2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season

Conference	Champion	Runner-up	Score	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
ACC	Florida State	Georgia Tech	21-15
Big Ten	Wisconsin	Nebraska	70-31
C-USA	Tulsa	UCF	33-27 (OT)
MAC	Northern Illinois	Kent State	44-37 (OT)
Pac-12	Stanford	UCLA	27-24
SEC	Alabama	Georgia	32-28
Conference	Champion		Record	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year
Big East
Big 12
MWC
Sun Belt
WAC

The 2012 NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) football season, or the college football season, began on Thursday, August 30, 2012. The season will progress through the regular season and bowl season, and (aside from all-star exhibition games that follow the bowl games) conclude with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game on Monday, January 7, 2013.

Rule Changes for 2012

• Kickoffs will be moved up to the 35 yard line from the 30, mirroring a similar change by the NFL in the 2011 season and rescinding a rule change made in the 2007 season.
• The kicking team will only have a five yard running head start on kickoffs, again mirroring the NFL changes in 2011.
• Touchbacks will move from the 20 yard line to the 25 yard line only on kickoffs and free kicks after a safety. Touchbacks on punts rolling into the end zone or fumbles into the end zone will remain at the 20-yard line.
• Players will be forbidden to leap over other players when blocking punts.
• Players who lose their helmets during a play (except when caused by fouls such as grabbing the facemask) will have to leave the field for one play. When a helmet is lost during play, the play is dead immediately, and any action made by or against the helmetless player is penalized as a personal foul (15 yards).
• Offensive players in the tackle box at the snap who are not in motion are allowed to block below the waist legally without restriction. All other players are restricted from blocking below the waist with some exceptions (i.e. blocking straight-on), modifying a rule change from the 2011 season.

Membership changes

Includes schools transitioning to FBS.

School	Former Conference	New Conference
Fresno State Bulldogs	WAC	Mountain West
Hawaii Warriors	WAC	Mountain West
Massachusetts Minutemen	CAA	MAC
Missouri Tigers	Big 12	SEC
Nevada Wolf Pack	WAC	Mountain West
South Alabama Jaguars	FCS Independent	Sun Belt
TCU Horned Frogs	Mountain West	Big 12
Temple Owls	MAC	Big East
Texas A&M Aggies	Big 12	SEC
Texas State Bobcats	Southland	WAC
UTSA Roadrunners	Southland	WAC
West Virginia Mountaineers	Big East	Big 12

New, expanded, renovated, and temporary stadiums

Expanded stadiums

• Boise State has moved their track and field program out of Bronco Stadium leading to an expansion of the bleachers over the existing track in the end zones. The new permanent additions will increase capacity from 33,500 to 37,000 and will be ready for the start of the 2012 season. They are also currently building a new football facility in the north end zone to be ready for the 2013 season.
• TCU completed a major renovation of Amon G. Carter Stadium, although the listed capacity increased only by about 600, to 45,000.
• Texas State nearly doubled the size of Bobcat Stadium as part of its FBS transition. The venue, formerly holding slightly more than 16,000, now holds 30,000.
• Michigan State completed a complete overhaul of their sound system and video boards. With the additions of two video boards in the north end zone as well as a video ribbon along the entire north edge. MSU also installed the fourth largest scoreboard in the NCAA in the south end zone.

Renovated stadiums

• California will return to California Memorial Stadium following major renovations, which included a full seismic retrofit (as the stadium is located directly on a major fault). The stadium's capacity was reduced from its previous 71,800 to 62,700. The Golden Bears played their 2011 home schedule at AT&T Park in San Francisco, and also played a technically neutral-site game against Fresno State at Candlestick Park, also in San Francisco.
• Clemson renovated the video systems at Clemson Memorial Stadium prior to the start of the 2012 season. A new Jumbotron was installed on the primary scoreboard behind the East endzone, while two smaller Jumbotrons were installed on each side of the WestZone stands. In addition, video ribbons were installed along the facings of the upper decks.

Temporary stadiums

• Due to major renovations at Husky Stadium, Washington is playing its entire 2012 home schedule at nearby CenturyLink Field, home to the Seattle Seahawks (NFL) and Seattle Sounders FC (MLS). Because the renovation began before the end of the 2011 season, the Huskies also hosted that year's edition of the Apple Cup against Washington State at CenturyLink Field.
• Due to renovations at McGuirk Alumni Stadium, Massachusetts will be playing its entire 2012 and 2013 home schedules at Gillette Stadium, home to the New England Patriots (NFL) and New England Revolution (MLS). The school is also contractually obligated to play at least four home games at Gillette in each season from 2014 to 2016. Gillette is approximately a 2-hour drive from the UMass campus.

Most watched games in 2012

Rank	Date	Matchup	Channel	Viewers	TV Rating	Significance
1	December 1, 4:00 ET	#3 Georgia vs. #2 Alabama	CBS	16.2 Million*	9.8 Rating	SEC Championship
2	November 24, 8:00 ET	#1 Notre Dame vs. USC	ABC	16.06 Million*	9.4 Rating	Notre Dame-USC Rivalry
3	November 3, 8:00 ET	#1 Alabama vs. #5 LSU	CBS	11.3 Million	6.8 Rating	Alabama-LSU Rivalry
4	November 10, 3:30 ET	#15 Texas A&M vs. #1 Alabama	CBS	9.6 Million	6.1 Rating
5	November 24, 12:00 ET	#19 Michigan vs. #4** Ohio State	ABC	9.5 Million	5.8 Rating	The Game
6	October 27, 8:00 ET	#5 Notre Dame vs. #8 Oklahoma	ABC	8.63 Million	5.2 Rating
7	November 24, 3:30 ET	#4 Florida vs. #10 Florida State	ABC	8.47 Million	5.1 Rating	Florida-Florida State Rivalry
8	November 17, 8:00 ET	#13 Stanford vs. #2 Oregon	ABC	8.3 Million	5.1 Rating
9	September 1, 8:00 ET	#8** Michigan vs. #2** Alabama	ABC	7.92 Million	4.8 Rating	Cowboys Classic
10	October 6, 3:30 ET	#4** LSU vs. #10** Florida	CBS	Estimate 7.5 Million	4.6 Rating	Florida-LSU Rivalry

[1]

• Note(*): Games rate in the top six most watched games of the last 20 years.
  
• Note(**): Rankings reflect AP Poll Standings. (All others rankings reflect BCS Standings at the time of the game)

Conference standings

2012 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Atlantic #9 Florida State   5 – 1         8 – 1   #10 Clemson   4 – 1         7 – 1   NC State   2 – 2         5 – 3   Maryland   2 – 2         4 – 4   Wake Forest   2 – 4         4 – 4   Boston College   1 – 4         2 – 6   Coastal Duke   3 – 2         6 – 3   North Carolina*   3 – 2         6 – 3   Miami   3 – 2         4 – 4   Virginia Tech   2 – 2         4 – 4   Georgia Tech   2 – 3         3 – 5   Virginia   0 – 4         2 – 6   Championship: December 1, 2012 *North Carolina ineligible for championship and postseason due to NCAA sanctions As of October 27, 2012; Rankings from AP Poll

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Please note, until the end of the regular season, the BCS Standings are being used as the source for all Top 25 Rankings.

Bowl games

Date	Bowl	Winner	Loser	Score
12/15	Gildan New Mexico	Arizona	Nevada	49-48
12/15	Famous Idaho Potato	Utah State	Toledo	41-15
12/20	SDCCU Poinsettia
12/21	Beef 'O' Brady's
12/22	R+L Carriers New Orleans
12/22	MAACO Las Vegas
12/24	Sheraton Hawaii
12/26	Little Caesars Pizza
12/27	Military
12/27	Belk
12/27	Bridgeport Education Holiday
12/28	AdvoCare V100 Independence
12/28	Russell Athletic
12/28	Meineke Car Care
12/29	Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
12/29	New Era Pinstripe
12/29	Kraft Fight Hunger
12/29	Valero Alamo
12/29	Buffalo Wild Wings
12/31	Franklin Music City
12/31	Hyundai Sun
12/31	AutoZone Liberty
12/31	Chick-Fil-A
1/1	Heart of Dallas
1/1	Taxslayer.com Gator
1/1	Capital One
1/1	Outback
1/1	Rose
1/1	Discover Orange
1/2	Allstate Sugar
1/3	Tostitos Fiesta
1/4	AT&T Cotton
1/5	BBVA Compass
1/6	GoDaddy.com
1/7	BCS Championship

Heisman Trophy voting

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.

Player	School	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Johnny Manziel	Texas A&M	QB	474	252	103	2029
Manti Te'o	Notre Dame	LB	321	309	125	1706
Collin Klein	Kansas State	QB	60	197	320	894
Marqise Lee	USC	WR	19	33	84	207
Braxton Miller	Ohio State	QB	3	29	77	144

Awards and honors

Overall

• AP Player of the Year:
• Maxwell Award (top player):
• Walter Camp Award (top player):
• Campbell Trophy ("academic Heisman", formerly the Draddy Trophy):
• Wuerffel Trophy (humanitarian-athlete):
• Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player):

Offense

Quarterback

• Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback):
• Johnny Unitas Award (Sr. quarterback):
• Manning Award (quarterback):
• Sammy Baugh Trophy (quarterback, specifically passer):

Running Back

• Doak Walker Award (running back):

Wide Receiver

• Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver):

Tight End

• John Mackey Award (tight end):

Lineman

• Dave Rimington Trophy (center):
• Lombardi Award (top lineman):
• Outland Trophy (interior lineman):

Defense

• Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player):
• Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player):
• Lott Trophy (defensive impact):

Defensive Line

• Ted Hendricks Award (defensive end):

Linebacker

• Dick Butkus Award (linebacker):

Defensive Back

• Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back):

Special Teams

• Lou Groza Award (placekicker):
• Ray Guy Award (punter):

Coaches

• AP Coach of the Year:
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award:
• The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award:
• Walter Camp Coach of the Year:

Assistant

• Broyles Award (assistant coach):

All-Americans

• Main article: 2010 College Football All-America Team

Coaching changes

Preseason

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2012. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2012, see 2011 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement
Idaho	Robb Akey	October 21	Fired	Jason Gesser (interim)
Tennessee	Derek Dooley	November 18	Fired	Jim Chaney (interim)

End of season

Note:

• All dates in November and December are in 2012; all January dates are in 2013.

School	Outgoing coach	Date announced	Reason	Replacement
Kentucky	Joker Phillips	November 4	Fired	Mark Stoops
Western Michigan	Bill Cubit	November 17	Fired	P.J. Fleck
UTEP	Mike Price	November 19	Retired	Sean Kugler
California	Jeff Tedford	November 20	Fired	Sonny Dykes
Arkansas	John L. Smith	November 24	Fired	Bret Bielema
Auburn	Gene Chizik	November 25	Fired	Gus Malzahn
Boston College	Frank Spaziani	November 25	Fired	Steve Addazio
Colorado	Jon Embree	November 25	Fired	Mike MacIntyre
NC State	Tom O'Brien	November 25	Fired	Dave Doeren
Purdue	Danny Hope	November 25	Fired	Darrell Hazell
Southern Miss	Ellis Johnson	November 27	Fired	Todd Monken
Northern Illinois	Dave Doeren	December 1	Hired by NC State	Rod Carey
South Florida	Skip Holtz	December 2	Fired	Willie Taggart
Idaho	Jason Gesser (interim)	December 3	Permanent replacement	Paul Petrino
Wisconsin	Bret Bielema	December 4	Hired by Arkansas	Barry Alvarez (interim)
Arkansas State	Gus Malzahn	December 4	Hired by Auburn	Bryan Harsin
Temple	Steve Addazio	December 4	Hired by Boston College	Matt Rhule
Kent State	Darrell Hazell	December 4	Hired by Purdue	Paul Haynes
FIU	Mario Cristobal	December 5	Fired	Ron Turner
Louisiana Tech	Sonny Dykes	December 5	Hired by California	Skip Holtz
Tennessee	Jim Chaney (interim)	December 7	Permanent replacement	Butch Jones
Cincinnati	Butch Jones	December 7	Hired by Tennessee	Tommy Tuberville
Western Kentucky	Willie Taggart	December 7	Hired by South Florida	Lance Guidry (interim)
Texas Tech	Tommy Tuberville	December 8	Hired by Cincinnati	Kliff Kingsbury
San Jose State	Mike MacIntyre	December 10	Hired by Colorado	Ron Caragher
Western Kentucky	Lance Guidry	December 10 (effective December 27)	Permanent replacement	Bobby Petrino

See also

• 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
• 2010 Southeastern Conference football season

External links

• List of FBS Schools

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