# 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season

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

2006 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings :
| 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Atlantic Division No. 18 Wake Forest x$  6 –2  11 –3   No. 20 Boston College  5 –3  10 –3   Maryland  5 –3  9 –4   Clemson  5 –3  8 –5   Florida State  3 –5  7 –6   NC State  2 –6  3 –9   Coastal Division Georgia Tech x  7 –1  9 –5   No. 19 Virginia Tech  6 –2  10 –3   Virginia  4 –4  5 –7   Miami (FL)  3 –5  7 –6   North Carolina  2 –6  3 –9   Duke  0 –8  0 –12   Championship: Wake Forest 9, Georgia Tech 6 $ – BCS representative as conference championx – Division champion/co-championsRankings from AP Poll | 2006 Big 12 Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  North Division Nebraska x  6 –2  9 –5   Missouri  4 –4  8 –5   Kansas State  4 –4  7 –6   Kansas  3 –5  6 –6   Colorado  2 –6  2 –10   Iowa State  1 –7  4 –8   South Division No. 11 Oklahoma x$  7 –1  11 –3   No. 13 Texas  6 –2  10 –3   Texas A&M  5 –3  9 –4   Texas Tech  4 –4  8 –5   Oklahoma State  3 –5  7 –6   Baylor  3 –5  4 –8   Championship: Oklahoma 21, Nebraska 7 $ – BCS representative as conference championx – Division champion/co-championsRankings from AP Poll | 2006 Big East Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 6 Louisville $  6 –1  12 –1   No. 10 West Virginia  5 –2  11 –2   No. 12 Rutgers  5 –2  11 –2   South Florida  4 –3  9 –4   Cincinnati  4 –3  8 –5   Pittsburgh  2 –5  6 –6   Connecticut  1 –6  4 –8   Syracuse  1 –6  4 –8   $ – BCS representative as conference championRankings from AP Poll |
| 2006 Big Ten Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 2 Ohio State $  8 –0  12 –1   No. 8 Michigan %  7 –1  11 –2   No. 7 Wisconsin  7 –1  12 –1   No. 24 Penn State  5 –3  9 –4   Purdue  5 –3  8 –6   Minnesota  3 –5  6 –7   Indiana  3 –5  5 –7   Northwestern  2 –6  4 –8   Iowa  2 –6  6 –7   Illinois  1 –7  2 –10   Michigan State  1 –7  4 –8   $ – BCS representative as conference champion% – BCS at-large representativeRankings from AP Poll | 2006 Conference USA football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  East Division Southern Miss x  6 –2  9 –5   East Carolina  5 –3  7 –6   Marshall  4 –4  5 –7   UCF  3 –5  4 –8   UAB  2 –6  3 –9   Memphis  1 –7  2 –10   West Division Houston x$  7 –1  10 –4   Rice  6 –2  7 –6   Tulsa  5 –3  8 –5   SMU  4 –4  6 –6   UTEP  3 –5  5 –7   Tulane  2 –6  4 –8   Championship: Houston 34, Southern Miss 20 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsRankings from AP Poll | 2006 Mid-American Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  East Division Ohio x  7 –1  9 –5   Kent State  5 –3  6 –6   Akron  3 –5  5 –7   Bowling Green  3 –5  4 –8   Miami (OH)  2 –6  2 –10   Buffalo  1 –7  2 –10   West Division Central Michigan x$  7 –1  10 –4   Western Michigan  6 –2  8 –5   Northern Illinois  5 –3  7 –6   Ball State  5 –3  5 –7   Toledo  3 –5  5 –7   Eastern Michigan  1 –7  1 –11   Championship: Central Michigan 31, Ohio 10 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-champions |
| 2006 Mountain West Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 16 BYU $  8 –0  11 –2   No. 22 TCU  6 –2  11 –2   Utah  5 –3  8 –5   Wyoming  5 –3  6 –6   New Mexico  4 –4  6 –7   Air Force  3 –5  4 –8   San Diego State  3 –5  3 –9   Colorado State  1 –7  4 –8   UNLV  1 –7  2 –10   $ – Conference championRankings from AP Poll | 2006 Pacific-10 Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 4 USC +  7 –2  11 –2   No. 14 California +  7 –2  10 –3   No. 21 Oregon State  6 –3  10 –4   UCLA  5 –4  7 –6   Oregon  4 –5  7 –6   Arizona State  4 –5  7 –6   Arizona  4 –5  6 –6   Washington State  4 –5  6 –6   Washington  3 –6  5 –7   Stanford  1 –8  1 –11   + – Conference co-championsRankings from AP Poll | 2006 Southeastern Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Eastern Division No. 1 Florida x$#  7 –1  13 –1   No. 25 Tennessee  5 –3  9 –4   Kentucky  4 –4  8 –5   No. 23 Georgia  4 –4  9 –4   South Carolina  3 –5  8 –5   Vanderbilt  1 –7  4 –8   Western Division No. 15 Arkansas x  7 –1  10 –4   No. 9 Auburn  6 –2  11 –2   No. 3 LSU %  6 –2  11 –2   Alabama  2 –6  6 –7   Ole Miss  2 –6  4 –8   Mississippi State  1 –7  3 –9   Championship: Florida 38, Arkansas 28 # – BCS National Champion$ – BCS representative as conference champion% – BCS at-large representativex – Division champion/co-championsAlabama had all victories vacated by the NCAA in 2010. As such, the official record for Alabama is 0–7 (0–6).Rankings from AP Poll |
| 2006 Sun Belt Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Troy +  6 –1  8 –5   Middle Tennessee +  6 –1  7 –6   Arkansas State  4 –3  6 –6   Florida Atlantic  4 –3  5 –7   Louisiana–Lafayette  3 –4  6 –6   Louisiana–Monroe  3 –4  4 –8   North Texas  2 –5  3 –9   FIU  0 –7  0 –12   + – Conference co-champions | 2006 Western Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 5 Boise State $  8 –0  13 –0   Hawaii  7 –1  11 –3   San Jose State  5 –3  9 –4   Nevada  5 –3  8 –5   Fresno State  4 –4  4 –8   Idaho  3 –5  4 –8   New Mexico State  2 –6  4 –8   Louisiana Tech  1 –7  3 –10   Utah State  1 –7  1 –11   $ – Conference champion and BCS representative as top non-AQ school to meet automatic qualification criteriaRankings from AP Poll | 2006 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 17 Notre Dame %   –  10 –3   Navy   –  9 –4   Army   –  3 –9   Temple   –  1 –11   % – BCS at-large representativeRankings from AP Poll |

## Conference champions
### Conference championship games

Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the games were played.
| Conference | Champion | Runner-Up | Score | Site |
| ACC | No. 16 Wake Forest | No. 23 Georgia Tech | 9–6 | Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, Florida |
| Big 12 | No. 8 Oklahoma | No. 19 Nebraska | 21–7 | Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri |
| Conference USA | Houston | Southern Miss | 34–20 | Robertson Stadium Houston |
| MAC | Central Michigan | Ohio | 31–10 | Ford Field Detroit |
| SEC | No. 4 Florida | No. 8 Arkansas | 38–28 | Georgia Dome Atlanta |

### Other conference champions

Rankings are from the Week 15 AP Poll.
| Conference | Winner(s) |
| Big East | No. 6 Louisville |
| Big Ten | No. 1 Ohio State |
| Mountain West | No. 19 BYU |
| Pac-10 | No. 20 California, No. 8 USC* |
| Sun Belt | Middle Tennessee, Troy |
| WAC | No. 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.
| WEEK | No. 1 | No. 2 | EVENT |
| OCT 15 | Ohio State | USC | Oregon State 33, USC 31 |
| OCT 22 | Ohio State | Michigan | Ohio St 44, Minnesota 0 |
| OCT 29 | Ohio State | Michigan | Ohio St 17, Illinois 10 |
| NOV 5 | Ohio State | Michigan | Ohio St 54, Northwestern 10 |
| NOV 12 | Ohio State | Michigan | Ohio St 42, Michigan 39 |
| NOV 19 | Ohio State | Michigan | Ohio St 42, Michigan 39 |
| NOV 26 | Ohio State | USC | UCLA 13, USC 9 |
| DEC 3 | Ohio State | Florida | Florida 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 | Score |
| BCS National Championship Game | January 8 | No. 2 Florida | No. 1 Ohio State | 41 – 14 |
| Sugar Bowl | January 3 | No. 11 Notre Dame | No. 4 LSU | 14 – 41 |
| Orange Bowl | January 2 | No. 5 Louisville | No. 15 Wake Forest | 24 – 13 |
| Fiesta 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 | Score |
| GMAC Bowl | 7th | Ohio | Southern Mississippi | 7 – 28 |
| International Bowl | 6th | Western Michigan | Cincinnati | 24 – 27 |
| Cotton Bowl | 1st | No. 10 Auburn | No. 22 Nebraska | 17 – 14 |
| Capital 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 | Score |
| MPC Computers Bowl | 31st | Miami | Nevada | 21 – 20 |
| Chick-fil-A Bowl | 30th | Georgia | No. 14 Virginia Tech | 31 – 24 |
| Alamo Bowl | 30th | No. 18 Texas | Iowa | 26 – 24 |
| Meineke Car Care Bowl | 30th | Navy | No. 23 Boston College | 24 – 25 |
| Champs Sports Bowl | 29th | Purdue | Maryland | 7 – 24 |
| Insight Bowl | 29th | Texas Tech | Minnesota | 44 – 41 |
| Liberty Bowl | 29th | Houston | South Carolina | 36 – 44 |
| Sun Bowl | 29th | No. 24 Oregon State | Missouri | 39 – 38 |
| Music City Bowl | 29th | Clemson | Kentucky | 20 – 28 |
| Holiday Bowl | 28th | No. 21 Texas A&M | No. 20 California | 10 – 45 |
| Texas Bowl | 28th | No. 16 Rutgers | Kansas State | 37 – 10 |
| Independence Bowl | 28th | Oklahoma State | Alabama | 34 – 31 |
| Emerald Bowl | 27th | Florida State | UCLA | 44 – 27 |
| Motor City Bowl | 26th | Middle Tennessee | Central Michigan | 14 – 31 |
| Hawaii Bowl | 24th | Arizona State | Hawaii | 24 – 41 |
| Armed Forces Bowl | 23rd | Tulsa | Utah | 13 – 25 |
| New Mexico Bowl | 23rd | New Mexico | San José State | 12 – 20 |
| PapaJohns.com Bowl | 23rd | South Florida | East Carolina | 24 – 7 |
| New Orleans Bowl | 22nd | Rice | Troy | 17 – 41 |
| Las Vegas Bowl | 21st | No. 19 BYU | Oregon | 38 – 8 |
| Poinsettia Bowl | 19th | Northern Illinois | No. 25 TCU | 7 – 37 |

### Bowl Challenge Cup standings

| Conference | Wins | Losses | Pct. |
| Big East Conference | 5 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Mountain West Conference | 3 | 1 | .750 |
| Western Athletic Conference | 3 | 1 | .750 |
| Southeastern Conference | 6 | 3 | .667 |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | 4 | 4 | .500 |
| Pacific-10 Conference | 3 | 3 | .500 |
| Sun Belt Conference | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Big 12 Conference | 3 | 5 | .375 |
| Big Ten Conference | 2 | 5 | .286 |
| Mid-American Conference | 1 | 3 | .250 |
| Conference USA | 1 | 4 | .200 |
| Independents | 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 coach |
| Air Force | Fisher DeBerry | | Troy Calhoun |
| Alabama | Mike Shula | Joe Kines | Nick Saban |
| Army | Bobby Ross | | Stan Brock |
| Arizona State | Dirk Koetter | | Dennis Erickson |
| Boston College | Tom O'Brien | Frank Spaziani | Jeff Jagodzinski |
| Central Michigan | Brian Kelly | Jeff Quinn | Butch Jones |
| Cincinnati | Mark Dantonio | | Brian Kelly |
| Florida International | Don Strock | | Mario Cristobal |
| Idaho | Dennis Erickson | | Robb Akey |
| Iowa State | Dan McCarney | | Gene Chizik |
| Louisiana Tech | Jack Bicknell III | | Derek Dooley |
| Louisville | Bobby Petrino | | Steve Kragthorpe |
| Miami (FL) | Larry Coker | | Randy Shannon |
| Michigan State | John L. Smith | | Mark Dantonio |
| Minnesota | Glen Mason | | Tim Brewster |
| North Carolina | John Bunting | | Butch Davis |
| NC State | Chuck Amato | | Tom O'Brien |
| North Texas | Darrell Dickey | | Todd Dodge |
| Rice | Todd Graham | | David Bailiff |
| Stanford | Walt Harris | | Jim Harbaugh |
| Tulane | Chris Scelfo | | Bob Toledo |
| Tulsa | Steve Kragthorpe | | Todd Graham |
| UAB | Watson Brown | | Neil Callaway |