The Long Sordid History of National Championships

[EvilVodka]

I'll start way back in the beginning...out of sheer boredom. This will be the best thread ever

1936
LSU gets ripped off as they play two extra games, and finish undefeated in the polls, yet media darling Minnesota gets the vote for National Champions, which it's important remember, is crowned just after the regular season at this point. Alabama and Santa Clara also finish the regular season undefeated, and Alabama is the only team to remain without a loss after everything is said and done. Clearly, the pre-BCS was a total disaster and failure, and LSU should have another trophy.


1937
Jesus, this season will make you want to puke. Pittsburgh finishes #1, yet California, Fordham, Alabama, Villanova, Dartmouth, Santa Clara, Holy Cross, and Colorado all finish the regular season unbeaten. Media Darling Pittsburgh gets the pretty girl vote and is crowned National Champs.

http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/national_championships/poll_results.php?year=1936



1938
A Total of six different teams finish the season undefeated. TCU and Tennessee both finish up at 11-0, but poor Tennessee ends up at #2.

1939
Seven teams finish the season undefeated, while Texas A&M is crowned as National Champions. Tennessee is once again shunned during the final regular season poll, but loses the Rose Bowl to USC anyways. USC finished the season with 8 wins, no losses, and 2 ties, a 7-7 tie to Oregon, and a nothing-nothing tie to UCLA. Mighty Cornell remains 8-0 on the season.

1940
Minnesota, Stanford, Tennessee, and Boston College all finish undefeated, yet Minnesota gets the benefit of the doubt and is crowned National Champions. Stanford and Boston College remain undefeated.

1941
Minnesota repeats as National Champs, while Duke goes undefeated, but then loses their bowl game to Oregon State in the Rose Bowl. Notre Dame makes a push but remains out of the picture because of a tie.

1942
Ohio State tops the list and wins the National Championship, despite losing to 8-1-1 Wisconsin. Georgia also gets bypassed at #2 with a 10-1 record. Tulsa goes undefeated during the regular season, but loses their bowl game to Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl.

1943
Notre Dame and Frank Leahy win the National Championship even with a loss to Great Lakes NTS. Purdue goes undefeated, but gets stuck at #5.

1944
Army begins pounding people, goes 9-0 and wins the National Championship. Ohio State, Randolph Field-TX, and Bainbridge NTS all go undefeated and get squat. Undefeated Ohio State finishes #2.

1945
Army repeats as National Champions with a 9-0 record. Alabama and Oklahoma State go undefeated and get squat.

1946
Despite a tie with Army, Notre Dame wins the popularity vote ahead of the Blackknights and wins the National Championship. Georgia goes undefeated and gets squat (#3, whoopie!). UCLA goes undefeated during the regular season, but gets mauled by Illinois in the Rose Bowl

1947
Media darling Notre Dame finishes ahead of undefeated Michigan, SMU, and Penn State and wins the National Championship. SMU and Penn State end the season with a few ties. Michigan pounds USC in the Rose Bowl 49-0

more soon to come...

 

[ugafan6612]

This is why some schools claim NC's

 

[Iron My Jorts]

FBS Football Championship History - NCAA.com

 

[Iron My Jorts]

This is why some schools claim NC's

The rocky flops are the worst. They claim 6 when they've only won 2.
At least 11 of Bama's 13 are legit.

 

[rolltide14_0]

The rocky flops are the worst. They claim 6 when they've only won 2.
At least 11 of Bama's 13 are legit.

This is what I like when someone is actually honest and not trying to be a dick. Yes it's funny to laugh about some Bama fans claiming thousands of titles, but if you pay attention most of the claimed ones are good, and there are maybe a couple that could be claimed but are not. I personally just chose 10 as my number.

 

[bchampy]

This is what I like when someone is actually honest and not trying to be a dick. Yes it's funny to laugh about some Bama fans claiming thousands of titles, but if you pay attention most of the claimed ones are good, and there are maybe a couple that could be claimed but are not. I personally just chose 10 as my number.

The majority of the time when people talk about Bama claiming extra national titles it's "tongue in cheek".

 

[ugafan6612]

The rocky flops are the worst. They claim 6 when they've only won 2.
At least 11 of Bama's 13 are legit.

wow. I think UGA only claims 2 on their website. 1942 and 1980 but most of us only recognize 1980 since we weren't born back then

 

[goDAWGSsicem]

Are you basing the "Champion" in your list off of the AP?

Just wondering because I noticed that you had UGA getting passed over in 1942 by Ohio State, when Georgia was actually award the NC by more polls and is recognized by many as the true NC.

Go Dawgs.



LOL

Georgia's last game was a win in the Rose Bowl against UCLA, Ohio State's last game was in November against Iowa Navy Pre-Flight... whatever that is.

 

[Iron My Jorts]

This is what I like when someone is actually honest and not trying to be a dick. Yes it's funny to laugh about some Bama fans claiming thousands of titles, but if you pay attention most of the claimed ones are good, and there are maybe a couple that could be claimed but are not. I personally just chose 10 as my number.

The only one that sticks out that Bama fans like to claim is 1941, even though they finished 3rd in the SEC and 20th in the AP poll.

 

[Iron My Jorts]

Are you basing the "Champion" in your list off of the AP?
Just wondering because I noticed that you had UGA getting passed over in 1942 by Ohio State, when Georgia was actually award the NC by more polls and is recognized by many as the true NC.
Go Dawgs.
LOL
Georgia's last game was a win in the Rose Bowl against UCLA, Ohio State's last game was in November against Iowa Navy Pre-Flight... whatever that is.

No they aren't.

FBS Football Championship History - NCAA.com

 

[goDAWGSsicem]

No they aren't.

FBS Football Championship History - NCAA.com

Yes they are.

That, again, is siding with the AP. The NCAA does not officially recognize a NC in football.



Polls/Organiztaions that picked Georgia...
1st-N-Goal
Bill Libby
Billingsley Report
Century Football Index
Cliff Morgan
Clyde Berryman
Edward Litkenhous
Harry DeVold
Houlgate System
James Howell
Loren Maxwell
Mel Smith
Montgomery Full Season Championship
Nutshell Sports Football Ratings
Poling System
Sagarin Ratings
The State's National Champions
Williamson System



Polls/Organizations that picked OSU...
Angelo Louisa
Associated Press
Bernie McCarty
Boand System
Bob Kirlin
Bob Royce
College Football Researchers Association
College Football USA
David Wilson
Dunkel System
Earl Jessen
George Trevor
Harry Frye
James Whalen
Jim Koger
National Championship Foundation
Patrick Premo



And again, UGA beat UCLA in the Rose Bowl and Ohio State didn't even play in a bowl.

 

[Iron My Jorts]

The NCAA disagrees.

FBS Football Championship History - NCAA.com

And Big 10 teams weren't allowed to play in a bowl during that period.

 

[goDAWGSsicem]

The NCAA disagrees.

FBS Football Championship History - NCAA.com

And Big 10 teams weren't allowed to play in a bowl during that period.

The NCAA doesn't officially recognize a FBS NC.

And they allowed them to only go to the Rose Bowl, but the Rose Bowl picked UGA... the National Champions.

 

[Iron My Jorts]

Hmm...official NCAA site, or random person on the internet...who to believe?

 

[goDAWGSsicem]

A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection(s) of the best college football team(s). Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football is the only NCAA sport in which a yearly champion is not determined by an NCAA sanctioned championship event.

Because the championship team is not determined by an NCAA championship or tournament event, it has often been unofficially referred to as a "mythical national championship".[1][2][3][4] Since the NCAA, the sport's governing body, does not determine or declare a national champion in this field, determination of such has often engendered controversy.[5] A championship team is independently declared by various individuals and organizations, often referred to as "selectors".[6][7] These choices are sometimes at odds with each other.[5] While the NCAA has never officially endorsed an annual championship team, it has documented the choices of several selectors in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records.[8] In addition, various third party analysts have independently published their own lists of what they have determined to be the most legitimate selections for each season. These are also often at odds with each other as well as individual school's claims on national championships, which, for any particular season, may or may not correlate to the selections published elsewhere.

College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Iron My Jorts]

And the Big 10 didn't allow their teams to play in a bowl game from 1903 until 1946 (when they struck the deal with the Pac 12 for the Rose).

 

[Iron My Jorts]

lol
Really?
Wikipedia over the official NCAA site?

 

[goDAWGSsicem]

Check the sources.

It's a well known fact. Sorry.

 

[Iron My Jorts]

Official NCAA site, or Wikipedia....hmm...

 

[goDAWGSsicem]

Official NCAA site, or Wikipedia....hmm...

Oh, OK.

So you're going to just repeat yourself and ignore the sources cited, even though one of the sources is your beloved Official NCAA site?


Alright then... conversation over.