2001 NCAA Division I - A football season The 2001 NCAA Division I - A football season ended with the University of Miami winning the national title for the fifth time . The Hurricanes were led by Larry Coker , who was in his first year as head coach after five years as Miami ' s offensive coordinator under Butch Davis . Coker had the benefit of inheriting a star - studded program that Davis had rebuilt in the aftermath of NCAA sanctions in the mid - to - late 90s . Miami completed a perfect 12 - 0 season , which culminated in a 37 - 14 win over Nebraska in the Rose Bowl BCS National Championship Game . In yet another controversial season for the BCS , # 4 Nebraska was chosen as the national title opponent despite not having even played in the Big 12 championship game . The Huskers went into their last regularly scheduled game at undefeated , but left Boulder having lost the game by a score of 62 - 36 . The Buffaloes went on to win the Big 12 championship game . However , the BCS computers didn ' t take into account time of loss , so one - loss Nebraska came out ahead of two - loss # 3 Colorado and one - loss , # 2 Oregon . Some fans chanted " number 4 " at the title game held at the Rose Bowl . Florida State did not win the ACC championship for the first time since joining the conference in 1991 , losing out to Maryland . Steve Spurrier left the Florida Gators at the end of the season to coach the Washington Redskins , accepting what was then the largest salary for an NFL head coach . The season had one of the more competitive Heisman Trophy races with Eric Crouch of Nebraska winning by only a small margin over Rex Grossman of Florida . All of the five finalists played the quarterback position . Two of the finalists were coached at some point by Oregon offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford . The Big West Conference stopped sponsoring football after the 2000 season , concluding a pattern that had been started by many of its previous members of the past decade . Its remaining football playing members left to join other conferences for the 2001 season : Boise State joined the WAC , Arkansas State , New Mexico State and North Texas joined the Sun Belt Conference , which sponsored football for the first time in 2001 . Idaho also joined the Sun Belt , but as a football - only member . Utah State would stay in the Big West , playing football as an Independent . The newly formed Boise State / Fresno State rivalry would be a major factor in the race to be the " BCS buster " for several seasons . Troy State joined Division 1 - A football this season . The Aloha Bowl and Oahu Bowl lost funding after Chrysler Corporation , which owned the former bowl ' s sponsor of Jeep , was acquired by Daimler - Benz and became DaimlerChrysler . The Aloha Bowl moved to Seattle and became the Seattle Bowl . The New Orleans Bowl began play , the host team being the Sun Belt champion . End of Season Upsets and BCS Drama . The final 3 weeks of the regular season saw an incredible amount of drama as several teams were in prime position to earn their way to the Rose Bowl to play Miami . On November 23 , the day after Thanksgiving , Nebraska was one the number one team in the BCS heading to Boulder to play the Colorado Buffaloes . After a devastating 62 - 36 loss , they were unable to win their division and their season seemed to fall by the wayside , allowing the Florida Gators the inside track to meet Miami if they were able to win out . This also gave the Oklahoma Sooners the opportunity to earn their way to the National Championship if Florida was to stumble against either Tennessee or in the SEC Championship game . Those hopes would soon dissolve the day after Nebraska ' s loss as the Sooners were upset at home by Oklahoma State 16 - 13 , ending their title hopes and knocking them out of the Big 12 Championship game as well . Florida had an inside track to the National Championship game until the following week in their matchup with Tennessee , losing that game 34 - 32 in Gainesville . The loss not only ended their dreams of a trip to the Rose Bowl , but also ended their shot at going to Atlanta for the SEC title game . Tennessee then stepped into the number 2 spot the following week going into the SEC Championship against LSU , but was upset by the Tigers 31 - 20 , and their hopes of National Championship appearance were gone as quickly as they had come . Later that evening , Texas entered the Big 12 Championship game against Colorado in prime time television knowing that a win would seal their spot in the Rose Bowl as the number 2 team in the BCS . Unfortunately they , too , were upset by the Buffaloes , feeling the same sting that Florida , Tennessee , Oklahoma , and Nebraska had felt the previous few weeks . Miami was left at the top of all the polls , and the debate began about who deserved to play in the Rose Bowl . Many felt Colorado was the hottest team in the country after dismantling Nebraska and then beating the Longhorns in the Big 12 title game , but their 2 losses at the beginning of the year were tough to ignore . Others felt Oregon deserved the honor , being ranked in some polls as the number 2 team in the country . Ultimately , after all of the upsets , Nebraska ended up as the number 2 team in the BCS , despite being the team to start all of the drama 3 weeks earlier . Heisman Trophy voting . " The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the year " < br > Winner : Eric Crouch , Nebraska , Quarterback ( 770 points )