2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season
| 2020 NCAA Division I FBS season | |
|---|---|
Air Force's George Silvanic holds back Boise State's George Holani and Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez on Oct. 31, 2020, in Falcon Stadium at the U.S. Air Force Academy. | |
| Number of teams | 134 |
| Duration | September 3, 2020 – December 19, 2020 |
| Preseason AP No. 1 | Clemson |
| Postseason | |
| Duration | December 21, 2020 – January 11, 2021 |
| Bowl games | 26 |
| AP Poll No. 1 | Alabama |
| Coaches Poll No. 1 | Alabama |
| Heisman Trophy | DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama |
| College Football Playoff | |
| 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship | |
| Site | Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida |
| Champion(s) | Alabama |
| NCAA Division I FBS football seasons | |
← 2019 2021 → | |
The 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 151st season of college football in the United States, organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The regular season ran from September 3 to December 19, 2020. Shortly after, the postseason began on December 21, 2020, culminating in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 11, 2021, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes to claim the national championship with a final score of 52-24.
The season was heavily 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 beginning on August 29, but they greatly reduced non-conference games to limit the extent of interstate travel. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 12, Southeastern Conference (SEC) as well as several other Group of Five conferences began their seasons in September while independent Notre Dame agreed to play a full conference schedule with the ACC.
In August, the Big Ten, Pac-12, Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West, and several independents announced they would delay their football seasons until further notice due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, targeting the possibility of playing in the spring of 2021 instead. By late September, however, the four conferences reversed their decisions and announced plans to play shortened seasons.
Some postseason activities, including the final College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings and the Heisman Trophy nominations, were delayed to provide flexibility for conferences to finish delayed seasons in mid-December. Several bowl games were canceled due to recommendations by local health officials or because they could not secure teams after multiple programs had opted out of bowl games due to COVID-19 concerns. Other contests saw extraordinary relocations; the Rose Bowl was played outside of Pasadena, California, for the first time since 1942, and the New Mexico Bowl was played in Frisco, Texas.