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1968 NCAA Division I-A football season

1968 Big 8 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#7 Kansas + 6 1 0     9 2 0
#11 Oklahoma + 6 1 0     7 4 0
#9 Missouri 5 2 0     8 3 0
Nebraska 3 4 0     6 4 0
Colorado 3 4 0     4 6 0
Kansas State 2 5 0     4 6 0
Oklahoma State 2 5 0     3 7 0
Iowa State 1 6 0     3 7 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1968 ACC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
NC State $ 6 1 0     6 4 0
Clemson 4 1 1     4 5 1
Virginia 3 2 0     7 3 0
South Carolina 4 3 0     4 6 0
Duke 3 4 0     4 6 0
Wake Forest 2 3 1     2 7 1
Maryland 2 5 0     2 8 0
North Carolina 1 6 0     3 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1968 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#1 Ohio State $ 7 0 0     10 0 0
#12 Michigan 6 1 0     8 2 0
#10 Purdue 5 2 0     8 2 0
Minnesota 5 2 0     6 4 0
Indiana 4 3 0     6 4 0
Iowa 4 3 0     5 5 0
Michigan State 2 5 0     5 5 0
Illinois 1 6 0     1 9 0
Northwestern 1 6 0     1 9 0
Wisconsin 0 7 0     0 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1968 Pacific-8 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#4 USC $ 6 0 0     9 1 1
#15 Oregon State 5 1 0     7 3 0
Stanford 3 3 1     6 3 1
California 2 2 1     7 3 1
Oregon 2 4 0     4 6 0
UCLA 2 4 0     3 7 0
Washington State 1 3 1     3 6 1
Washington 1 5 1     3 5 2
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1968 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#6 Arkansas + 6 1 0     10 1 0
#3 Texas + 6 1 0     9 1 1
#14 SMU 5 2 0     8 3 0
Texas Tech 4 3 0     5 3 2
Baylor 3 4 0     3 7 0
Texas A&M 2 5 0     3 7 0
TCU 2 5 0     3 7 0
Rice 0 7 0     0 9 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1968 SEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#8 Georgia $ 5 0 1     8 1 2
#13 Tennessee 4 1 1     8 2 1
#17 Alabama 4 2 0     8 3 0
LSU 4 2 0     8 3 0
#16 Auburn 4 2 0     7 4 0
Florida 3 2 1     6 3 1
Ole Miss 3 2 1     7 3 1
Vanderbilt 2 3 1     5 4 1
Mississippi State 0 4 2     0 8 2
Kentucky 0 7 0     3 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1968 Southern Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Richmond $   6 0         8 3  
The Citadel   4 2         5 5  
East Carolina   2 2         4 6  
William & Mary   2 2         3 7  
Davidson   1 3         3 6  
VMI   1 3         1 9  
Furman   0 4         1 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1968 WAC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Wyoming $ 6 1 0     7 3 0
Arizona State 5 1 0     8 2 0
Arizona 5 1 0     8 3 0
UTEP 3 3 0     4 5 1
Utah 2 3 0     3 7 0
Colorado State 1 2 0     2 8 0
BYU 1 5 0     2 8 0
New Mexico 0 7 0     0 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1968 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#2 Penn State         11 0 0
Rutgers         8 2 0
West Texas State         8 2 0
#5 Notre Dame         7 2 1
Florida State         8 3 0
Air Force         7 3 0
Army         7 3 0
Buffalo         7 3 0
#18 Houston         6 2 2
Utah State         7 3 0
Boston College         7 3 0
VPI         7 4 0
Pacific         6 4 0
Syracuse         6 4 0
Villanova         6 4 0
Xavier         6 4 0
Colgate         5 5 0
Dayton         5 5 0
Miami (FL)         5 5 0
New Mexico State         5 5 0
Georgia Tech         4 6 0
Southern Miss         4 6 0
Holy Cross         3 6 1
San Jose State         3 7 0
Navy         2 8 0
Tulane         2 8 0
Pittsburgh         1 9 0
Rankings from AP Poll

In the 1968 NCAA University Division football season, the system of "polls and bowls" changed. The Associated Press returned to its pre-1961 system of ranking the Top 20 rather than the Top 10, and voted on the national champion after the bowl games, rather than before. During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, later known as Division I-A.

The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI). In 1968, the UPI issued its final poll before the bowls, but the AP Trophy was withheld until the postseason was completed.

The AP poll in 1968 consisted of the votes of as many as 49 sportswriters, though not all of them voted in every poll. With a Top 20 for the first time since the 1960 season, there were more matchups between ranked teams. Those who cast votes would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of 20 points for first place, 19 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined. In 1969, there were four regular season games that matched "Top Five" teams.

In the preseason poll released on September 9, the Purdue Boilermakers were picked #1, followed by the defending champion USC Trojans. Third was the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, followed by the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns. A second poll was taken on September 16 (with Texas and Oklahoma trading places), although most teams would not begin play until the 21st.

September 21 #1 Purdue beat Virginia 44–6, and #2 USC won 29–20 at #15 Minnesota. #3 Notre Dame beat #5 Oklahoma 45–21 at South Bend, while #4 Texas was tied 20–20 at home by #11 Houston. In a proud moment for football in Indiana, Purdue remained at first, and Notre Dame rose to second, days before the annual meeting between the two schools. #10 Penn State beat Navy 31–6 and took Oklahoma's place at fourth in the poll. #6 Florida defeated Air Force 23–20 in Tampa and was fifth.
The poll was 1.Purdue 2.Notre Dame 3.USC 4.Penn State 5.Florida


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