
Position Name Height Weight (lbs.) Class Hometown Team
Kicker Mason Crosby 6'2" 215 Jr. Georgetown, Texas Colorado
Punter Ryan Plackemeier 6'3" 235 Sr. Bonsall, California Wake Forest
RS Maurice Drew 5'8" 205 Jr. Antioch, California UCLA

Highest-scoring team

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Texas scored the most points (652).[6][7]

Attendances

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#TeamGTotalAverage
1Michigan7776,405110,915
2Tennessee6645,558107,593
3Ohio State7735,120105,017
4Penn State7734,013104,859
5Georgia6556,20692,701
6LSU6549,48091,580
7Southern California6544,87290,812
8Florida6542,43590,406
9Oklahoma6505,98484,331
10Auburn7589,12484,161
11Texas5416,66383,333
12Florida State6496,34382,724
13Wisconsin6495,30882,551
14Alabama7567,12681,018
15Notre Dame6484,77080,795
16South Carolina7559,07179,867
17Texas A&M6478,38979,732
18Clemson6469,39178,232
19Nebraska7542,39777,485
20Michigan State6451,09775,183
21Iowa6423,51070,585
22Virginia Tech6390,69065,115
23Washington6385,95764,326
24UCLA6385,30564,218
25Arkansas6382,07063,678
26Purdue6377,97762,996
27Kentucky6374,69762,450
28Arizona State7428,09661,157
29Virginia6365,83660,973
30California6362,26360,377
31Oregon6350,60258,434
32BYU6349,22258,204
33West Virginia6337,72056,287
34Mississippi6325,34854,225
35Arizona6321,67653,613
36Missouri6320,18153,364
37North Carolina State7370,47652,925
38Maryland5262,12952,426
39North Carolina6310,00051,667
40Georgia Tech6309,64451,607
41Texas Tech7356,80250,972
42Colorado6302,45250,409
43Minnesota6294,14749,025
44UTEP6287,39447,899
45Illinois6287,11347,852
46Mississippi State6286,12747,688
47Iowa State6280,23246,705
48Kansas State6275,76745,961
49Miami Hurricanes6271,86245,310
50Oklahoma State6269,16344,861
51Kansas6262,05143,675
52Stanford6261,30143,550
53Oregon State6253,14042,190
54Utah6249,21541,536
55Louisville6246,00741,001
56Pittsburgh6241,63040,272
57Syracuse6241,51040,252
58Connecticut6240,00040,000
59Memphis6239,94639,991
60Indiana6237,21439,536
61Boston College6236,57239,429
62Fresno State6235,83939,307
63Baylor5194,49338,899
64South Florida5194,32538,865
65New Mexico5191,70738,341
66San Diego State6217,33936,223
67Vanderbilt6216,18736,031
68Air Force5179,90635,981
69Rutgers6199,10133,184
70East Carolina5165,23033,046
71Navy5165,06633,013
72Hawaii7229,14232,735
73Northwestern6195,16332,527
74TCU5156,26831,254
75Washington State5155,54731,109
76Army6185,61130,935
77Boise State7210,78130,112
78Colorado State5146,73729,347
79Wake Forest6173,54428,924
80UCF5142,31128,462
81Southern Miss5139,31227,862
82Marshall6159,06226,510
83Tulsa5114,13222,826
84Cincinnati5112,11322,423
85Northern Illinois5110,88022,176
86Toledo5109,08621,817
87Wyoming5103,25220,650
88UAB5100,50620,101
89UNLV599,57019,914
90Troy597,12519,425
91Western Michigan594,53018,906
92SMU6111,78018,630
93Arkansas State6110,28818,381
94Ohio590,16718,033
95Louisiana-Lafayette587,95717,591
96Duke6104,91517,486
97North Texas582,23216,446
98Louisiana Tech582,08016,416
99Central Michigan579,85515,971
100Miami RedHawks576,20315,241
101Idaho460,70015,175
102Nevada690,45815,076
103Houston690,32415,054
104Bowling Green574,64414,929
105Louisiana-Monroe573,08414,617
106Middle Tennessee572,62914,526
107Tulane685,45014,242
108Ball State451,81012,953
109Temple563,67412,735
110New Mexico State675,33912,557
111San Jose State562,52912,506
112Utah State554,48210,896
113Akron554,46410,893
114Rice550,36210,072
115Buffalo544,5728,914
116Kent State533,2926,658
117Eastern Michigan420,8745,219

Source:[8]

References

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  1. 1 2 "FCS wins vs. FBS teams: All-time victories, upsets, wins vs. ranked teams". NCAA.com. September 7, 2025. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Heisman Trust: 2005 award will be vacated". Chicago Tribune. September 15, 2010. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  3. ↑ Martin, Jill (April 24, 2024). "Reggie Bush getting 2005 Heisman Trophy back, Heisman Trust cites 'enormous changes in college athletics'". CNN. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Vacated due to ineligibility.
  5. ↑ The AP does not vacate titles for ineligible teams or players.
  6. ↑ 2005 College Football Team Offense (Sports Reference)
  7. ↑ 2005 Texas Longhorns Stats (Sports-Reference)
  8. ↑ "2005 NATIONAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE (For All NCAA Men's Varsity Teams)" (PDF).
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