2011 college football season The 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season , play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) level , began on Thursday , September 1 , 2011 . The season progressed through the regular season and bowl season , and , not counting all - star games that followed the bowl games , concluded with the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) National Championship Game on January 9 , 2012 at the Mercedes - Benz Superdome in New Orleans in which the # 2 Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the # 1 LSU Tigers 21 - 0 . For the first time since 2007 ( and for only the third time in the BCS era ) , no major team finished the season with an undefeated record . Rule changes . Several rule changes took effect this season : In addition , the NCAA recommends that conferences without a pregame warm - up policy should use a ten - yard , no - player zone between the 45 - yard lines beginning 60 minutes before kickoff . Conference realignment . During the first half of 2010 , and especially starting in May of that year , several conferences were widely speculated to be considering expansion , and a number of schools were believed to be seriously considering conference moves . Due to conference notice requirements , no changes announced in 2010 would take effect until at least July 2011 . The first change to be officially announced came on June 10 , when the Pacific - 10 Conference announced that Colorado had accepted that conference ' s invitation to join . At the time , it was not yet known whether Colorado would officially join the Pac - 10 in 2011 or 2012 ; in September 2010 , it was confirmed for 2011 . The following day saw two schools change conferences : 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 as a unit for the Pac - 10 . A & M was also reported to be flirting with the SEC . However , a last - minute deal announced on June 14 saw Texas cast its lot with a truncated Big 12 , with the remaining schools also pledging their support for the conference . Rebuffed by the Big 12 schools , the Pac - 10 shifted its focus to the Mountain West , extending an invitation to Utah on June 16 to join effective in 2011 . Utah accepted the next day . The conference name changed to Pacific - 12 once Colorado and Utah officially joined on July 1 , 2011 . Two months later , reports surfaced indicating that Brigham Young would leave the Mountain West Conference to become an independent in football , with its other sports rejoining the school ' s former conference , the WAC . Having already lost Utah to the Pac - 10 , the Mountain West decided to be proactive and in response the MWC invited WAC members Fresno State , Nevada , and Utah State on August 18 in an attempt to stop BYU ' s plan to go independent . Utah State declined the MWC offer , but the other two accepted later that day and attempted to join Boise by moving to their new home in the MWC the following year ( Nevada will also greatly enhance its rivalry with the UNLV Rebels by joining the MWC ) . However after threats of legal action by the WAC , the two schools agreed to stay in the WAC through the 2011 – 12 season in exchange for greatly reduced exit fees . Just as things appeared to be stabilizing , BYU surprised everyone on August 31 by announcing that they would join the West Coast Conference and play as a FBS independent football team , starting in the 2011 – 12 season . Realignment activity then shifted to Division I FCS for several weeks , although rumors continued to swirl regarding potential movement in several conferences . The Big East Conference also announced that it had extended an invitation to Villanova , a founding non - football member , to upgrade its football program to FBS level and join in that sport . On November 11 , the WAC announced that Texas State , currently a member of the FCS Southland Conference , and UTSA , which planned to launch an FCS program in that conference 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 , the next domino fell when TCU announced it would join the Big East in 2012 . However , less than a year later on October 10 , 2011 , TCU announced it would not join the Big East and would instead join the Big 12 in 2012 . The MWC replaced TCU for football only with Hawaii on December 10 ; Hawaii ' s other sports would join the Big West Conference . On April 20 , 2011 , UMass announced that it would upgrade to FBS football and become a football - only member of the Mid - American Conference in 2012 , with full FBS membership and eligibility for the conference championship coming in 2013 . Realignment continued to be a major story in the 2011 football season . On September 18 , the ACC announced that Big East mainstays Pitt and Syracuse were officially accepted as members . At the time , the schools ' departure date was uncertain , as Big East bylaws require a 27 - month notice period for departing members . The earliest that Pitt and Syracuse could join the ACC , barring other developments , was July 2014 . ( TCU was not held to the notice period because it had never formally joined the Big East . ) On September 26 , the Southeastern Conference announced that Texas A & M would become the league ' s 13th member in July 2012 . On October 14 , it was announced that the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA would merge their football operations to form a two - division , 22 - team conference . The conferences were hoping that the merger would give them an automatic qualifier to a BCS bowl . The next move came on October 28 , when the Big 12 formally accepted another Big East school , West Virginia . This paved the way for Missouri ' s official acceptance by the SEC on November 6 , a move that had been in the works for several weeks . WVU ' s move led to a legal battle between the school and the Big East , with WVU filing suit to overturn the notice period , and the conference suing in another court to enforce it . In February 2012 , the Big East and WVU reached a settlement that allowed WVU to join the Big 12 that July . Several months after the WVU settlement , both Syracuse and Pitt reached settlements with the Big East that allowed them to leave for the ACC in July 2013 . With the upcoming loss of three of its mainstays , the Big East announced on December 7 that five new schools would join its football conference in 2013 . Houston , SMU , and UCF will join as all - sports members , while Boise State and San Diego State will join in football only . Both Boise State and San Diego State will rejoin former conferences for non - football sports . Boise State initially planned to join the WAC , while San Diego State planned to rejoin the Big West after a 35 - year absence . These developments eventually led the Mountain West and C - USA to announce plans to fully merge , under a new charter , as early as 2013 . However , due to complications related to NCAA rules , the conferences abandoned a full merger in favor of a football - only alliance . Later developments in conference realignment , mainly the implosion of the WAC , led Boise State to abandon its plans to place its non - football sports in the WAC , opting instead to rejoin the Big West in 2013 after a 12 - year absence . Teams transitioning to FBS . Four schools began a two - year transition from the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) to FBS in July 2011 . These schools were technically FCS members in 2011 , and will be provisional FBS members in 2012 before becoming full FBS members in 2013 . Infractions , investigations , and scandals . Ohio State . The Ohio State Buckeyes had five players and their head coach , Jim Tressel , suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season . The program was also under investigation by the NCAA , with the school going before the NCAA Committee on Infractions in August 2011 , with findings and decisions following shortly thereafter . The players were alleged to have improperly traded dozens of items to the owner of a tattoo parlor , receiving tattoos , $ 14 , 000 , and in one case a sport - utility vehicle . Tressel was under investigation for lying to the University and investigators regarding his knowledge of the incident . The scandal led to the resignation of Tressel on May 30 . Then , on June 8 , starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor , one of the five suspended players , announced that he would forego his final year of college eligibility . Initially , Ohio State offered to vacate its entire 2010 season , return money received from the 2011 Sugar Bowl , impose two years of probation , and use five fewer football scholarships over the next three seasons . However , after the school went before the NCAA , further rules violations emerged . Three players were suspended before the start of the season for receiving $ 200 from a booster . Then , midway through the season , it was discovered that the same booster had overpaid several players for summer jobs . The NCAA announced its final penalties on December 20 . While accepting Ohio State ' s initial penalties , it imposed extra sanctions . One extra year of both probation and scholarship reductions was added , running through the 2014 season . The Buckeyes will also be banned from a bowl in 2012 . Tressel , who joined the staff of the Indianapolis Colts during the 2011 NFL season and has since taken a non - athletic position at his alma mater of the University of Akron , was hit with a five - year show - cause penalty , which effectively bars him from college coaching through the 2016 season . Finally , the school was required to disassociate itself from Pryor for five years . North Carolina . The North Carolina Tar Heels , in the midst of an NCAA investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct within the football program , fired head coach Butch Davis on July 27 . The school initially vacated its 2008 and 2009 seasons , reduced its scholarship allotment by nine over the next three seasons , and self - imposed two years of probation . Although the NCAA praised the university for its investigation , it found several aggravating factors . The NCAA confirmed academic fraud , found that players had received at least $ 31 , 000 in impermissible benefits , determined that six players had played while ineligible , and also found evidence of rampant agent involvement in the program . The NCAA added an extra year of probation , and also banned the Tar Heels from the 2012 postseason . John Blake , an assistant who had been forced out with Davis , was found to have received personal loans from agent Gary Wichard that he did not report to UNC , specifically for access to players . He was also cited for not cooperating with investigators . Blake received a three - year show - cause penalty . Miami . On August 16 , Yahoo ! Sports broke a story in which former Miami Hurricanes booster Nevin Shapiro , currently imprisoned for running a Ponzi scheme , stated that from 2002 through 2010 he had given massive amounts of improper benefits to Miami players and coaches , mostly in football but also in men ' s basketball . Shapiro indicated that the benefits included cash , various goods , prostitutes , and even an abortion . Penn State . On November 5 , former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky was indicted on multiple felony charges of sex abuse against minors . Two other high - ranking Penn State administrators — athletic director Tim Curley and vice president for business and finance Gary Schultz ( whose job includes supervision of the university police department ) — were charged with perjury in the case . The day after the indictments , the university Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting , at which Curley requested to be placed on administrative leave and Schultz stepped down . Paterno , who had received notice of inappropriate behavior by Sandusky in 2002 and had reported the allegations to university administrators ( though not to police ) , was not charged or implicated in any wrongdoing . On November 9 , he announced his retirement effective at the end of the season , stating he was " absolutely devastated by the developments in this case . " However , hours later , the Penn State Board of Trustees fired Paterno , effective immediately . Awards and honors . Heisman Trophy . The Heisman Trophy is given to the year ' s most outstanding player . Offense . Quarterback Running Back Wide Receiver Tight End Lineman Defense . Defensive Line Linebacker Defensive Back Assistant Coaching changes . Preseason and in - season . This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1 , 2011 . For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2011 , see 2010 NCAA Division I FBS end - of - season coaching changes .