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2005 NCAA Division I-A season
Texas team and coachMack Brown with PresidentGeorge W. Bush after winning the 2005 national championship
Number of teams	119
Duration	September 1 – December 3
Preseason AP No. 1	USC
Postseason
Duration	December 20, 2005 – January 4, 2006
Bowl games	28
Heisman Trophy	Reggie Bush (running back,USC)
Bowl Championship Series
2006 Rose Bowl
Site	Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California
Champion(s)	Texas
Division I-A football seasons
← 2004 2006 →

The2005 NCAA Division I-A football season was the highest level ofcollege football competition in the United States organized by theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 1, 2005 and ended on December 3, 2005. The postseason concluded on January 4, 2006 with theRose Bowl, which served as the season'sBCS National Championship Game.

TheUSC Trojans and theTexas Longhorns finished the regular season as the only undefeated teams in Division I-A and consequently met in theRose Bowl to play for the national title. Texas defeated USC largely due to the performance of quarterbackVince Young, who gained 467 yards of total offense and ran for three touchdowns. The Longhorns won their first national championship since 1970, and their first consensus national title since1969.

• After theBig Ten Conference's2004 experiment withinstant replay, its use was expanded to all but theSun Belt and theWAC conferences in Division I-A. The rules varied between conferences (including the use of coaches' challenges similar to the NFL in theMountain West Conference) until the NCAA standardized the rules in2006. Replay was also permitted in bowl games and, provided the visiting team agreed to its use, in non-conference regular season games.
• The protection for a receiver who signals a fair catch includes situations when the ball is muffed until it hits the ground.
• Penalties for spearing or similar hits in which the tackler leads with the crown of the head are enforced regardless of the "intent" of the tackler.
• The penalty for leaping on field goals/PATs now states it is a foul if a player lined up more than one yard behind the line of scrimmage jumps and lands on players of any team trying to block the kick. If lined up one yard or closer to the line, it is not a foul.
• Eliminated the "legal clipping zone"; hits from behind below the knee are prohibited anywhere on the field.
• Provided for officials a specific list of acts by players considered unsportsmanlike conduct, including the "throat slash", high stepping and diving into the end zone unchallenged among others. Spontaneous celebrations by players are allowed provided they are not prolonged, taunting, or bring attention to themselves.

A major conference realignment occurred prior to the 2005 season, when 18 teams in Division I-A changed conferences.

Temple was expelled from theBig East Conference whileArmy ended its brief affiliation withConference USA, resulting in both schools becoming Independents.

Boston College left the Big East to become the 12th member of theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC), allowing the league to split into two divisions and hold an annual championship game.

Cincinnati,Louisville andSouth Florida left Conference USA to join the Big East.Texas Christian University also left Conference USA to become theMountain West Conference's ninth member.

Despite its losses, Conference USA added six schools to increase its membership to twelve, poachingMarshall andUCF from theMid-American Conference andRice,Southern Methodist,Tulsa, andUTEP from theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC). Like the ACC, Conference USA split into two divisions and started a conference championship game.

The Western Athletic Conference addedIdaho,New Mexico State andUtah State from theSun Belt Conference.

The Sun Belt picked up I-A IndependentsFlorida Atlantic andFlorida International.

Steve Spurrier returned to college coaching for the first time since 2001 after a stint in theNFL, leadingSouth Carolina to a respectable 7–5 season.Urban Meyer, after leadingUtah to an undefeated season in 2004, took over atFlorida (Spurrier's old school).Charlie Weis left theNew England Patriots to become head coach atalma materNotre Dame, taking the team to a BCS bowl.

Longtime head coachesBarry Alvarez ofWisconsin andBill Snyder ofKansas State, both of whom took struggling programs to national prominence during their tenures, retired.Dan Hawkins, having helped makeBoise State a powerhouse in the Western Athletic Conference, left the Broncos to coach strugglingColorado.

Rankings reflect theAP Poll. Rankings for Week 8 and beyond will listBCS Rankings first andAP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.

• Week 2
  • No. 2Texas defeated No. 4Ohio State, 25–22 (Ohio Stadium,Columbus, Ohio)
• Week 3
  • No. 6Florida defeated No. 5Tennessee, 16–7 (Ben Hill Griffin Stadium,Gainesville, Florida)
• Week 4
  • No. 10 Tennessee defeated No. 4LSU, 30–27^OT (Tiger Stadium,Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
• Week 6
  • No. 5Georgia defeated No. 8 Tennessee, 27–14 (Neyland Stadium,Knoxville, Tennessee)
• Week 7
  • No. 1USC defeated No. 9Notre Dame, 34–31 (Notre Dame Stadium,South Bend, Indiana)
• Week 8
  • No. 2/2 Texas defeated No. 7/10Texas Tech, 52–17 (Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium,Austin, Texas)
• Week 10
  • No. 6/5Miami defeated No. 3/3Virginia Tech, 27–7 (Lane Stadium,Blacksburg, Virginia)
• Week 11
  • No. 7/5 LSU defeated No. 3/4Alabama, 16–13^OT (Bryant-Denny Stadium,Tuscaloosa, Alabama)

Italics denotes I-AA teams.

• Rose Bowl: No. 2 (BCS No. 2, Big 12 Champ)Texas 41, No. 1 (BCS No. 1, Pac 10 Champ)Southern California 38
• Fiesta Bowl: (BCS No. 4) No. 4Ohio State 34, (At Large) No. 5Notre Dame 20
• Sugar Bowl: (Big East Champ) No. 11West Virginia 38, (SEC Champ) No. 8Georgia 35
• Orange Bowl: (Big Ten Champ) No. 3Penn State 26, (ACC Champ) No. 22Florida State 23 (3 OT)

• Cotton Bowl: No. 13Alabama 13, No. 18Texas Tech 10
• Capital One Bowl: No. 21Wisconsin 24, No. 7Auburn 10
• Gator Bowl: No. 12Virginia Tech 35, No. 15Louisville 24
• Outback Bowl: No. 16Florida 31, No. 25Iowa 24

• Peach Bowl: No. 10LSU 40, No. 9Miami (FL) 3
• Houston Bowl: No. 14TCU 27,Iowa State 24
• Liberty Bowl: (C-USA Champ)Tulsa 31,Fresno State 24
• MPC Computers Bowl: No. 19Boston College 27,Boise State 21
• Meineke Car Care Bowl:NC State 14,South Florida 0
• Independence Bowl:Missouri 38,South Carolina 31
• Sun Bowl: No. 17UCLA 50,Northwestern 38
• Music City Bowl:Virginia 34,Minnesota 31
• Holiday Bowl:Oklahoma 17, No. 6Oregon 14
• Emerald Bowl:Utah 38, No. 24Georgia Tech 10
• Alamo Bowl:Nebraska 32, No. 20Michigan 28
• Insight Bowl:Arizona State 45,Rutgers 40
• Champs Sports Bowl: No. 23Clemson 19,Colorado 10
• Motor City Bowl:Memphis 38, (MAC Champ)Akron 31
• Hawai'i Bowl: (WAC Champ)Nevada 49,UCF 48 (OT)
• Fort Worth Bowl:Kansas 42,Houston 13
• Las Vegas Bowl:California 35,BYU 28
• Poinsettia Bowl:Navy 51,Colorado State 30
• GMAC Bowl:Toledo 45,UTEP 13
• New Orleans Bowl:Southern Mississippi 31, (Sun Belt Champ)Arkansas State 19

Heisman Trophy voting was primarily for three players: Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart (who won the trophy in 2004) and Vince Young. Bush won the trophy, with Young (who helped Texas win their first national championship since 1970) second in the voting:

In June 2010 the NCAA ruled that Bush had received "improper benefits", violating NCAA policy. On September 14, he announced in a statement from theNew Orleans Saints that he would forfeit his 2005 Heisman Trophy. Runner-up Vince Young said that he would not accept the trophy if Bush forfeited it. On September 15, the Heisman Trust announced that the 2005 trophy would be vacated and there would be no winner for the season.^[2] Bush's Heisman win would be reinstanted on April 24, 2024, with the Heisman Trophy Trust citing "enormous" changes in college athletics, including the introduction ofname, image and likeness (NIL) a few years prior.^[3]

• Walter Camp Award (top player):Reggie Bush^[4]
• Maxwell Award (top player):Vince Young, QB, Texas
• AP Player Of the Year:Reggie Bush, RB, USC^[5]
• Lombardi Award (top lineman/linebacker):A. J. Hawk, Ohio State
• John Mackey Award (tight end):Marcedes Lewis, UCLA
• Doak Walker Award (running back)^[4]
• Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player):Paul Posluszny, LB, Penn State
• Outland Trophy (interior lineman):Greg Eslinger, C, Minnesota
• Dave Rimington Trophy (center):Greg Eslinger, Minnesota
• Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback):Vince Young, QB, Texas
• Johnny Unitas Award (senior quarterback):Matt Leinart, USC
• Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver):Mike Hass, Oregon State
• Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back):Michael Huff, Texas
• Lou Groza Award (placekicker):Alexis Serna, Oregon State
• Ray Guy Award (punter):Ryan Plackemeier, Wake Forest
• The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award:Joe Paterno, Penn State
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (head coach):Mack Brown, Texas
• Broyles Award (assistant coach):Greg Davis, Texas

Texas scored the most points (652).^[6][7]

Source:^[8]

• 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season

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