2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season will be a season of college football games in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivison. Pending developments in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the regular season is tentatively scheduled to begin on August 29, 2020, and end on December 12, 2020. The postseason is planned to conclude on January 11, 2021, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. This will be the seventh season of the College Football Playoff championship system.

2020 NCAA Division I FBS season
Number of teams	TBD
Duration	August 29, 2020 – December 12, 2020
Preseason AP No. 1	TBD
Post-season
Duration	December 19, 2020 – January 11, 2021
Bowl games	TBD[lower-alpha 1]
AP Poll No. 1	TBD
Coaches Poll No. 1	TBD
College Football Playoff
2021 College Football Playoff National Championship
Site	Hard Rock Stadium Miami, Florida
NCAA Division I FBS football seasons
← 2019

The season will be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States; all of the Power Five conferences initially announced plans to play a fall football season, but largely restrict their teams' schedules to conference opponents only to reduce the extent of interstate travel (with the ACC and Big 12 only allowing one non-conference game. By early-August, with the worsening state of the pandemic in the U.S., the MAC, Mountain West Conference, Big Ten, and Pac-12 later announced that they would postpone their football seasons to no earlier than spring 2021.

Conference realignment

Membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
UConn Huskies[lower-alpha 2]	The American	Independent
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Independent	Atlantic Coast Conference (2020 only)[1]

Rule changes

The following playing rule changes were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for 2020:[2]

• Players ejected for targeting will now be permitted to remain in the bench area. Previously, players ejected for targeting had to return to the locker room.
• Restricting the number of players on a team wearing the same uniform number to two; such players still cannot be on the field at the same time and must play different positions.
• Including the number "0" as a legal uniform number.
• Extending the official's jurisdiction prior to kickoff from 60 to 90 minutes, requiring a coach from each team be on the field during warm-ups, and identifying each player by number.
• Adopting as a guideline a maximum of 2 minutes for instant replay reviews. Exceptions will be allowed in "exceptionally complicated" or end-of-game situations.
• If the game clock expires at the end of a half, replay determines that time was remaining, and the game situation calls for the clock to start on the referee's signal, the half ends unless the replay determines that the clock should have stopped with 3 or more seconds left.

Other headlines

• February 18 – The NCAA announced that it was considering a proposal that would allow student-athletes in all sports a one-time waiver to transfer to a new school without having to sit out a season. This would place all NCAA sports under the same transfer rules; currently, first-time transfers are only required to sit out a season in baseball, men's and women's basketball, football, and men's ice hockey. The existing criteria for the waiver would be extended to these five sports—namely, a player must receive a transfer release from his or her previous school, leave that school academically eligible, maintain academic progress at the new school, and not be under any disciplinary suspension.[3]
• February 20 – Pitt's football program has been placed on three years' probation as part of a series of violations announced by the Division I Committee on Infractions on Thursday, which also included violations from their men's basketball team and former head coach Kevin Stallings. The football infractions result from a scheme where non-coaching "quality control" staffers performed coaching duties. If people from outside the football program were present at practice, music would be played to alert the staffers to their presence so they could leave. Pat Narduzzi was present at a football practice these three staff members performed coaching duties and was ordered to be held out of practice for two days in August. The school received other sanctions.[4]
• February 26 – The new LA Bowl was announced on February 26, matching the Mountain West's No. 1 team against the Pac-12's No. 5. Beginning in December, the game will be held at SoFi Stadium, the new 70,240-seat home of the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams in Inglewood, California. The LA Bowl is locked in at SoFi from 2020 to 2025.[5]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Season preparations

Multiple universities and conferences had already cancelled their spring football games as part of the wider, nationwide suspension of organized sports and athletics due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. On March 13, the NCAA announced a suspension of all Division I on-campus and off-campus recruiting until April 15.[6] In regards to its impact on the regular season, NCAA president Mark Emmert stated on May 8 that individual decisions on fall semester sports would likely begin to appear as early as June or around July 4. He suggested that the operation of athletics programs would depend on students being present on-campus to a degree (but not necessarily "up and running in the full normal model"), explaining that "you have to treat the health and well-being of the athletes at least as much as the regular students", but that "this is going to be a very unusual school year, and we just have to make the best of it".[7]

The NCAA Division I Council prohibited on-campus activities through May 31; on May 20, the Council voted to end the moratorium and allow voluntary on-campus activity in football and basketball to begin June 1, subject to new safety protocols.[8] On June 17, the Division I Council approved a timetable for a season assumed to begin September 5, including beginning non-voluntary training activities on July 13.[9]

On June 24, USA Today reported that at least 37 FBS schools had reported positive cases of COVID-19 among student-athletes or staff since practices resumed. Amidst a spike in cases in the Southern U.S. since late-June, several state governors, including Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, Georgia's Brian Kemp, and South Carolina's Henry McMaster, have warned that football season could be threatened if cases do not subside in time.[10][11]

On July 15, the Rose Parade was cancelled due to the pandemic. The 2021 Rose Bowl Game itself is still tentatively scheduled.[12] The same day, the NCAA announced that FBS teams would be permitted to count two wins against FCS teams, instead of the usual one, towards bowl eligibility.[13]

On July 16, the NCAA released a series of recommendations regarding protocols for fall sports, including that all participants in "high contact risk sports" be tested with results within 72 hours of play. President Emmert noted, however, that the guidelines presumed that the infection rate would be "manageable", and that "If there is to be college sports in the fall, we need to get a much better handle on the pandemic." [14] The American Athletic Conference announced the same day that it will adhere to this protocol; commissioner Mike Aresco stated that "with the proper quarantine and the proper canvassing of close contacts, we think at this point it would be safe to play games."[15] On July 18, the SEC announced that it would still honor scholarships for players who opt out of the fall season due to safety concerns.[16]

On July 28, by request of the Football Oversight Committee, the NCAA announced that it had issued a blanket waiver to allow any team to play in "Week 0", in order to allow for greater scheduling flexibility amid changing conditions.[17]

In the event that conditions do not improve by the traditional timeframe of football season, the possibility of delaying the football season entirely to spring 2021 was suggested by several coaches. However, it was largely considered by them to be a last resort. Aresco commented that such a delay would likely require practices to be held over the winter indoors — environments that have been shown to exacerbate spread of COVID-19.[18]

Conference responses

All of the Power Five conferences initially announced that they would go on with their season as scheduled, but with cuts to non-conference games in order to overcome logistical concerns and reduce interstate travel. The Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC were all limiting play to in-conference opponents only.[18][19][20] The ACC and Big 12 would allow one non-conference game each, with the ACC restricting them to in-state opponents.[21] The ACC also suspended the use of divisions, with the top two teams in conference play by winning percentage advancing to the ACC Championship Game.[1]

The restrictions complicated matters for FBS independents; the first four games of the BYU Cougars were all against Big Ten and Pac-12 teams,[18] while Notre Dame lost three of its marquee games of the season — including one against Wisconsin that was to be played at Lambeau Field, and traditional rivalry games against Stanford (not held for the first time since 1996) and USC (postponed for the first time since 1945 due to World War II).[18] Notre Dame and Navy had also cancelled a planned international game in Dublin, Ireland, and tentatively rescheduled it for Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.[22] Some FCS conferences (such as the Patriot League)[23] have cancelled or postponed football season outright, affecting games against FBS opponents.[18]

On July 29, the ACC announced that Notre Dame (which is an ACC member in all other sports outside of football and ice hockey) would participate as a member of the conference for the 2020 season, being incorporated into its scheduling model (including 10 games against ACC opponents, expanding from six already scheduled) and being eligible to compete for the conference championship. Notre Dame will pool its media rights revenue from NBC with that of the ACC's other media rights, and be eligible to receive a share of the total revenue.[1]

Among the Group of Five conferences, Conference USA announced on August 7 that it had approved an eight-game schedule with up to four non-conference games.[24][25] The next day, however, the Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced the postponement of all fall sports for the 2020 season, including football. The conference stated that it would pursue attempts to play in spring 2021. With this decision, the MAC became the first FBS conference to cancel or postpone the football season. Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher stated that "there are simply too many unknowns to put our student-athletes into situations that are not clearly understood." The cancellation of non-conference games by the Power Five conferences — especially the Big Ten — was also expected to have a financial impact on its schools, with the Big Ten games alone expected to bring $11 million.[26][27]

In the wake of the decision, ESPN reported on August 9 that the commissioners of the Power Five conferences had held an emergency meeting to discuss possible options for fall sports, amid the worsening state of the pandemic in the United States.[28] On August 10, the Mountain West Conference (MWC) followed the MAC as the second Group of Five conference to postpone fall sports indefinitely.[29] On August 11, the Big Ten became the first Power Five conference to postpone football, followed shortly thereafter by the Pac-12. Both conferences provisionally announced plans to play in the spring. The Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Ten disclosed an intent to attempt non-conference play in the fall, although the logistical aspects of such a move (including scheduling) and possible repercussions within the conference are unknown.[30][31] In response to the moves, the ACC, Big 12, and SEC issued statements suggesting that they still planned to play in the fall.[32][33]

Player responses

Several players from the Pac-12 announced a unity group titled #WeAreUnited to negotiate with the conference and league with specific demands in regards to the 2020 football season.[34][35] Including some players willing to boycott if their ultimatum was not satisfied.[36] Players from the Big Ten, created a similar unity which calls for increase in testing and safety protocols.[37]

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence sparked a trend on Twitter with the hashtag, #WeWantToPlay, on August 9.[38][39] Other players such as Justin Fields (Ohio State), Najee Harris (Alabama), and Chuba Hubbard (Oklahoma State), help contribute to make the hashtag No. 1 in the United States on Twitter.[38] President Donald Trump shared Lawrence's tweet, stating "The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled." as well using the #WeWantToPlay hashtag.[40][41] Later #WeAreUnited and #WeWantToPlay merged with players across the Power 5, with the goal of creating a union.[42][43] Nick Saban joins other coaches, Jim Harbaugh and Ryan Day, by joining the movement, by stating players will be safer from the virus together as a team than at home.[44][45]

Teams opting out

• The newly-independent UConn Huskies announced that they would opt out of the 2020 season.[46][47]
• The Old Dominion Monarchs of Conference USA announced that they would opt out of the 2020 season.[48][49]

• Independent UMass Minutemen announced that they would opt of playing fall football and hopes to construct a season in spring 2021.[50]

• Independent New Mexico State Aggies announced that they would opt out of playing fall football and try to play in spring 2021.[51]

Impact on attendance

Some teams announced that they tentatively planned to allow spectators at their games at a percentage of normal capacity, such as the Texas Longhorns (Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium was already to have slightly reduced capacity this season due to renovations)[52] and the North Carolina Tar Heels.[53] In the state of New York, current health orders require all sporting events be played behind closed doors, and Governor Andrew Cuomo stated that this would apply to college sports as well.[54]

Stadiums

Upcoming

• The 2020 season will be the first for South Alabama at Hancock Whitney Stadium replacing Ladd–Peebles Stadium. The team is scheduled to play its first game there on September 12 against Grambling State.[55] The Senior Bowl post-season all-star game (which was played at Ladd–Peebles) is also moving to the new stadium for this season's edition in January 2021.[56]
• The 2020 season will also be the first for UNLV at Allegiant Stadium replacing Sam Boyd Stadium. The team is scheduled to play its first game there on August 29 against California.[57]
• The 2020 season will be the last season for UAB at Legion Field before moving to Protective Stadium on the grounds of the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex in 2021. The Blazers are scheduled to play their final game at Legion Field on November 28 against Southern Miss.[58]

Renamed

• Georgia State renamed their stadium to Center Parc Stadium in a naming rights agreement with the Atlanta Postal Credit Union.[59]

Kickoff games

All kickoff games were cancelled due to the COVID19 pandemic.

"Week Zero"

The regular season was scheduled to begin on August 29 with various "Week 0" games, but all were cancelled due to the COVID19 pandemic. There were two especially notable Week Zero games:

Originally, Marshall were to play at East Carolina, to honor the 50th anniversary of the plane crash that killed 75 people, including 37 from the Marshall University football team. The crash occurred as the Thundering Herd were returning from a game at East Carolina.[60]

Additionally, the Emerald Isle Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland was scheduled to occur during Week 0, featuring Navy versus Notre Dame.[61] However, on June 2, 2020, the game was moved from Dublin to Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.[62] The game will be the first in the history of the Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry to be played at Navy's home stadium.

Week 1

The majority of FBS teams are scheduled to open the season on Labor Day weekend. Four neutral-site "kickoff" games were scheduled to be held but they all have since been cancelled.

• Texas Kickoff (NRG Stadium, Houston): Baylor vs. Ole Miss (Cancelled)
• Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta):
  • Florida State vs. West Virginia (Cancelled)
  • Georgia vs. Virginia (Cancelled)
• Advocare Classic (AT&T Stadium, Arlington): Alabama vs. USC (Cancelled)

Week 2

• Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta): Auburn vs. North Carolina (Cancelled)

Conference standings

Conferences playing in the fall

2020 American Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Cincinnati   0 – 0         0 – 0   East Carolina   0 – 0         0 – 0   Houston   0 – 0         0 – 0   Memphis   0 – 0         0 – 0   Navy   0 – 0         0 – 0   SMU   0 – 0         0 – 0   South Florida   0 – 0         0 – 0   Temple   0 – 0         0 – 0   Tulane   0 – 0         0 – 0   Tulsa   0 – 0         0 – 0   UCF   0 – 0         0 – 0   Championship: December 5, 2020 $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant As of August 15, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll.	2020 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Boston College   0 – 0         0 – 0   Clemson   0 – 0         0 – 0   Duke   0 – 0         0 – 0   Florida State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Georgia Tech   0 – 0         0 – 0   Louisville   0 – 0         0 – 0   Miami   0 – 0         0 – 0   NC State   0 – 0         0 – 0   North Carolina   0 – 0         0 – 0   Notre Dame   0 – 0         0 – 0   Pittsburgh   0 – 0         0 – 0   Syracuse   0 – 0         0 – 0   Virginia   0 – 0         0 – 0   Virginia Tech   0 – 0         0 – 0   Wake Forest   0 – 0         0 – 0   Championship: December 12 or 19, 2020 $ – Conference champion As of August 15, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll.	2020 Big 12 Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Baylor   0 – 0         0 – 0   Iowa State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Kansas   0 – 0         0 – 0   Kansas State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Oklahoma   0 – 0         0 – 0   Oklahoma State   0 – 0         0 – 0   TCU   0 – 0         0 – 0   Texas   0 – 0         0 – 0   Texas Tech   0 – 0         0 – 0   West Virginia   0 – 0         0 – 0   Championship: December 5, 2020 As of August 15, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll.
2020 Conference USA football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Charlotte   0 – 0         0 – 0   FIU   0 – 0         0 – 0   Florida Atlantic   0 – 0         0 – 0   Marshall   0 – 0         0 – 0   Middle Tennessee   0 – 0         0 – 0   Western Kentucky   0 – 0         0 – 0   Old Dominion*   –         –   West Division Louisiana Tech   0 – 0         0 – 0   North Texas   0 – 0         0 – 0   Rice   0 – 0         0 – 0   Southern Miss   0 – 0         0 – 0   UAB   0 – 0         0 – 0   UTEP   0 – 0         0 – 0   UTSA   0 – 0         0 – 0   Championship: December 5, 2020 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * Note: Due to COVID-19, team canceled season. As of August 15, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll	2020 Southeastern Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Florida   0 – 0         –   Georgia   0 – 0         –   Kentucky   0 – 0         –   Missouri   0 – 0         –   South Carolina   0 – 0         –   Tennessee   0 – 0         –   Vanderbilt   0 – 0         –   West Division Alabama   0 – 0         –   Arkansas   0 – 0         –   Auburn   0 – 0         –   LSU   0 – 0         –   Mississippi State   0 – 0         –   Ole Miss   0 – 0         –   Texas A&M   0 – 0         –   Championship: December 19, 2020 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Note: Due to COVID-19, the SEC will play a conference-only schedule. As of August 15, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll	2020 Sun Belt Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Appalachian State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Coastal Carolina   0 – 0         0 – 0   Georgia Southern   0 – 0         0 – 0   Georgia State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Troy   0 – 0         0 – 0   West Division Arkansas State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Louisiana   0 – 0         0 – 0   Louisiana–Monroe   0 – 0         0 – 0   South Alabama   0 – 0         0 – 0   Texas State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Championship: December 5, 2020 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions As of August 15, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll.
2020 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Army   –         0 – 0   BYU   –         0 – 0   Liberty   –         0 – 0   New Mexico State†   –         –   UConn†   –         –   UMass†   –         –   Note: † Due to COVID-19, the teams have suspended the 2020 football season. As of August 15, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll

Conferences with possibility of playing in the spring

2020 Big Ten Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Indiana   –         –   Maryland   –         –   Michigan   –         –   Michigan State   –         –   Ohio State   –         –   Penn State   –         –   Rutgers   –         –   West Division Illinois   –         –   Iowa   –         –   Minnesota   –         –   Nebraska   –         –   Northwestern   –         –   Purdue   –         –   Wisconsin   –         –   Championship: TBA $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Note: Due to COVID-19, the Big Ten suspended the 2020 football season. As of August 15, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll.	2020 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Akron   –         –   Bowling Green   –         –   Buffalo   –         –   Kent State   –         –   Miami   –         –   Ohio   –         –   West Division Ball State   –         –   Central Michigan   –         –   Eastern Michigan   –         –   Northern Illinois   –         –   Toledo   –         –   Western Michigan   –         –   Championship: TBA $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Note: Due to COVID-19, the Mid-American suspended the 2020 football season. As of August 15, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll.	2020 Mountain West Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Mountain Division Air Force   –         –   Boise State   –         –   Colorado State   –         –   New Mexico   –         –   Utah State   –         –   Wyoming   –         –   West Division Fresno State   –         –   Hawaii   –         –   Nevada   –         –   San Diego State   –         –   San Jose State   –         –   UNLV   –         –   Championship: TBA $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Note: Due to COVID-19, the Mountain West suspended the 2020 football season. As of August 15, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll
2020 Pac-12 Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   North Division California   –         –   Oregon   –         –   Oregon State   –         –   Stanford   –         –   Washington   –         –   Washington State   –         –   South Division Arizona   –         –   Arizona State   –         –   Colorado   –         –   UCLA   –         –   USC   –         –   Utah   –         –   Championship: TBA $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Note: Due to COVID-19, the Pac-12 suspended the 2020 football season. As of August 15, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll

Rankings

Main article: 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Postseason

Due to a sponsorship change, what had been the Camping World Bowl played in Florida was renamed the Cheez-It Bowl, and the former Cheez-It Bowl played in Arizona reverted its name to Cactus Bowl. Also due to a sponsorship change, what had been the Belk Bowl was renamed as the Duke's Mayo Bowl.

On July 31, the Redbox Bowl was canceled by its organizers. While the pandemic was cited as a justification, Levi's Stadium not renewing its agreement to host the game was an additional factor.[63][64]

Three new bowls have planned to debut during the 2020–21 bowl season: Myrtle Beach Bowl (Conway, South Carolina), Fenway Bowl (Boston, Massachusetts), and LA Bowl (Inglewood, California).

With the Mid-American Conference (MAC) announcing on August 8 that it would not play football during the 2020 fall season,[65] followed by the Pac-12 and Big Ten announcing the same on August 11,[66] the outlook for the 2020–21 bowl season—especially bowls that have tie-ins with those conferences—is unclear. During the 2019–20 bowl season, 23 teams from those conferences participated in bowl games (7 MAC, 7 Pac-12, and 12 Big Ten).

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2020, and will also include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled game but before its bowl game. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2020, see 2019 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement

End of season

This list includes coaching changes announced during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement

Television viewers and ratings

Most-watched regular season games

Conference championship games

See also

• 2020 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2020 NCAA Division II football season
• 2020 NCAA Division III football season
• 2020 NAIA football season

Notes

1. With the cancellation of the Redbox Bowl in late July due to COVID-19 concerns, and scheduling restrictions implemented by some conferences, the number of bowl games that organizers will stage is unclear.
2. UConn will not play during 2020 season.

References

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