1992 NCAA Division I - A football season The 1992 NCAA Division I - A football season was the first year of the Bowl Coalition , and ended with Alabama ' s first national championship in thirteen years — their first since the departure of Bear Bryant . One of Bryant ' s players , Gene Stallings , was the head coach , and he used a style similar to Bryant ' s , a smashmouth running game combined with a tough defense . The members of the Bowl Coalition were the Sugar Bowl , Orange Bowl , Cotton Bowl Classic , and Fiesta Bowl . Under the agreement the Sugar Bowl , Orange Bowl , and Cotton Bowl Classic hosted the Southeastern Conference , Big 8 , and Southwest Conference champions , respectively , and then a pool of at large teams was formed between the Atlantic Coast Conference champ , the Big East champ , Notre Dame , and two conference runner ups from the Big 8 , SWC , ACC , Big East and Pac - 10 . The highest ranked host team would play the highest ranked at - large team . If the two highest ranked teams were both at - large teams , the championship game would be hosted by the Fiesta Bowl . So for this year , ( host ) SEC champ Alabama played ( at - large ) Big East Champ Miami - FL , the Orange Bowl featured ( host ) Big - 8 champ Nebraska and ( at - large ) ACC champ Florida St . , the Cotton Bowl Classic featured ( host ) SWC champ Texas A & M and ( at - large ) independent Notre Dame , and the Fiesta Bowl featured ( at - large ) Big East runner up and ( at - large ) Big 8 runner up . The 1992 season also saw the expansion of the SEC and the first conference championship game to be played in the country . Before the 1992 season , the Arkansas Razorbacks and the South Carolina Gamecocks joined the SEC , which expanded the conference to twelve teams . The conference then split into two divisions , and the winner of each division would face off in the SEC Championship Game in historic Legion Field ( later moved to the Georgia Dome in 1994 ) . In the first year of the new system , Alabama won the SEC West , Florida won the SEC East , and the Tide won the match - up 28 - 21 on an Antonio Langham interception return for a touchdown in the closing minutes . In the Sugar Bowl , to decide the national champion , Miami came in a heavy favorite with even heavier swagger . The Tide defense , however , with its eleven man fronts and zone blitzes , heavily confused Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta and Alabama won in a defensive rout , 34 - 13 . In other circles , the Big West Conference lost two members ; Fresno State left for the WAC and Long Beach State stopped sponsoring football , but they also gained a member in Nevada , which made the jump from Division I - AA . Possibly in a show of how weak the conference was , Nevada went 5 - 1 in conference , winning the Big West championship and representing the conference in the 1992 Las Vegas Bowl ( formerly the California Bowl held in Fresno , California ) . # 1 and # 2 Progress . Until the November 10 , 1992 poll , # 1 and # 2 shifted between Miami and Seattle , as the Miami Hurricanes and the Washington Huskies were only points apart at the top . In the preseason poll , Miami had 40 of the 62 first place votes cast , and Washington 12 . After both teams went 5 - 0 , they each got first place votes from 31 electors , split 31½ each , and on October 13 , the Huskies were ahead by a single point 1 , 517½ to 1 , 516½ . The following week , there was a tie for first place for the first time in the history of the AP poll , with Miami and Washington each collecting 1 , 517 points ( Miami had more first place votes , 31 to 30 , as another writer went with 7 - 0 - 0 Alabama ) . The next week , Miami was ahead 1 , 517 to 1 , 516 , and the week after , Washington was on top again . On November 7 , the Huskies lost at , 16 - 3 to fall to 8 - 1 - 0 . In the remaining polls , Miami was the clear cut favorite for # 1 , with 61 of the 62 votes , and Alabama was everyone ' s favorite # 2 . Both finished the regular season unbeaten . Since Miami was an " at - large " school , and Alabama was the highest ranked of the " host schools " ( qualifying for the Sugar Bowl as the Southeastern Conference champion ) , the # 1 vs . # 2 matchup would take place in New Orleans . Heisman Trophy Voting . The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the year . Winner : Gino Torretta , Miami - FL , Sr . QB ( 1400 votes )