1983–84 NCAA football bowl games explained

Season:	1983
Regular Season:	September 3–December 3
Number Of Bowls:	16
Bowl Start:	December 10, 1983
Bowl End:	January 2, 1984
Championship Bowl:	1984 Orange Bowl
Championship Location:	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
Champions:	Miami Hurricanes
Conference1:	Independents
Conference1 Teams:	7
Conference1 Wins:	5
Conference1 Losses:	2
Conference1 Ap Poll:	5
Conference2:	SEC
Conference2 Teams:	7
Conference2 Wins:	5
Conference2 Losses:	2
Conference2 Ap Poll:	4
Conference3:	Big Ten
Conference3 Teams:	4
Conference3 Wins:	1
Conference3 Losses:	3
Conference3 Ap Poll:	4
Conference4:	Big Eight
Conference4 Teams:	3
Conference4 Wins:	1
Conference4 Losses:	2
Conference4 Ap Poll:	1
Conference5:	SWC
Conference5 Teams:	3
Conference5 Wins:	0
Conference5 Losses:	3
Conference5 Ap Poll:	2
Conference6:	WAC
Conference6 Teams:	2
Conference6 Wins:	2
Conference6 Losses:	0
Conference6 Ap Poll:	2
Conference7:	Pac-10
Conference7 Teams:	2
Conference7 Wins:	1
Conference7 Losses:	1
Conference7 Ap Poll:	1
Conference8:	ACC
Conference8 Teams:	2
Conference8 Wins:	0
Conference8 Losses:	2
Conference8 Ap Poll:	1
Conference9:	MAC
Conference9 Teams:	1
Conference9 Wins:	1
Conference9 Losses:	0
Conference9 Ap Poll:	0
Conference10:	Big West
Conference10 Teams:	1
Conference10 Wins:	0
Conference10 Losses:	1
Conference10 Ap Poll:	0

The 1983–84 NCAA football bowl games featured 16 games starting early in December and ending on January 2, 1984. The Tangerine Bowl was renamed the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Bowl games

NOTE: Rankings used are the final regular season AP Rankings whenever noted

-	Date	Game	Site	Result	Ref.
Dec 10	Independence Bowl	Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA	(16) Air Force Falcons 9, Ole Miss 3
Dec 17	California Bowl	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	Northern Illinois Huskies 20, Cal State Fullerton 13
	Florida Citrus Bowl	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL	(16) Maryland Terrapins 23, Tennessee Volunteers 30
Dec 22	Hall of Fame Classic	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	(18) West Virginia Mountaineers 20, Kentucky Wildcats 16
Dec 23	Holiday Bowl	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	(9) BYU Cougars 21, Missouri Tigers 17
Dec 24	Sun Bowl	Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, TX	Alabama Crimson Tide 28, (6) SMU Mustangs 7
Dec 26	Aloha Bowl	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	Penn State Nittany Lions 13, Washington Huskies 10
Dec 29	Liberty Bowl	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	(13) Boston College 18, Notre Dame Fighting Irish 19
Dec 30	Gator Bowl	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL	(10) Iowa Hawkeyes 6, (11) Florida Gators 14
	Peach Bowl	Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium Atlanta, GA	North Carolina Tar Heels 3, Florida State Seminoles 28
Dec 31	Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl	Astrodome Houston, TX	Oklahoma State Cowboys 24, (20) Baylor Bears 14
Jan 2	Sugar Bowl	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA	(3) Auburn 9, (8) Michigan Wolverines 7
	Cotton Bowl	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	(7) Georgia Bulldogs 10, (2) Texas Longhorns 9
	Orange Bowl	Orange Bowl Miami, FL	(1) Nebraska Cornhuskers 30, (5) Miami Hurricanes 31
	Fiesta Bowl	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	(14) Ohio State Buckeyes 28, (15) Pittsburgh Panthers 23
	Rose Bowl	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA	UCLA Bruins 45, (4) Illinois Fighting Illini 9

Final rankings

See main article: 1983 NCAA Division I-A football rankings.

AP Poll

1. Miami (FL)
2. Nebraska
3. Auburn
4. Georgia
5. Texas
6. Florida
7. BYU
8. Michigan
9. Ohio State
10. Illinois
11. Clemson
12. SMU
13. Air Force
14. Iowa
15. Alabama
16. West Virginia
17. UCLA
18. Pittsburgh
19. Boston College
20. East Carolina

Coaches' Poll

1. Miami (FL)
2. Nebraska
3. Auburn
4. Georgia
5. Texas
6. Florida
7. BYU
8. Ohio State
9. Michigan
10. Illinois
11. SMU
12. Alabama
13. UCLA
14. Iowa
15. Air Force
16. West Virginia
17. Penn State
18. Oklahoma State
19. Pittsburgh
20. Boston College

• Clemson was on probation by the NCAA during the 1983 season; they were therefore ineligible to receive votes in the Coaches' Poll