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2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season

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2010 NCAA Division I FBS season
Alabama v. Auburn
Number of teams120
DurationSeptember 2 – December 11
Preseason AP No. 1Alabama
Postseason
DurationDecember 18, 2010 – January 10, 2011
Bowl games35
Heisman TrophyCam Newton (quarterback, Auburn)
Bowl Championship Series
2011 BCS Championship Game
SiteUniversity of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona
Champion(s)Auburn
NCAA Division I FBS football seasons
← 2009
2011 →

The 2010 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 September 2, 2010, and ended on December 11, 2010. The postseason concluded on January 10, 2011, with the BCS National Championship Game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Auburn Tigers defeated the Oregon Ducks to complete an undefeated season and win their sixth national title in school history.

Rule changes

[edit]

Conference realignment

[edit]
Main article: 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment

Multiple conferences announced changes in membership throughout 2010, triggering a major realignment that would eventually affect all 11 FBS leagues. Due to conference notice requirements, these changes would not take effect until 2011 at the earliest.

The first change came on June 10, when the Pacific-10 Conference announced that Colorado had accepted their invitation to join from the Big 12.

The following day, June 11, saw two schools change conferences. The Mountain West Conference announced that Boise State had accepted their invitation to join from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), while Nebraska ended its longstanding affiliation with the Big Eight/Big 12 to join the Big Ten Conference. Both moves would take effect starting with the 2011–2012 academic year.

In the following days, it was widely speculated that the five public schools in the Big 12 South Division (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State) would leave for the Pac-10 to create a 16-team "superconference." However, a last-minute deal announced on June 14 saw Texas remain in the Big 12, prompting the other four schools to follow suit. The Pac-10 then extended an invitation to Utah on June 16, who accepted the next day. With the addition of Colorado and Utah, the Pac-10 announced that the conference would change its name to the Pac-12 upon the two new members joining in July 2011.

On August 18, the Mountain West responded to rumors of the imminent departure of Brigham Young by inviting WAC members Fresno State, Nevada, and Utah State. Utah State declined the offer[citation needed], but Fresno State and Nevada accepted later that day. Following threats of legal action by the WAC, the two schools agreed to stay in the WAC through the 2011–12 season in exchange for a greatly reduced exit fee. BYU officially announced their departure from the Mountain West on September 1. The BYU football team would become an FBS Independent while all other sports would move to the West Coast Conference for the 2011–12 season.[3]

On November 11, the Western Athletic Conference announced that Texas State, then a member of the FCS Southland Conference, and UTSA, which planned to launch a football team in 2011, would upgrade their football programs to FBS level, join the WAC in 2012, and become full FBS members in 2013.

On November 29, TCU announced it would leave the Mountain West to join the Big East in 2012. The Mountain West replaced TCU by adding Hawaiʻi as a football-only member on December 10; Hawaiʻi's other sports would join the Big West Conference.

New and updated stadiums

[edit]

No new stadiums opened in the 2010 season. However, expansion projects at several stadiums were completed in time for the season:

Season notes

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  • USC was not eligible to be ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll due to NCAA sanctions. They were also prohibited from playing in a bowl.[4]
  • On September 11, Virginia Tech, then No. 13 in the AP Poll, was stunned at home by in-state FCS team James Madison. The Dukes' 21–16 victory was only the second by an FCS school over a ranked FBS team, after Appalachian State's historic upset of Michigan in 2007.[5]
  • The University of Texas reached an agreement with ESPN to distribute the Longhorn Network on cable systems in the fall of 2011. The deal is for 10 years and guarantees Texas $12 million annually on top of the television revenue UT would receive as part of the Big 12's current television contracts with ABC/ESPN and Fox. The Longhorn Network would be the first sports-centric network for a university and was slated to broadcast third-tier programming, but UT men's athletic director DeLoss Dodds has asked the Big 12 to be allowed to air one football game, and a smattering of men's basketball games.ESPN, UT Reportedly Reach Deal To Distribute Longhorn Network
  • The CBS telecast of the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn on November 26, 2010, earned a 7.5 rating, the highest for any game of the 2010 college football season through week 13.[6]

Regular season top 10 matchups

[edit]

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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2010 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
No. 17 Florida State x   6 – 2     10 – 4  
No. 23 Maryland   5 – 3     9 – 4  
No. 25 NC State   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Boston College   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Clemson   4 – 4     6 – 7  
Wake Forest   1 – 7     3 – 9  
Coastal Division
No. 16 Virginia Tech x$   8 – 0     11 – 3  
Miami (FL)   5 – 3     7 – 6  
Georgia Tech   4 – 4     6 – 7  
North Carolina   4 – 4     8 – 5  
Duke   1 – 7     3 – 9  
Virginia   1 – 7     4 – 8  
Championship: Virginia Tech 44, Florida State 33
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2010 Big East Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Connecticut $+   5 – 2     8 – 5  
West Virginia +   5 – 2     9 – 4  
Pittsburgh +   5 – 2     8 – 5  
Syracuse   4 – 3     8 – 5  
South Florida   3 – 4     8 – 5  
Louisville   3 – 4     7 – 6  
Cincinnati   2 – 5     4 – 8  
Rutgers   1 – 6     4 – 8  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2010 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 14 Michigan State +   7 – 1     11 – 2  
No. 7 Wisconsin $+   7 – 1     11 – 2  
Iowa   4 – 4     8 – 5  
Illinois   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Penn State   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Michigan   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Northwestern   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Purdue   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Minnesota   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Indiana   1 – 7     5 – 7  
No. 5 Ohio State† %   0 – 1     0 – 1  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • † – Ohio State (12–1, 7–1) self-vacated all of their wins[7]
Rankings from AP Poll[8][9]
2010 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
No. 20 Nebraska xy   6 – 2     10 – 4  
No. 18 Missouri x   6 – 2     10 – 3  
Kansas State   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Iowa State   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Colorado   2 – 6     5 – 7  
Kansas   1 – 7     3 – 9  
South Division
No. 6 Oklahoma xy$   6 – 2     12 – 2  
No. 13 Oklahoma State x   6 – 2     11 – 2  
No. 19 Texas A&M x   6 – 2     9 – 4  
Baylor   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Texas Tech   3 – 5     8 – 5  
Texas   2 – 6     5 – 7  
Championship: Oklahoma 23, Nebraska 20
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
2010 Conference USA football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 21 UCF x$   7 – 1     11 – 3  
East Carolina   5 – 3     6 – 7  
Southern Miss   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Marshall   4 – 4     5 – 7  
UAB   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Memphis   0 – 8     1 – 11  
West Division
SMU xy   6 – 2     7 – 7  
No. 24 Tulsa x   6 – 2     10 – 3  
Houston   4 – 4     5 – 7  
UTEP   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Rice   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Tulane   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Championship: UCF 17, SMU 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
As of January 11, 2011
Rankings from AP Poll
2010 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Miami (OH) x$   7 – 1     10 – 4  
Ohio   6 – 2     8 – 5  
Temple   5 – 3     8 – 4  
Kent State   4 – 4     5 – 7  
Bowling Green   1 – 7     2 – 10  
Buffalo   1 – 7     2 – 10  
Akron   1 – 7     1 – 11  
West Division
Northern Illinois x   8 – 0     11 – 3  
Toledo   7 – 1     8 – 5  
Western Michigan   5 – 3     6 – 6  
Ball State   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Central Michigan   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Eastern Michigan   2 – 6     2 – 10  
Championship: Miami 26, Northern Illinois 21
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
2010 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 TCU $   8 – 0     13 – 0  
Utah   7 – 1     10 – 3  
Air Force   5 – 3     9 – 4  
San Diego State   5 – 3     9 – 4  
BYU   5 – 3     7 – 6  
Colorado State   2 – 6     3 – 9  
UNLV   2 – 6     2 – 11  
Wyoming   1 – 7     3 – 9  
New Mexico   1 – 7     1 – 11  
  • $ – Conference champion and BCS representative as top non-AQ school to meet automatic qualification criteria
As of January 11, 2011
Rankings from AP Poll
2010 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 3 Oregon $   9 – 0     12 – 1  
No. 4 Stanford %   8 – 1     12 – 1  
USC †   5 – 4     8 – 5  
Washington   5 – 4     7 – 6  
Arizona   4 – 5     7 – 6  
Arizona State   4 – 5     6 – 6  
Oregon State   4 – 5     5 – 7  
California   3 – 6     5 – 7  
UCLA   2 – 7     4 – 8  
Washington State   1 – 8     2 – 10  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • † – USC ineligible for championship and post-season due to NCAA sanctions
Rankings from AP Poll
2010 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Eastern Division
No. 22 South Carolina x   5 – 3     9 – 5  
Florida   4 – 4     8 – 5  
Georgia   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Tennessee   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Kentucky   2 – 6     6 – 7  
Vanderbilt   1 – 7     2 – 10  
Western Division
No. 1 Auburn x$#   8 – 0     14 – 0  
No. 12 Arkansas %   6 – 2     10 – 3  
No. 8 LSU   6 – 2     11 – 2  
No. 10 Alabama   5 – 3     10 – 3  
No. 15 Mississippi State   4 – 4     9 – 4  
Ole Miss*   1 – 7     4 – 8  
Championship: Auburn 56, South Carolina 17
  • # – BCS National Champion
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * Ole Miss vacated all wins due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll
2010 Sun Belt Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Troy +   6 – 2     8 – 5  
FIU +   6 – 2     7 – 6  
Middle Tennessee   5 – 3     6 – 7  
Louisiana–Monroe   4 – 4     5 – 7  
Arkansas State   4 – 4     4 – 8  
Florida Atlantic   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Louisiana–Lafayette   3 – 5     3 – 9  
North Texas   3 – 5     3 – 9  
Western Kentucky   2 – 6     2 – 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
2010 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 11 Nevada +   7 – 1     13 – 1  
No. 9 Boise State +   7 – 1     12 – 1  
Hawaii +   7 – 1     10 – 4  
Fresno State   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Louisiana Tech   4 – 4     5 – 7  
Idaho   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Utah State   2 – 6     4 – 8  
New Mexico State   1 – 7     2 – 10  
San Jose State   0 – 8     1 – 12  
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2010 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Navy     –       9 – 4  
Notre Dame     –       8 – 5  
Army     –       7 – 6  
Rankings from AP Poll

Conference summaries

[edit]

Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the conference championship games were played.

Conference championship games

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Conference Champion Runner-up Score Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year
ACC No. 12 Virginia Tech No. 20 Florida State 44–33 Tyrod Taylor, QB, Virginia Tech[10] Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson[10] Ralph Friedgen, Maryland[11]
Big 12 No. 10 Oklahoma No. 13 Nebraska 23–20 Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State[12] Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska[12] Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State[12]
C-USA UCF SMU 17–7 Dwayne Harris, WR/KR, East Carolina (MVP)[13]
G.J. Kinne, QB, Tulsa[13] 		Bruce Miller, DE, UCF[13] George O'Leary, UCF[14]
MAC Miami (OH) No. 24 Northern Illinois 26–21 Chad Spann, RB, Northern Illinois[15] Roosevelt Nix, DT, Kent State[15] Mike Haywood, Miami[15]
SEC No. 2 Auburn No. 18 South Carolina 56–17 Cam Newton, QB, Auburn[16] Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU[16] Steve Spurrier, South Carolina[16]

Other conference champions

[edit]
Conference Champion Record Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year
Big East Connecticut*
Pittsburgh

#23 West Virginia

8–4

7–5 9–3

Jordan Todman, RB, Connecticut[17] Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh[17] Randy Edsall, Connecticut and Charlie Strong, Louisville[17]
Big Ten No. 7 Michigan State
No. 6 Ohio State (vacated)
No. 4 Wisconsin* 		11–1

11–1 11–1

Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan[18] Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue[18] Mark Dantonio, Michigan State[18]
MWC No. 3 TCU 12–0 Andy Dalton, QB, TCU[19] Tank Carder, LB, TCU[19] Brady Hoke, San Diego State[19]
Pac-10 No. 1 Oregon 12–0 Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford[20] Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State[20] Chip Kelly, Oregon[20]
Sun Belt FIU
Troy 		6–6

7–5

T. Y. Hilton, WR/KR, FIU (Player of the Year)[21]
Bobby Rainey, RB, Western Kentucky (Offensive POY)[21] 		Jamari Lattimore, DE, Middle Tennessee[21] Mario Cristobal, FIU[21]
WAC No. 9 Boise State

#25 Hawaiʻi

#14 Nevada

11–1

10–3

12–1

Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State and Colin Kaepernick, QB, Nevada[22] Chris Carter, DE, Fresno State[22] Chris Ault, Nevada[22]

* Received conference's automatic BCS bowl bid.

In 2011, Ohio State vacated all twelve wins and their share of the Big Ten title from the 2010 season after it was revealed that several players had committed NCAA violations by receiving improper benefits from a local business owner.[23]

Final BCS rankings

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BCS School Record BCS Bowl Game
1 Auburn 13–0 BCS National Championship
2 Oregon 12–0 BCS National Championship
3 TCU 12–0 Rose
4 Stanford 11–1 Orange
5 Wisconsin 11–1 Rose
6 Ohio State 11–1 Sugar
7 Oklahoma 11–2 Fiesta
8 Arkansas 10–2 Sugar
9 Michigan State 11–1
10 Boise State 11–1
11 LSU 10–2
12 Missouri 10–2
13 Virginia Tech 11–2 Orange
14 Oklahoma State 10–2
15 Nevada 12–1
16 Alabama 9–3
17 Texas A&M 9–3
18 Nebraska 10–3
19 Utah 10–2
20 South Carolina 9–4
21 Mississippi State 8–4
22 West Virginia 9–3
23 Florida State 9–4
24 Hawaiʻi 10–3
25 UCF 10–3

FCS team wins over FBS teams

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Italics denotes FCS teams.

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Ref.
September 4 No. 17 (FCS) Jacksonville State Ole Miss Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, Mississippi  49–48 2OT  55,768 [24]
September 4 North Dakota State Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas  6–3   48,417 [24]
September 11 No. 12 (FCS) James Madison No. 13 (FBS) Virginia Tech Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, Virginia  21–16   66,233 [24]
September 11 Gardner–Webb Akron InfoCision Stadium • Akron, Ohio  38–37 OT  10,046 [24]
September 11 No. 18 (FCS) Liberty Ball State Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, Indiana  27–23   9,110 [24]
September 11 South Dakota Minnesota TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, Minnesota  41–38   49,554 [24]
October 2 UC Davis San José State Spartan Stadium • San Jose, California  14–13   17,844 [24]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game.

Bowl games

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Main article: 2010–11 NCAA football bowl games
Non-BCS Bowls
Date Game Site Television Participants and Results
Dec. 18 New Mexico Bowl University Stadium
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM
2:00 pm 		ESPN Brigham Young (6–6) 52
UTEP (6–6) 24
uDrove Humanitarian Bowl Bronco Stadium
Boise State University
Boise, ID
5:30 pm 		Northern Illinois (10–3) 40
Fresno State (8–4) 17
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, LA
9:00 pm 		Troy (7–5) 48
Ohio (8–4) 21
Dec. 21 Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl Tropicana Field
St. Petersburg, FL
8:00 pm 		Southern Mississippi (8–4) 28
Louisville (6–6) 31
Dec. 22 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas Sam Boyd Stadium
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Whitney, NV
8:00 pm 		No. 19 Utah (10–2) 3
No. 10 Boise State (11–1) 26
Dec. 23 SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, CA
8:00 pm 		Navy (9–3) 14
San Diego State (8–4) 35
Dec. 24 Sheraton Hawaiʻi Bowl Aloha Stadium
Honolulu, HI
8:00 pm 		No. 24 Hawaiʻi (10–3) 35
Tulsa (9–3) 62
Dec. 26 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Ford Field
Detroit, MI
8:30 pm 		Florida International (6–6) 34
Toledo (8–4) 32
Dec. 27 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl Independence Stadium
Shreveport, LA
5:00 pm 		ESPN2 Air Force (8–4) 14
Georgia Tech (6–6) 7
Dec. 28 Champs Sports Bowl Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL
6:30 pm 		ESPN No. 22 West Virginia (9–3) 7
North Carolina State (9–3) 23
Insight Bowl Sun Devil Stadium
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ
10:00 pm 		No. 12 Missouri (10–2) 24
Iowa (7–5) 27
Dec. 29 Military Bowl Pres. By Northrop Grumman RFK Stadium
Washington D.C.
2:30 pm 		East Carolina (6–6) 20
Maryland (8–4) 51
Texas Bowl Reliant Stadium
Houston, TX
6:00 pm 		Illinois (6–6) 38
Baylor (7–5) 14
Valero Alamo Bowl Alamodome
San Antonio, TX
9:15 pm 		No. 14 Oklahoma State (10–2) 36
Arizona (7–5) 10
Dec. 30 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Southern Methodist University
University Park, TX
12:00 pm 		Army (6–6) 16
Southern Methodist (7–6) 14
New Era Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium
The Bronx, New York, NY
3:20 pm 		Kansas State (7–5) 34
Syracuse (7–5) 36
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl LP Field
Nashville, TN
6:40 pm 		North Carolina (7–5) 30
Tennessee (6–6) 27 (2OT)
Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, CA
10:00 pm 		No. 18 Nebraska (10–3) 7
Washington (6–6) 19
Dec. 31 Meineke Car Care Bowl Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte, NC
12:00 pm 		South Florida (7–5) 31
Clemson (6–6) 26
Hyundai Sun Bowl Sun Bowl Stadium
University of Texas El Paso
El Paso, TX
2:00 pm 		CBS Notre Dame (7–5) 33
Miami (FL) (7–5) 17
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Liberty Bowl
Memphis, TN
3:30 pm 		ESPN Georgia (6–6) 6
No. 25 Central Florida (10–3) 10
Chick-fil-A Bowl Georgia Dome
Atlanta, GA
7:30 pm 		No. 20 South Carolina (9–4) 17
No. 23 Florida State (9–4) 26
Jan. 1 TicketCity Bowl Cotton Bowl
Fair Park, Dallas, TX
12:00 pm 		ESPNU Northwestern (7–5) 38
Texas Tech (7–5) 45
Outback Bowl Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, FL
1:00 pm 		ABC Florida (8–4) 37
Penn State (7–5) 24
Capital One Bowl Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL
1:00 pm 		ESPN No. 16 Alabama (9–3) 49
No. 9 Michigan State (11–1) 7
Progressive Gator Bowl EverBank Field
Jacksonville, FL
1:30 pm 		ESPN2 No. 21 Mississippi State (8–4) 52
Michigan (7–5) 14
Jan. 6 GoDaddy.com Bowl Ladd–Peebles Stadium
Mobile, AL
8:00 pm 		ESPN Middle Tennessee (6–6) 21
Miami (OH) (9–4) 35
Jan. 7 AT&T Cotton Bowl Cowboys Stadium
Arlington, TX
8:00 pm 		Fox No. 11 LSU (10–2) 41
No. 17 Texas A&M (9–3) 24
Jan. 8 BBVA Compass Bowl Legion Field
Birmingham, AL
12:00 pm 		ESPN Pittsburgh (7–5) 27
Kentucky (6–6) 10
Jan. 9 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl AT&T Park
San Francisco, CA
9:00 pm 		No. 15 Nevada (12–1) 20
Boston College (7–5) 13
Bowl Championship Series
Date Game Site Television Participants and Results
Jan. 1 Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio Rose Bowl
Pasadena, CA
4:30 pm 		ESPN No. 5 Wisconsin (11–1) 19
No. 3 TCU (12–0) 21
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl University of Phoenix Stadium
Glendale, AZ
8:30 pm 		Connecticut (8–4) 20
No. 7 Oklahoma (11–2) 48
Jan. 3 Discover Orange Bowl Sun Life Stadium
Miami Gardens, FL
8:30 pm 		No. 4 Stanford (11–1) 40
No. 13 Virginia Tech (11–2) 12
Jan. 4 Allstate Sugar Bowl Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, LA
8:30 pm 		No. 6 Ohio State (11–1) 31
No. 8 Arkansas (10–2) 26
Jan. 10 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game University of Phoenix Stadium
Glendale, AZ
8:30 pm 		No. 2 Oregon (12–0) 19
No. 1 Auburn (13–0) 22

Awards and honors

[edit]

Heisman Trophy voting

[edit]

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Cam Newton Auburn QB 729 24 28 2,263
Andrew Luck Stanford QB 78 309 227 1,079
LaMichael James Oregon RB 22 313 224 916
Kellen Moore Boise State QB 40 165 185 635
Justin Blackmon Oklahoma State WR 1 23 56 105
Denard Robinson Michigan QB 6 16 34 84
Ryan Mallett Arkansas QB 0 11 19 41
Colin Kaepernick Nevada QB 0 7 17 31
Andy Dalton TCU QB 4 3 12 30
Owen Marecic Stanford FB/LB 3 1 5 16

Source: [25]

Other award winners

[edit]

Overall

[edit]

Niche

Offense

[edit]

Quarterback

Running Back

Wide Receiver

Tight End

Lineman

Gabe Carimi

Defense

[edit]

Defensive Line

Linebacker

Defensive Back

Special teams

[edit]

Coaches

[edit]

Assistant

All-Americans

[edit]
Main article: 2010 College Football All-America Team

Records

[edit]
  • Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno, in his 45th season, has achieved a feat that no coach in major college football history has ever reached: the 400-win mark. Paterno already held records for the most wins in major college football history as well as the most bowl wins (24) in college football history.
  • Kyle Brotzman of Boise State set a new Division I record for most career points by a kicker. His 439 career points surpassed the former record of 433 by Art Carmody of Louisville.
  • Miami (Ohio) became the first team in FBS history to win 10 or more games after losing 10 or more games in the previous season.

Coaching changes

[edit]

Preseason and in-season

[edit]

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2010. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2010, see 2009 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

Team Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement
Vanderbilt Bobby Johnson July 14 Retired Robbie Caldwell[26]
Minnesota Tim Brewster October 17 Fired after 1–6 start Jeff Horton (interim)[27]
North Texas Todd Dodge October 20 Fired after 1–6 start Mike Canales (interim)[28]
Colorado Dan Hawkins November 9 Fired after 3–6 start Brian Cabral (interim)[29]

End of season

[edit]

Note:

  • All dates in November and December are in 2010; all January dates are in 2011.
  • The "resigned/fired" listing indicates that a coach technically resigned, but at least one media report has stated that he was effectively fired.
Team Outgoing coach Date of departure Reason Replacement Date of replacement
Kent State Doug Martin November 21 (effective November 27)[30] Resigned Darrell Hazell December 20
Ball State Stan Parrish November 22[31] Fired Pete Lembo[32] December 20
Vanderbilt Robbie Caldwell November 27[33] Resigned James Franklin[34] December 17
Miami (FL) Randy Shannon November 27[35] Fired Al Golden[36] December 12
Indiana Bill Lynch November 28[37] Fired Kevin Wilson[38] December 7
Arkansas State Steve Roberts November 29[39] Resigned/fired[40] Hugh Freeze[40] December 2
Louisiana-Lafayette Rickey Bustle November 29[41] Fired Mark Hudspeth[42] December 13
North Texas Mike Canales (interim) November 30[43] Permanent replacement Dan McCarney[43] November 30
Minnesota Jeff Horton (interim) December 5[44] Permanent replacement Jerry Kill[44] December 5
Northern Illinois Jerry Kill December 5[44] Hired by Minnesota[44] Tom Matukewicz (interim)[45] December 9
Dave Doeren (permanent)[46] December 13 (effective January 2)
Colorado Brian Cabral (interim) December 6[47] Permanent replacement Jon Embree December 6
Florida Urban Meyer December 8 (effective January 2)[48] Resigned Will Muschamp[49] December 11 (effective January 2)
Pittsburgh Dave Wannstedt December 7[50] Resigned/fired Mike Haywood[51] December 16 (fired on Jan. 1)
Temple Al Golden December 12 Hired by Miami (FL)[36] Steve Addazio[52] December 22 (effective date TBA)
Miami (OH) Mike Haywood December 16 Hired by Pittsburgh[51] Lance Guidry (interim)[53] December 16
Don Treadwell (permanent)[54] December 31 (effective January 10)
Maryland Ralph Friedgen December 20 Fired Randy Edsall[55] January 2
Pittsburgh Mike Haywood January 1 Fired[56] Phil Bennett (interim) January 3
Todd Graham (permanent)[57] January 10
Connecticut Randy Edsall January 2 Hired by Maryland[55] Paul Pasqualoni[58] January 13
Michigan Rich Rodriguez January 5 Fired[59] Brady Hoke[60] January 11
Stanford Jim Harbaugh January 7 Hired by San Francisco 49ers[61] David Shaw[62] January 13
Tulsa Todd Graham January 10 Hired by Pittsburgh[57] Bill Blankenship[63] January 14
San Diego State Brady Hoke January 11 Hired by Michigan[60] Rocky Long[64] January 12

TV ratings

[edit]

Ten most watched regular season games in 2010

[edit]
  • 1. November 26 - Iron Bowl/The Cam-Back - CBS - 2 Auburn vs 9 Alabama - 12.5 Million viewers
  • 2. December 4 - 2010 SEC Championship - CBS - 1 Auburn vs 19 South Carolina - 10.1 Million viewers
  • 3. September 6 - ESPN - 3 Boise State vs. 5 Virginia Tech - 9.9 Million viewers
  • 4. December 4 - 2010 Big 12 Championship - ESPN on ABC - 13 Nebraska vs 10 Oklahoma - 8.98 Million viewers
  • 5. October 2 - CBS - 7 Florida vs 1 Alabama - 8.6 Million viewers
  • 6. November 13 - Deep South's Oldest Rivalry - CBS - Georgia vs 2 Auburn - 8.3 Million viewers
  • 7. September 25 - CBS - 1 Alabama vs 10 Arkansas - 8.2 Million viewers
  • 8. November 26 - ESPN - 21 Arizona vs 1 Oregon - 7.8 Million viewers
  • 9. October 9 - CBS - 1 Alabama vs 19 South Carolina - 7.7 Million viewers
  • 10. September 11 - ESPN - 18 Penn State vs 1 Alabama -7.2 Million viewers

7 of 10 games involved with SEC teams - All seven involved a team from the State of Alabama

Attendances

[edit]
# Team Games Total Average
1 Michigan 7 782,776 111,825
2 Ohio State 8 842,221 105,278
3 Penn State 7 729,636 104,234
4 Alabama 7 712,747 101,821
5 Texas 7 704,580 100,654
6 Tennessee 7 698,465 99,781
7 Georgia 6 556,476 92,746
8 LSU 7 649,023 92,718
9 Florida 7 633,579 90,511
10 Auburn 8 688,692 86,087
11 Nebraska 7 599,648 85,664
12 Oklahoma 6 508,426 84,738
13 Texas A&M 7 577,338 82,477
14 Notre Dame 7 565,565 80,795
15 Southern California 6 479,444 79,907
16 Wisconsin 7 559,035 79,862
17 Clemson 7 542,280 77,469
18 South Carolina 7 536,675 76,668
19 Michigan State 7 514,894 73,556
20 Florida State 7 498,890 71,270
21 Iowa 7 494,095 70,585
22 Arkansas 6 413,591 68,932
23 Washington 6 397,581 66,264
24 Virginia Tech 7 463,631 66,233
25 Kentucky 7 462,488 66,070
26 Missouri 6 369,240 61,540
27 BYU 6 368,283 61,381
28 UCLA 6 362,253 60,376
29 Oregon 6 356,387 59,398
30 North Carolina 6 349,500 58,250
31 California 7 405,112 57,873
32 Texas Tech 6 342,647 57,108
33 North Carolina State 6 341,261 56,877
34 West Virginia 7 394,274 56,325
35 Mississippi 7 391,289 55,898
36 Arizona 7 387,857 55,408
37 Mississippi State 7 384,995 54,999
38 Illinois 6 325,126 54,188
39 Miami Hurricanes 6 315,452 52,575
40 Pittsburgh 6 312,991 52,165
41 Oklahoma State 7 355,684 50,812
42 Louisville 7 354,537 50,648
43 Kansas State 6 298,897 49,816
44 East Carolina 6 297,987 49,665
45 Minnesota 7 346,593 49,513
46 Purdue 7 336,443 48,063
47 Arizona State 6 287,657 47,943
48 Colorado 6 281,182 46,864
49 Georgia Tech 6 278,696 46,449
50 Rutgers 7 323,368 46,195
51 Oregon State 6 273,054 45,509
52 Utah 6 272,754 45,459
53 Virginia 7 318,212 45,459
54 Iowa State 7 317,767 45,395
55 Kansas 7 313,955 44,851
56 TCU 6 254,797 42,466
57 Indiana 6 251,718 41,953
58 South Florida 7 285,946 40,849
59 Air Force 6 240,560 40,093
60 Syracuse 6 240,385 40,064
61 Baylor 6 240,259 40,043
62 Stanford 6 240,254 40,042
63 UCF 7 277,301 39,614
64 Maryland 6 235,007 39,168
65 Boston College 7 268,585 38,369
66 Connecticut 6 229,488 38,248
67 Hawaii 8 298,486 37,311
68 Northwestern 6 218,696 36,449
69 Cincinnati 7 245,472 35,067
70 San Diego State 7 238,930 34,133
71 Fresno State 7 238,841 34,120
72 Boise State 6 199,611 33,269
73 Vanderbilt 7 232,885 33,269
74 Navy 5 163,266 32,653
75 Houston 6 190,366 31,728
76 Army 5 158,334 31,667
77 Wake Forest 6 182,843 30,474
78 Southern Miss 6 176,400 29,400
79 UTEP 6 176,097 29,350
80 Duke 7 201,248 28,750
81 Marshall 6 162,276 27,046
82 Rice 7 178,994 25,571
83 Washington State 6 147,194 24,532
84 Memphis 6 143,509 23,918
85 SMU 7 164,602 23,515
86 Tulane 7 162,543 23,220
87 Colorado State 5 111,998 22,400
88 Louisiana-Monroe 6 125,603 20,934
89 New Mexico 6 125,330 20,888
90 Wyoming 6 124,747 20,791
91 UNLV 6 123,672 20,612
92 Temple 6 123,088 20,515
93 Central Michigan 5 102,238 20,448
94 Tulsa 6 122,272 20,379
95 FIU 6 118,848 19,808
96 Nevada 7 137,032 19,576
97 Louisiana Tech 6 116,908 19,485
98 Toledo 6 116,000 19,333
99 Ohio 6 114,277 19,046
100 Middle Tennessee 6 114,143 19,024
101 Troy 5 94,736 18,947
102 UAB 6 110,162 18,360
103 Utah State 6 107,265 17,878
104 Northern Illinois 5 88,801 17,760
105 North Texas 6 106,306 17,718
106 Arkansas State 5 86,969 17,394
107 Louisiana-Lafayette 5 86,915 17,383
108 Kent State 6 96,911 16,152
109 New Mexico State 6 95,433 15,906
110 Eastern Michigan 5 79,426 15,885
111 Miami RedHawks 5 77,593 15,519
112 Western Kentucky 5 72,884 14,577
113 San Jose State 6 86,842 14,474
114 Western Michigan 6 85,528 14,255
115 FAU 4 56,098 14,025
116 Bowling Green 5 66,532 13,306
117 Buffalo 6 77,883 12,981
118 Idaho 6 76,379 12,730
119 Akron 6 61,108 10,185
120 Ball State 6 53,683 8,947

Sources:[65][66]

Notes and references

[edit]
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  2. ^ Campbell, Steve (February 12, 2010). "NCAA rules committee says no to Case Keenum's eye-black messages". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  3. ^ "BYU to join WCC, go independent in football". ESPN.com. August 31, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  4. ^ "USC won't be ranked in coaches' poll". ESPN.com. July 8, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  5. ^ "Va. Tech suffers 2nd loss in 6 days as James Madison pulls off upset". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 11, 2010. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  6. ^ Staff Reporters (November 27, 2010). "Auburn-Alabama pulls biggest college football TV rating of year". USA Today. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  7. ^ "Buckeyes vacate wins from last football season". ESPN.com. July 8, 2011. The measures taken by the school included vacating all the Buckeyes' wins from last season, a year in which Ohio State captured a record-tying sixth straight Big Ten title and won an unprecedented seventh straight game over Michigan.
  8. ^ "Big Ten Conference Standings - 2010". ESPN. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  9. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Rankings - Week 16". ESPN. December 7, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor Named ACC Player of the Year" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. 1 December 2010. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
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  13. ^ a b c "Conference USA Announces Football Players of the Year" (Press release). Conference USA. December 8, 2010. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
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  40. ^ a b Feldman, Bruce (December 2, 2010). "Hugh Freeze hired at Arkansas St". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  41. ^ "La.-Lafayette fires Rickey Bustle". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 29, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  42. ^ "Cajuns to Introduce Hudspeth on Monday". University of Louisiana-Lafayette Athletics. December 12, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
  43. ^ a b MacMahon, Tim (November 30, 2010). "Dan McCarney starts at North Texas". ESPNDallas.com. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  44. ^ a b c d "Minnesota hires Jerry Kill as coach". ESPN.com. December 5, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  45. ^ "Tom Matukewicz named NIU football interim head coach". "NIU Today". December 9, 2010. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
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  50. ^ Zeise, Paul (December 10, 2010). "Bennett: Wannstedt to coach Pitt in bowl game". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  51. ^ a b Schad, Joe (December 15, 2010). "Source: Pitt hires Mike Haywood". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
  52. ^ "Reports: Steve Addazio new Owls coach". ESPN.com. December 22, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
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  55. ^ a b "Randy Edsall to coach Maryland". ESPN.com. January 3, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  56. ^ "Pitt fires new coach Mike Haywood". ESPN.com. January 2, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
  57. ^ a b "Todd Graham to take over Pittsburgh". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 10, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  58. ^ "Paul Pasqualoni Named UConn Head Football Coach" (Press release). University of Connecticut Athletics. January 13, 2011. Archived from the original on January 16, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  59. ^ "Rich Rodriguez fired by Michigan". ESPN.com. January 5, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  60. ^ a b "Brady Hoke named Michigan coach". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 11, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
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  63. ^ "Bill Blankenship Named Head Coach". ESPN.com (Press release). January 14, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  64. ^ "San Diego State promotes Rocky Long". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 12, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  65. ^ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/Attendance/2010.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  66. ^ "NCAA Football Attendance – kenn.com blog". kenn.com.
[edit]
  • Media related to 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season at Wikimedia Commons
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