This article documents a current sporting event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports, scores, or statistics may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
The 2006 NCAA Division I-A football season, or the American college football season, began on August 31, 2006 and will conclude with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game on January 8, 2007 in Glendale, Arizona, USA (not counting post-season all-star games that follow).[1]
Preseason rankings
Many publications release their predictions of the number one team prior to the beginning of the season. Following is a list of some of the publications' #1 pick.
Athlon: Oklahoma[2]
CBS Sportsline: Ohio State[citation needed]
Gold Sheet: Oklahoma[3]
Lindy: Notre Dame[4]
Phil Steele: Oklahoma[5]
Sporting News: Notre Dame[6]
Associated Press: Ohio State[7]
Rules changes for 2006
There are several rules that have changed for the 2006 season:[8] Following are some highlights:
- Players may only wear clear eyeshields.
- The kicking tee is a one-inch tee instead of a two-inch one.
- Halftime lasts twenty minutes.
- On a kickoff, the game clock starts when the ball is kicked, rather than when the receiving team touches it.
- 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.
- Instant replay is now officially sanctioned and standardized.
Bowl Championship Series
For the ninth year, the Bowl Championship Series will select the number one and two teams to play in the championship game on January 8th. This year marks a change for the BCS, as the added National Championship Game begins as a separate entity from the bowls. It will rotate between the four sites, just like the old format of the National Championship. Also, for all games except the Rose Bowl Game (which has its own television contract with ABC), the BCS will now be broadcasted on Fox, after spending 7 years on ABC.
A full bowl schedule can be found under NCAA football bowl games, 2006-07.
Key Matchups
| Date | Visitor | Home | Source | Significance | Score* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 31 | Northwestern | Miami (Ohio) | Feldman[9] | This matchup was more significant sentimentally than competitively. This was Northwestern's first game after the unexpected death of head coach Randy Walker, who was also the winningest head coach in Miami history. | 21-3 |
| September 2 | California | Tennessee | Feldman[9] | After a shocking 5-6 season last year, Volunteers coach Phillip Fulmer sought to assure the Knoxville faithful that it was only an aberration. Cal sought to validate its highest preseason ranking in a half-century. In the end, Tennessee convincingly won. | 18-35 |
| September 4 | Florida State | Miami | The latest edition of one of the most intense rivalries in college football. | 13-10 | |
| September 9 | Ohio State | Texas | Feldman[9] | ||
| September 9 | Penn State | Notre Dame | Feldman[9] | ||
| September 16 | Miami | Louisville | Feldman[9] | ||
| September 16 | Nebraska | USC | Feldman[9] | ||
| September 16 | Texas Tech | TCU | Feldman[9] | ||
| September 16 | Oklahoma | Oregon | Feldman[9] | ||
| September 16 | Michigan | Notre Dame | Feldman[9] | ||
| September 16 | Iowa State | Iowa | Feldman[9] | ||
| * The name of the winning team is in bold-face. | |||||
See also
- 2006 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
- 2006 Colorado Buffaloes football team
- 2006 Florida Gators football team
- 2006 Florida State Seminoles football team
- 2006 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team
- 2006 Hawaii Warriors football team
- 2006 LSU Tigers football team
- 2006 Miami Hurricanes football team
- 2006 Miami RedHawks football team
- 2006 Michigan Wolverines football team
- 2006 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
- 2006 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
- 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
- 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team
- 2006 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
- 2006 Tennessee Volunteers football team
- 2006 Texas Longhorn football team
- 2006 USC Trojans football team
- 2006 Washington Huskies football team
References
- ^ "2006-07 Bowl Schedule" (HTML). ESPN.com. Retrieved 2006-07-06.
- ^ "Preseason Top 25" (HTML). Athlon Sports, Inc. Retrieved 2006-07-05.
- ^ Marshall, Bruce. "THE GOLD SHEET PRESEASON TOP 25!" (HTML). The Gold Sheet. Retrieved 2006-07-05.
- ^ "Lindy's Power Rankings" (HTML). Lindy's Sports. Retrieved 2006-07-06.
- ^ "Ten Minutes with Phil Steele" (HTML). Scout, Inc. Retrieved 2006-07-10.
- ^ "Notre Dame will be the national champion" (HTML). SportingNews.com. Retrieved 2006-07-21.
- ^ "ESPN.com - NCF - 2006 College Football Rankings - Week 1" (HTML). espn.com. Retrieved 2006-08-22.
- ^ "Memorandum: 2005 Rule Changes" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "September's intriguing matchups" (HTML). ESPN. 2006-07-26.
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