1982 NCAA Division I-A football season

1982 NCAA Division I-A season
Memorial for legendary coach Bear Bryant, who retired after the 1982 season, and died 28 days later.
Total # of teams	114
Preseason AP #1	Pittsburgh Panthers
Number of bowls	16
Bowl games	December 17, 1982 – January 1, 1983
Champions	Penn State Nittany Lions
Heisman	Herschel Walker, Georgia RB
NCAA Division I-A football season «1981 1983»

The 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Paul "Bear" Bryant retire as head coach at Alabama with 323 career victories in 38 seasons.

The Penn State Nittany Lions won their first consensus national championship, closing out an 11-1 season by defeating Georgia and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker in the Sugar Bowl 27-23, and edging out undefeated SMU for the National Championship. It was Joe Paterno's first national championship, after three undefeated non-championship seasons.

UCLA moved from the LA Coliseum to the Rose Bowl and fulfilled a promise made by coach Terry Donahue by closing out their season there as well, beating Michigan in the post-season Rose Bowl game, 24-14.

It is also the year of “The Play”, a near impossible finish to the annual rivalry game between Cal and Stanford.

The Aloha Bowl premiered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

This was the first season the Ivy League competed at the I-AA (FCS) level. Through the 2009 season, the Ivy League has yet to participate in the post-season tournament, despite an automatic bid, citing academic concerns.

Conference standings

1982 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #8 Clemson † 6 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 1 #20 Maryland 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 #18 North Carolina 3 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Duke 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 NC State 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Virginia 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Wake Forest 0 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1982 Big 8 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #3 Nebraska † 7 – 0 – 0     12 – 1 – 0 #16 Oklahoma 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Oklahoma State 3 – 2 – 2     4 – 5 – 2 Kansas State 3 – 3 – 1     6 – 5 – 1 Missouri 2 – 3 – 2     5 – 4 – 2 Iowa State 1 – 5 – 1     4 – 6 – 1 Kansas 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 7 – 2 Colorado 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 8 – 1 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1982 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #NR/15 Michigan † 8 – 1 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 #12/12 Ohio State 7 – 1 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Iowa 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Illinois 6 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Wisconsin 5 – 4 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Indiana 4 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Purdue 3 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Northwestern 2 – 7 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Michigan State 2 – 7 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Minnesota 1 – 8 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll
1982 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Bowling Green † 7 – 2 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Western Michigan 5 – 2 – 2     7 – 2 – 2 Miami 5 – 3 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Central Michigan 5 – 3 – 1     6 – 4 – 1 Ohio 5 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Toledo 5 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Northern Illinois 5 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Ball State 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Eastern Michigan 1 – 7 – 1     1 – 9 – 1 Kent State 0 – 9 – 0     0 – 11 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1982 Missouri Valley Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Tulsa † 6 – 0 – 0     10 – 1 – 0 Wichita State 4 – 1 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 Southern Illinois 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Indiana State 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Drake 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 New Mexico State 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 West Texas State 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Illinois State 0 – 5 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1982 Pacific-10 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #5 UCLA † 5 – 1 – 1     10 – 1 – 1 #7 Washington 6 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 #6 Arizona State 5 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 #15 USC 5 – 2 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 Arizona 4 – 3 – 1     6 – 4 – 1 California 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Stanford 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Washington State 2 – 4 – 1     3 – 7 – 1 Oregon 2 – 6 – 0     2 – 8 – 1 Oregon State 0 – 7 – 1     1 – 9 – 1 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1982 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Fresno State † 6 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 Long Beach State 5 – 1 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 San Jose State 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 Utah State 2 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Pacific 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 UNLV 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Cal State Fullerton 0 – 6 – 0     3 – 9 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1982 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #4/4 Georgia † 6 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 #11/11 LSU 4 – 1 – 1     8 – 3 – 1 #14/14 Auburn 4 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Vanderbilt 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Tennessee 3 – 2 – 1     6 – 5 – 1 Alabama 3 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Florida 3 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Mississippi State 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Ole Miss 0 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Kentucky 0 – 6 – 0     0 – 10 – 1 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches Poll	1982 Division I-A independents football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #1 Penn State   –   –       11 – 1 – 0 #13 Florida State   –   –       9 – 3 – 0 #10 Pittsburgh   –   –       9 – 3 – 0 #19 West Virginia   –   –       9 – 3 – 0 Boston College   –   –       8 – 3 – 1 Southwestern Louisiana   –   –       7 – 3 – 1 East Carolina   –   –       7 – 4 – 0 Miami   –   –       7 – 4 – 0 Southern Miss   –   –       7 – 4 – 0 Virginia Tech   –   –       7 – 4 – 0 Notre Dame   –   –       6 – 4 – 1 Cincinnati   –   –       6 – 5 – 0 Georgia Tech   –   –       6 – 5 – 0 Navy   –   –       6 – 5 – 0 Louisville   –   –       5 – 6 – 0 Rutgers   –   –       5 – 6 – 0 Army   –   –       4 – 7 – 0 South Carolina   –   –       4 – 7 – 0 Temple   –   –       4 – 7 – 0 Tulane   –   –       4 – 7 – 0 William & Mary   –   –       3 – 8 – 0 North Texas   –   –       2 – 9 – 0 Syracuse   –   –       2 – 9 – 0 Memphis   –   –       1 – 10 – 0 Richmond   –   –       0 – 10 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll
1982 Southwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #2 SMU † 7 – 0 – 1     11 – 0 – 1 #17 Texas 7 – 1 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #9 Arkansas 5 – 2 – 1     9 – 2 – 1 Houston 4 – 3 – 1     5 – 5 – 1 Baylor 3 – 4 – 1     4 – 6 – 1 Texas A&M 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Texas Tech 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 TCU 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Rice 0 – 8 – 0     0 – 11 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1982 WAC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T BYU † 7 – 1 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 New Mexico 6 – 1 – 0     10 – 1 – 0 Air Force 4 – 3 – 0     8 – 5 – 0 San Diego State 4 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Hawaii 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Colorado State 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Utah 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Wyoming 2 – 6 – 0     5 – 7 – 0 UTEP 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 10 – 0 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Classic Games

• #8 Penn St 27, #2 Nebraska 24
• Cal 25, Stanford 20 (The Play)
• UCLA 20, USC 19 - USC trailed 20-13 and had 4th & Goal from the one-yard line with 0:01 left in the game. USC scored a touchdown and decided to go for the two-point conversion. USC announcer Tom Kelly remarked, "Typical of this great rivalry--even when it's over, it isn't over!" On the ensuing try for two by USC, UCLA's Karl Morgan sacked USC QB Scott Tinsley. This occurred within minutes of The Play, which was happening 400 miles to the north in Berkeley.
• Auburn 23, Alabama 22
• Tulane 31, #7 LSU 28 (Tulane's first win at Tiger Stadium since 1948)

#1 and #2 Progress

WEEKS	#1	#2	Event
PRE-1	Pittsburgh	Washington	Washington 55, UTEP 0	Sep 11
2	Washington	Pittsburgh	Nebraska 68, New Mexico St. 0	Sep 18
3	Washington	Nebraska	Penn State 27, Nebraska 24	Sep 25
4-5	Washington	Pittsburgh	Alabama 34, Arkansas St 7	Oct 2
6	Washington	Alabama	Tennessee 35, Alabama 28	Oct 16
7	Washington	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh 14, Syracuse 0	Oct 23
8	Pittsburgh	Washington	Stanford 43, Washington 31	Oct 30
9	Pittsburgh	SMU	Notre Dame 31, Pitt 16	Nov 6
10-11	Georgia	SMU	Arkansas 17, SMU 17	Nov 20
12-14	Georgia	Penn State	Penn State 27, Georgia 23	Jan 1

Bowl Games

Main article: NCAA football bowl games, 1982-83

• Sugar Bowl: #2 Penn St. 27, #1 Georgia 23
• Orange Bowl: #3 Nebraska 21, #13 LSU 20
• Cotton Bowl Classic: #4 SMU 7, #6 Pittsburgh 3
• Rose Bowl: #5 UCLA 24, #19 Michigan 14
• Sun Bowl: North Carolina 26, #8 Texas 10
• Gator Bowl: Florida St. 31, #10 West Virginia 12
• Tangerine Bowl: #18 Auburn 33, Boston College 26
• Liberty Bowl: Alabama 21, Illinois 15
• Bluebonnet Bowl: #14 Arkansas 28, Florida 24
• Peach Bowl: Iowa 28, Tennessee 22
• Fiesta Bowl: #11 Arizona State 32, #12 Oklahoma 21
• Independence Bowl: Wisconsin 14, Kansas St. 3
• Hall of Fame Classic: Air Force 36, Vanderbilt 28
• Holiday Bowl: #17 Ohio State 47, Brigham Young 17
• Aloha Bowl: #9 Washington 21, Maryland 20
• California Bowl: Fresno State 29, Bowling Green 28

Final AP Poll

1. Penn St.
2. Southern Methodist
3. Nebraska
4. Georgia
5. UCLA
6. Arizona St.
7. Washington
8. Clemson
9. Arkansas
10. Pittsburgh
11. Louisiana St.
12. Ohio St.
13. Florida St.
14. Auburn
15. Southern California
16. Oklahoma
17. Texas
18. North Carolina
19. West Virginia
20. Maryland

Final Coaches Poll

1. Penn St.
2. Southern Methodist
3. Nebraska
4. Georgia
5. UCLA
6. Arizona St.
7. Washington
8. Arkansas
9. Pittsburgh
10. Florida St.
11. Louisiana St.
12. Ohio St.
13. North Carolina
14. Auburn
15. Michigan
16. Oklahoma
17. Alabama
18. Texas
19. West Virginia
20. Maryland

Other Major Awards

Heisman Memorial Trophy: Herschel Walker, Georgia

Outland Trophy(Interior Lineman): David Rimington, Nebraska

Vince Lombardi/Rotary Award(Lineman or Linebacker): Dave Rimington, Nebraska

Walter Camp Award(back): Herschel Walker, Georgia

Davey O'Brien Award(Quarterback): Todd Blackledge, Penn State

Maxwell Award(college player of the year): Herschel Walker, Georgia