College football's top stories of 2013

Paul Myerberg | USA TODAY Sports

To recap the 2013 regular season, USA TODAY Sports is counting down some of the year's memorable moments, significant stories, noteworthy trends, biggest surprises and biggest disappointments. Today, we look at the regular season's top five storylines.

1. Jameis Winston

For four weeks in November and December, the allegations of sexual assault against Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston stood as the largest and most provocative story of the 2013 season. While Winston was never charged – state attorneys dropped the case prior to the Heisman Trophy ceremony – the allegations hung like a cloud over the redshirt freshman's otherwise pitch-perfect All-American season.

Not that the allegations marred his Heisman credentials: Winston won the trophy in a landslide, finishing with the seventh-largest margin of victory in Heisman voting history.

2. We have a playoff

So long, Bowl Championship Series. (But thanks for getting the matchups right as you left the building in 2013.) That the BCS would be replaced by a four-team playoff was made official in April, and given a name – the College Football Playoff – perfect in its simplicity.

In October, the College Football Playoff gave some additional information about its selection process: like the men's and women's basketball tournaments, the teams in the four-team playoff and secondary bowls would be chosen by a 13-person committee led by Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long, the committee chair.

Perhaps the most dramatic entry on the committee was former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who drew criticism from former Auburn coach Pat Dye: "All she knows about football is what somebody told her," Dye said. "To understand football, you've got to play with your hand in the dirt."

3. Manziel trouble

Johnny Manziel's quest for a second consecutive Heisman Trophy was nearly derailed days before the 2013 season began. In August, an autograph broker told ESPN he had paid Manziel for signing hundreds of pieces of memorabilia – a clear violation of NCAA bylaws regarding amateur eligibility. The report set off an NCAA investigation; it also served as the last rocky moment in the rockiest offseason ever experienced by a reigning Heisman winner. If found to have accepted payment for his autograph, Manziel would have likely missed most, if not all, of his sophomore season.

The result: Manziel was suspended by the NCAA for the first half of the season opener against Rice, an easy win for the Aggies, and returned in more than enough time to put together another banner season in A&M's offense.

4. Grambling sits one out

A number of factors stood behind the decision of Grambling's football team – the players, not the coaching staff – to boycott two days of practice and a game against Jackson State. There were the substandard facilities, like a weight room with inadequate equipment, holes on the floor and "mildew and mold" along the walls and ceiling.

There were the exhausting travel plans: Grambling would bus to and from games, leaving the team "drained" before even playing a down. The team was also upset that the university had fired coach Doug Williams.

The result was a week-long spotlight on a once-proud football program soured by budget cuts and an overall sense of malaise.

5. Army and Navy left scrambling

This Federal shutdown hit close to home. When the government entered into a shutdown for the first half of October, the Defense Department temporarily suspended athletic completion at Army, Navy and Air Force. Because both Army and Navy were set to play away games on Oct. 5 – Army at Boston College, Navy at Air Force – both service academies were in a position where it could potentially be forced to skip a regular-season game.

By Oct. 3, however, the Defense Department gave both teams the go-ahead to compete in Saturday's games – allowing college football to continue, even if the government remained closed for business.