1923 College Football National Championship (2024)

A number of other schools posted perfectrecords, but all played weak (and usually regionally confined)schedules, and therefore none of them were close to meriting MNCcontention. Those teams included 8-0 Marquette, 9-0 Colorado, 9-0Southern Methodist, 7-0 Pacific, 8-0 Davis & Elkins, and 9-0 NewMexico State.

California went unbeaten for a 4th straightseason, but a shocking 0-0 tie with 2-3-3 Nevada left them 9-0-1 andout of MNC contention for the first time since 1919. Notre Dame's "FourHorsem*n" backfield crushed every opponent except 4-2-2 Nebraska, whoupset them 14-7 in Lincoln, leaving them 9-1 and out of the race,though they might well have been the best team of 1923. The "FourHorsem*n" would not actually be named as such until the next season,when they posted a perfect record, capped by a Rose Bowl victory, andclaimed a virtually unanimous MNC. But I'll get to that in my 1924article.

All 4 of our major 8-0 teams were big-name schools with a historyof success. Illinois did have 2 consensus All Americans, which showsnational esteem for the team, but Yale also had 2, and Yale had a totalof 7 players make AA lists, while Illinois had just 3. Most of theselectors were Easterners, but not all were, and anyway, Michigan had 5players make various AA lists.

Cornell had just 2, but Cornell also had a huge advantage over the others going into 1923:they were 8-0 in 1921 and 8-0 in 1922 as well, and would have been veryhighly ranked to start this season. They then destroyed theiropponents, including 34-7 over 6-2-1 Colgate and 32-7 at 8-1 Dartmouth,who would have finished in the top 10. It is hard to see exactly whenany of the other contenders would have passed them up in an AP poll,but they did struggle to a 14-7 win at 5-4 Penn in their finale, soperhaps they would have been passed up then, right at the finish line.

Yale had the more hallowed name, and they certainly got moreattention from Eastern writers this season. This was their firstperfect finish since 1909, the last yearof a 2-decade stretch during which Yale had ruled college football.Eastern writers, at least, felt a huge sentimental draw to this team,as 1923 was their long-awaited return to the "top."

But Michigan would have had sentiment going for them too. If therehad been an AP poll 1901-1923, Michiganwould not have finished #1 in any of the seasons before this one. Butby the time the 1920s rolled around, Michigan coach Fielding Yost wasone of the best known and most respected coaches in college football,and it was in the 1920s that his "Point a Minute" teams (1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, and 1905)started to gain true national respect, albeit in hindsight. Yost was afrequent author of football books and articles, and a popular speakerin the off-season, and this was supposed to be his final year coachingat Michigan. There would have been enormous national sentiment that1923 was Michigan and Fielding Yost's "turn" to be ranked #1. Michiganalso finished 6-0-1 in 1922, and therefore would have started 1923 with the advantage of a high rating.

And then there is Illinois, who had gone 2-5 in 1922 andwould have been lowly ranked to start 1923, and probably not ranked atall. Why does Bob Kirlin think Illinois would have been voted #1 in anAP poll in 1923? I can only guess that it's because of their star halfback,Harold "Red" Grange, who in the 1920s reached a level of celebritynever matched by a college football player, before or since. But theproblem is that Grange, while a consensus All American in 1923, was notat all the nationally revered superstar he would go on to become--Grange mania would not start until the next season:October 18, 1924 to be exact. But more on that later. The point is, in1923 "Grange" was not a big enough name to push Illinois to #1 in an APpoll all by itself.

On the other hand, writers who actually sawIllinois play appear to have been convinced that they were the bestteam of 1923, and many of those writers also saw at least Michiganplay. Unfortunately, they would have constituted a minority of votersin a national poll, so I don't know that they could have pushedIllinois to #1. But Illinois certainly outperformed Michigan against asimilar schedule. In fact, Michigan needed some fluke plays to beat acouple of their opponents, and that would have hurt their cause.

Conclusion?As I said at the outset, it is impossible to reasonably guess which ofthese 4 teams would have been voted #1 in an AP poll. It would havebeen a true horse race, and a very close vote. My guess would be Yale,just because they were so beloved in the East, and outside the Easttheywere still well remembered as college football's greatestgiant in the first decade of the 20th century. But enough of whatwriters at the time thought-- time to look at the 4 teams and see whoactually deserved the 1923 MNC. We'll start with Illinois, theconsensus choice among retroactive MNC selectors.

Unfortunately for Zuppke, most of the best players fromthe 1922 freshman team transferred elsewhere. Quarterback Ralph "Moon"Baker went to Northwestern and tackle Frank Wickhorst went to Navy, andboth became consensus All Americans. Halfback Paul Cook became astarter at Michigan. On the bright side, the best of the lot, thenow-legendary halfback Red Grange, remained at Illinois, and that rosy8-0 future was thus secured.

Harold"Red" Grange was just 5' 11" and 166 pounds, but he had scored 75touchdowns and 532 points at Wheaton High School in Illinois, and hecould reportedly run the 100 yard dash in 9.8 seconds, so there wasgreat anticipation among Illinois fans for his sophom*ore debut with theIllini. He did not disappoint, scoring 3 touchdowns against Nebraska inhis first game and totaling 723 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns for the1923 season, including at least one touchdown in every game he played.He also added 178 yards receiving, 212 returning punts, and 140returning interceptions.

But he did not become a legend until the 1924 game with Michigan (pictured above),who at that point had not lost in 3 years. On that day, October 18,1924, Grange returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown,then scored 3 more times on runs of 67, 56, and 44 yards, all in thefirst 12 minutes of the game, after which he took a seat on the bench.He returned briefly in the 3rd quarter, long enough to add an 11 yardtouchdown run and a 20 yard touchdown pass, and then his day was done.In less than one half of a game, he accounted for 6 touchdowns, rushedfor 212 yards, passed for 64, and returned a couple of kicks for 126.

That one game made him the biggest celebrity college football hasever known, and thereafter he was nationally known as "The GallopingGhost." For his 3 year, 20 game career, he totaled 2071 rushing yards,253 receiving, 575 passing, 939 in punt and kickoff returns, 247 ininterception returns, and he scored 31 touchdowns.He was a consensus All American all 3 years, then signed a lucrativecontract with the Chicago Bears the day after his last game atIllinois. He is often credited with getting the NFL off the groundfinancially, as well as "legitimizing" the league in terms ofpublicity. He also went out to Hollywood and starred in a couple ofmovies about himself, as well as a 12-part serial. He is in both thecollege and pro football halls of fame, and he makes the short list forpractically any discussion of the greatest college football player ofall time.

There are plenty of backs in history whose accomplishments comparewell to Grange's overall numbers (including his 11 interceptions in 20games), but let's just look at Aubrey Devine, who starred for the Iowateam I selected as a national champion for 1921.Devine is nowhere near as famous as Grange, and makes no one's list ofthe greatest players (except perhaps among Iowa fans), but his 895rushing yards and 2211 total offense yards in 1921 simply blow Grange'sbest season out of the water. And Devine was also his team's punter andplacekicker. He even had one transcendent game that was comparable toGrange's 1924 game against Michigan. Against Minnesota in 1921, Devineaccounted for 484 yards and 6 touchdowns (similar to Grange's 402 and6), but on top of that he added 5 extra points-- so he accounted formore yards and more points than Grange did in what is supposedly "thegreatest single game performance of all time," and did so just 3 yearsearlier.

So what, exactly, made Grange such an all-timesuperstar, and Devine just another great back, now largely forgottenoutside Iowa? It's impossible to say, really, why one player catchesthe public's fancy and another doesn't, when the answer isn't in theactual accomplishments. It may come down to one simple factor-- whetheror not Grantland Rice writes a nationally published poem about you.

"There are shapes now moving,

And then there was the forgotten man, fullback Earl Britton. Henever made a first team AA list or even all conference (though he waseventually selected as 3rd team all Big 10), but he was a very big backfor his time, 6' 2" and about 220 pounds, and fast and agile for hissize. He was Grange's best blocker all 3 years, and he was an excellentpunter and placekicker as well. His 50 yard field goal, a school recordfor longest that lasted another 44 years, made the difference in a 9-6win over Iowa this season. He went on to play for 5 years in the pros.

Butwhile the world at large may not have taken much notice of EarlBritton, Grange never forgot Britton's importance to his success. Yearslater, he lamented the fact that Britton never made an AA list, callinghim "the best blocker I ever saw." He also called Britton's 50 yardfield goal against Iowa, for which he was the holder, his singlebiggest thrill in football.After Grange left school and signed with Chicago, the Galloping Ghostsent for his wingman, and Britton left school one week later to joinGrange with the Bears. Earl Britton's hometown didn't forget himeither, as he is in the Elgin (Illinois) Sports Hall of Fame.

Zuppke wanted to keep his prize player healthy for the crucial Big10 contests to come, so he sat Grange for Illinois' next game againstButler. Or at least he tried to. Butler was not quite the patsy theywere supposed to be when originally placed on the schedule, and in factthey had beaten Illinois 10-7 the previous season. This time, Zuppkesent Grange in to break open a tight game in the 2nd half, and Grangeran for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns, leading Illinois to a 21-7 win. Sowe can see the impact Grange had on Illinois' 1923 fortunes rightthere. Butler was a strong minor team, finishing 7-2. Their second losscame 34-7 to Notre Dame, but they went 7-0 against other minor teams

Iowafinally pushed over a touchdown to take a 6-3 lead early in the 4thquarter. These were the last points Illinois gave up in 1923. In thelatter half of the quarter, Illinois, unable to move the ball on theground, took to the air. Quarterback Harry Hall completed 3 long passesto Red Grange, setting up Grange's short touchdown run for the 9-6 win.

Iowa lost twice more, finishing 5-3, and they would not have beenranked in an AP poll's top 25 (I have them at #26-33). However,their 3 losses came to top 10 caliber teams (8-0 Illinois, 8-0Michigan, and 5-1-1 Minnesota), and they gave 8-0 Michigan an eventougher time than they gave Illinois, so power-wise it's possible thatIowa was a #15 type team. On the other hand, Iowa's 5 wins all cameover losing teams, and they only beat 2-5-1 Purdue by 7 and 2-6Northwestern by 3, so it's very difficult to gauge exactly how goodIowa was this season.

Chicago finished 7-1, andI have them at #6 for 1923.

Wisconsinlost their next 2 games, finishing 3-3-1, and they would not have beenranked in a final AP poll, but they were probably about #15 power-wise,and could viably be rated as high as the top 10. They tied 5-1-1Minnesota (#10), and their 3 losses came to 8-0 Illinois, 8-0 Michigan,and 7-1Chicago, all top 10 caliber teams. They lost to Chicago by 7 andMichigan by 3, and in fact Michigan only beat them on a fluke play (ascovered in the Michigan summary below). I have Wisconsin at #23 for1923.

Grange remained out for the next game against Mississippi State (5-2-2), whom Illinois nevertheless dispatched with ease, 27-0.

Illinoisthen hit the road for their traditional finale against rival OhioState. It was OSU's homecoming, and they were 3-3-1 coming in, theirlosses taken to 8-0 Michigan, 5-3 Iowa, and 7-1 Chicago. But they hadtied 6-2-1 Colgate, who had given 8-1 Syracuse their only loss 16-7,and Colgate would have finished about #15 in a final AP poll (I have them at #14).

OhioState took the proper course, arranging their entire defense aroundstopping Red Grange, which successfully kept the game scoreless through3 quarters. OSU had 3 shots from inside the Illinois 1 yard line in the3rd quarter, but they were unable to punch it in. Actually, theBuckeyes felt that they did punch it in, but unfortunately for them thereferee did not see it that way. Itdidn't matter, because Illinois scored twice in the 4th quarter anyway,winning9-0. The game was essentially won on a 10 play, 82 yard touchdowndrive, Grange galloping over from 31 yards out. That completed hisstreak of scoring a touchdown in every game he played this season. EarlBrittonlater added a 32 yard field goal to put the game out of reach.

This was supposed to be Yost's last year as coach, buthis retirement only lasted 1 season, after which he returned for a2-year encore 1925-1926, winning 2 more Big 10 titles in those seasons.That brought his total to 10 conference championships in just 15 years.Compare that to his Hall of Fame contemporaries:Illinois' Robert Zuppke won 7 in 29 seasons, Chicago's Amos AlonzoStagg won 7 in 37, Ohio State's John Wilce managed just 3 in 16, andagain, Minnesota's Henry Williams won 8 in 22

Most of the players from Michigan's 6-0-1 1922team, covered in that article, returned this season. The main losseswere a pair of nonconsensus All American ends, Paul Goebel and BernieKirk. Center and drop-kicker Jack Blott was Michigan's one consensus AAthis season, while Hall of Fame halfback and punter Harry Kipke,consensus AA in 1922, was dropped from such lists this season in favorof Red Grange. Blott and Kipke were all-conference, and tackle StanleyMuirhead gave Michigan a 3rd all-conference player, one more thanIllinois had. Muirhead reportedly made 22 or 23 tackles, depending onthe source, in Michigan's biggest game this season, their finaleagainst 5-1-1 Minnesota.

This season's newcomers weren't particularly notable, but at leastone made a significant impact in just 2 starts. Substitute quarterbackFerdinand "Tod" Rockwell took over as starter when Irwin Uteritz brokehis leg in the 6th game, against the Quantico Marines. Rockwell was theholder for a field goal try in that game, but when it looked likeQuantico had broken through for the block, he picked up the ball andimprovised a 26 yard touchdown run. In the next game, Rockwell scored acontroversial touchdown to beat Wisconsin 6-3 (as covered below).Rockwell then caught a 31 yard touchdown pass in Michigan's finale, a10-0 win over Minnesota. In 1924, he would score 77 points (10 touchdowns, 14 extra points, and 1 field goal), leaving himjust 1 point behind Red Grange for top scorer in the conference. He wasa nonconsensus AA that season. Rockwell became a sportswriter for theDetroit Free Press.

Guard Harry Hawkins, who started 4 games, went through his Michigancareer unheralded by all but his coach, who later proclaimed him thebest lineman of 1925. He won the national collegiate championship inthe hammer throw in 1926, and is in the Saginaw Sports Hall of Fame.

Michigan needed a pair of fluke plays to win 2 more close games ontheir way to 8-0. The first came at Iowa, just a couple of weeks afterIllinois had barely escaped Iowa City with a 9-6 win. Michigan beat Iowa 9-3 by recovering their own punt inIowa's end zone for a touchdown. What happened was that referee JohnSchommer ruled that an Iowa player rushing the punter had grazed the ball withhis fingertips. Schommer called out that it was a live ball, but no one heardhim except Michigan center Jack Blott. In those days, a punting teamcould recover a partially blocked punt and retain possession of theball. So as Iowa's players stood around watching the punt roll into theend zone, thinking it was a routine touchback, Blott ran past them alland fell on the ball for what proved to be the winning score.

HarryKipke added a field goal to give Michigan a 9-0 lead in the 1stquarter, and Iowa kicked a field goal in the 2nd to make the 9-3 finalscore. Michigan produced little to no offense in this game, but theydidn't need any thanks to Jack Blott's opportunistic touchdown. Blottalso intercepted a4th quarter pass at his own 25 yard line to help preserve the win.

Afterthe game, referee John Schommer was swarmed by Iowa fans out for blood,but Iowa's players came to his aid and escorted him safely off thefield. This game led to a change in football's rules concerningpartially blocked punts.

Iowa, as discussed in the Illinoissummary above, finished 5-3 and would not have been ranked in an AP top25, though they might have been top 25 power-wise.

The Wisconsin bench and fans went nuts, and referee WalterEckersall needed Wisconsin players to escort him from the fieldunharmed after the game, much like fellow Chicago graduate JohnSchommer did at Iowa 2 weeks prior. Also similar to the Iowa game, thisplay prompted a change in the rules of college football, after whicha player was ruled down if his knee touched the ground.

Wisconsin almost pulled their own rabbit out of a hat with a "HailMary" pass on the last play of the game. A receiver caught the ball andgot away for some 50 yards down the field, but Michigan guard ButchSlaughter chased him down and tackled him 20 yards from the end zone.Wisconsin, as discussed in the Illinois summary above, finished3-3-1 and would not have been ranked in an AP top 25, but they werelikely about #15 power-wise, and I have them at #23 for 1923.

Michigan suffered quite a few injuries down the stretch. They hadalready lost 3 starters heading into the Wisconsin game, and centerJack Blott broke his leg in that one. Only 5of the team's original 11 starters took the field in theseason finale against Minnesota, who was coming to Ann Arbor at 5-0-1.Luckily for Michigan, Minnesota lost their star quarterback early inthe game, and with him went the offense. 42,000 fans watched their teamwin 10-0. Tod Rockwell caught a 31 yard touchdown pass in the 2ndquarter and kicked the extra point. In the 3rd quarter, a blocked puntset up a Harry Kipke field goal. Kipke also had a great day punting,and he knocked down several passes (Minnesota was 0 for 8 in the air).

SoMinnesota finished 5-1-1, and I have them at #10 for 1923. But their tie came to 3-3-1 Wisconsin

Century Milstead wasso-named because he was born on the first day of the 20th century,January 1, 1901 (but there is some confusion over his birthdate-- seeAddendum following this article if interested in such trivia). Hetransferred from Wabash, whom he had led to a winover Purdue and a 7-2 finish in 1921, and after sitting out therequired year in 1922, this was the only season he was eligible to playat Yale. He was 6' 4" and 205 pounds, andreportedly threw the varsity backs around during scrimmages in 1922.

Milsteadwas suspended from school in 1924 for marrying while still a student,which he had actually done in secret before the 1923 football season.Yale dean F. S. Jones answered protests by pointing out that "Marriageis too distracting to a student." To which Milstead replied, "I'veengaged in both marriage and athletics and if the question ofdistraction is to be argued, I should say that there's something to besaid about the distraction of athletics." Yale met him halfway: he could not attend classes, but he was allowed to take his examinations, which he passed to obtain his degree.

MalStevens was a transfer from Washburn, where he had been the quarterbackfor 3 years, so like Milstead he was a one-season mercenary. UnlikeMilstead, he was never named to a first team AA list, and in fact hewas not even a starter in his one season at Yale, so I don't know whathe's doing in the Hall of Fame. It probably has to do with the factthat he became an orthopedic surgeon, and coached at Yale and NYU aswell. He succeeded Tad Jones as coach at Yale in 1928, and oversawYale's fade from big-time football, going 21-11-8 in 5 seasons. Then hewas 33-34-2 at NYU 1934-1941.

End Dick Luman would be named a consensus AA in 1924, and center Winslow Lovejoy would be nonconsensus AA the same season.

TackleEdwin "Ted" Blair never received national honors, but he had a coupleof big plays in the Army and Harvard games, and Yale's football MVPaward is named for him.

Yale started with a pair of Southern challengers, routing 5-3-1North Carolina 53-0 and 5-3-1 Georgia 40-0. 4-4-1 Bucknell put up moreof a fight before falling 29-14, but Yale led 14-0 at half, and thoughthe reserves gave up some points, they still won the 2nd half 15-14.Yale then won 21-0 over 6-4 Brown, and that brought them to theirtoughest opponent of 1923, Army.

Army came in at 4-1, having lost 13-0 to Notre Dame (9-1). Anational record 80,000 fans crammed the Yale Bowl, temporary standsadded for this game.

Army tied 5-1-3 Navy in their finale,finishing 6-2-1, and I have them ranked #12 for 1923. They didn't actually beat a team who would havebeen ranked, but they gave 6-1-2 Florida their only loss 20-0, andtheir tie with Navy held value because Navy tied 10-1-1 Washington inthe Rose Bowl.

Groves led histeam to a pair of 1st quarter touchdowns with great running andpassing. Both drives were long, 80 and 85 yards, and Groves capped eachby running for the touchdown and kicking the extra point for a 14-0lead. Yale had no first downs in that opening quarter, but clearlyMaryland simply held the ball for almost all of it. Maryland was on themarch again in the 2nd quarter, but a fumble at the Yale 30 turned thegame around. Widdy Neale ripped a 50 yard run on the way to a Ducky Pondtouchdown, cutting the deficit to 14-7. Later, Neale did most of thework on a drive to the Maryland 10, where Bill Mallory kicked a fieldgoal, making it 14-10 at the half.

In the 3rd quarter, Yaledrove to the Maryland goal line before Mal Stevens lost a fumble at the1 yard line. But he made up for it by returning the ensuing punt backto the Maryland 3, then scoring a touchdown to take the lead 16-14.Maryland came back and dominated the 4th quarter, but they were unableto translate that dominance to points. Yale had a lot of troubledefending their passing game, but Maryland lost another fumble at theYale 30 with 5 minutes to go, and then Johnny Groves barely missed afield goal attempt at the end that would have won it.

Marylandwas tied by 6-2-1 Johns Hopkins (whom Cornell beat 52-0) in theirfinale, putting them at 7-2-1. They would not have been ranked in a1923 AP poll.

Yale next beat 3-3-1 Princeton 27-0, their mostlopsided win in the series since 1890, in front of another crowd of80,000. Then they went up to 4-3-1 Harvard, their only road trip of theseason, and won 13-0 in the rain. This game featured 14 fumbles and 54punts, as neither team could produce much offense. In the 2nd quarter,Ducky Pond picked up a Harvard fumble, and with no one around him, ranit back for a 63 yard touchdown. It was Yale's first touchdown atHarvard since 1907. In the 3rd quarter, Ted Blair blocked a Harvardpunt and returned the ball another 12 yards to set up a Bill Malloryfield goal. Later, Harvard fumbled at their own 20, leading to a 37yard Mallory field goal that closed the scoring. Yale had anothercouple of scoring chances due to Harvard turnovers, while Harvard neverthreatened to score.

Gone this year were superstar halfback Eddie Kaw, nonconsensus AAtackle Swede Hanson (actually, he was still around, but as an assistantcoach), and 5 other starters from the line. There was some question asto whether the machine could keep rolling, but roll on it did. Hall ofFame quarterback George Pfann (pictured at left) stepped up his game,scoring 15 touchdowns in 8 games and passing for more on the way tobeing named consensus AA. In fact, despite the terrific debut of RedGrange at Illinois, if there had been a Heisman Trophy in 1923, itwould have come down to Pfann or Penn State's Harry "Light Horse"Wilson for the award. After graduation, Pfann went off to study law atOxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

Halfback Floyd Ramsey and fullback Charles Cassidy had been lostin the long shadows cast by Eddie Kaw and George Pfann in 1921 and1922, and though they still toiled unnoticed in Pfann's shadow thisseason, one can see in reading Cornell's 1923 game summaries that bothplayers contributed quite a lot this season. Their school didn't forgetthem, and both are in Cornell's Hall of Fame. The Pfann-Ramsey-Cassidybackfield went 24-0 1921-1923, and after the threesome graduated,Cornell fell to 4-4 in 1924, never to go unbeaten under Dobie again.

Hall of Fame tackle Frank "Sunny" Sundstrom also returned thisseason, and was a nonconsensus AA. He kicked 24 extra points on theseason.

But there were no notable new players in 1923, so it's no surprise that this was the sunset of Cornell's great run.

The next week George Pfann sprung a surprise passing attack onColgate in a 34-7 win. Cornell threw more passes in this game than theyhad in all their games in 1921 and 1922 combined. Pfann hit CharlesCassidy for one touchdown, and he threw a flurry of passes that set up3Floyd Ramsey touchdown plunges. Colgate's offense was smothereduntil late in the game, when they returned an interception from theirown 5 to the Cornell 40, then drove to a touchdown from there.

Colgate finished 6-2-1, tying 3-4-1 Ohio State and losing 9-0 to5-1-3 Navy, but they won 16-7 at 8-1 Syracuse in their finale, whichwould have lifted them up to about #15 in a final AP poll had therebeen one in 1923. I have them at #14.

Up next was Cornell's game of the year at Dartmouth, who was 5-0.It was the dedication game for Dartmouth's new stadium. Cornellrecovered a Dartmouth fumble on the first offensive play of the game,and Pfann threw 2 passes, the second for a touchdown, and just likethat it was 6-0. But Dartmouth hung tough and controlled the rest ofthe 1st quarter through better punting. Early in the 2nd quarter, theymounted a drive to the Cornell 9 before turning it over on downs.Following a punt out, they drove to the Cornell 5 before they werestopped again. Finally, Dartmouth's guard and captain, CyrilAschenbach, blocked Cornell's next punt and returned it 22 yards for atouchdown, dragging a Cornell tackler the last 5 yards. Dartmouth had a7-6 lead, and the fans had hope. But it was all Cornell after that.

A bad snap gave Cornell the ball at the Dartmouth 6, and Ramseyrammed it in on 3 runs. George Pfann got off a 35 yard run, setting upa Frank Sundstrom field goal, and Cornell led 15-7 at half. Dartmouthcontinually turned the ball over in the 2nd half, and things got ugly.Pfann had a touchdown catch, Ramsey another touchdown plunge, andSundstrom another field goal, putting the final score at 32-7.

Dartmouth finished 8-1, outscoring the rest of their opponents195-22. I have them ranked #9, but theydidn't beat anyone of much value, so it's impossible to know how goodthey really were. This was Cornell's 3rd straight win over Dartmouth,and by scores of 59-7, 23-0, and 32-7. But Dartmouth's new coach, JesseHawley, was about to turn the tide, and he went 4-1 against Dobie andCornell after this, running up scores like 62-13, 53-7, and 28-0. Ah,sweet, sweet revenge.

Penndid not have a good year, losing to the aforementioned Maryland 3-0,then dropping 2 straight to Lafayette and Penn State heading into thefinale with Cornell. But they did beat 7-1-1 Centre 24-0, and this wasa rivalry game, so Cornell was about to get their toughest fight in 3years. 58,000 attended, a record for the annual matchup. George Pfanndid most of the running in a drive that was stopped at the Penn 9 yardline in the 1st quarter, but Penn's ensuing punt carried only to the34, and Pfann caught a touchdown pass on the next play. In the 2ndquarter, a Cornell drive was stopped at the Penn 9 again. Later, Pennintercepted a pass at midfield, then drove to the Cornell 19 beforethrowing 4 straight incomplete passes, the last one inches from thereceiver's fingers. It remained 7-0 at half.

In the 3rd quarter,Penn drove to the Cornell 25 before throwing another 4 incompletions.Cornell responded with a series of simple off-tackle runs that pushedthe ball back to the Penn 23, where Pfann fumbled possession away. Thescore remained 7-0 until midway through the 4th quarter, when Cornellintercepted a pass and returned it to the Penn 36. Pfann was interferedwith on a long pass, putting the ball at the Penn 5, and he ran it infrom there, putting the game practically out of reach at 14-0. But alate Cornell fumble at their own 25 let Penn get on the scoreboard,albeit after 9 tough runs into the line, and that made the final score14-7. It was the first time Penn had scored on Cornell in 3 years.Cornell greatly outgained Penn in this game, and recorded 15 firstdowns to Penn's 4.

Penn finished 5-4, and would not have been ranked in an AP poll in 1923, but they were close, and I have them at #26-33.

The easiest cut to make from these contenders is obviouslyMichigan, due to their 3 weak performances-- 2 more than any othercontender had. They beat both 5-3 Iowa and 3-3-1 Wisconsin on flukeplays, scoring gift winning touchdowns in both cases because the otherteam thought the ball was dead. Illinois also struggled at Iowa, butthey did not win on a fluke play. And Illinois did not really havetrouble with Wisconsin, taking a quick 10-0 lead and playingdefensively the rest of the way. But Michigan's worst performance wastheir inexplicable 3-0 home win over Vanderbilt. 5-2-1 Vanderbilt wastied by 5-2-2 Mississippi State, whom Illinois beat 27-0. That's 3strikes against Michigan-- they're out.

It should also be notedthat Illinois' best win, over 7-1 Chicago, was more impressive thanMichigan's best win, over 5-1-1 Minnesota, being that Minnesota wastied by 3-3-1 Wisconsin, whom Chicago defeated 13-6. But that matter istrivial compared to the 3 poor performances for which I've alreadyeliminated Michigan from the race.

If you merely look at their scores, it may appear that Yale andCornell had fairly equitable seasons-- both had one close game over arelatively mediocre opponent, and both crushed everyone else theyplayed. However, there was a big difference between Yale's close gameand Cornell's. Yale's came at home, while Cornell's was on the road,and it was a rivalry game to boot. More importantly, Yale was lucky tobeat Maryland by 2 points, whereas Cornell dominated Penn, won by 7,and was in no danger of losing the game at all. Penn scored a latetouchdown to make the score look closer than the game was.

Cornell romped on 8-1 Dartmouth, and Yale routed 6-2-1 Army-- asyou can see in the table above, I think Dartmouth would have beenranked #9 and Army #12 in a 1923 AP poll, and that isn't much of adifference. However, Cornell played Dartmouth on the road, and theygave Dartmouth their only loss, which makes it more compelling.Dartmouth would go 7-0-1 the next season (tying 6-0-2 Yale,interestingly enough), then 8-0 in 1925 to claim a nationalchampionship. And Army was the only top 25 caliber team Yale played,while Cornell beat 6-2-1 Colgate.

Yale is hereby eliminated-- they really needed a win against apotential top 10 team-- or alternatively, a better showing againstMaryland.

Onefactor that is potentially in Illinois' favor is that the Midwest wonagainst the East this season, going 4-1-1 in relevant games. Most ofthat was Notre Dame, who defeated Army, Princeton, and Carnegie(relevant because Carnegie beat Pitt this year). 8-0 Marquette beat7-1-1 Boston College in a battle of strong minor teams, and 8-1Syracuse beat 4-2-2 Nebraska for the East's only relevant win. But themost significant outcome was 3-4-1 Ohio State tying 6-2-1 Colgate. OhioState lost by more than a touchdown to every good Big 10 team theyplayed (Michigan, Iowa, Chicago, and Illinois), while Colgate beat 8-1Syracuse, and would have been ranked in a top 25. That makes their tiea big victory for the Midwest.

However, even if we were toaccept that Colgate and Ohio State were equal, the fact is that Cornellstomped Colgate 34-7, while Illinois struggled to beat Ohio State 9-0(in a game that was closer than the score). So regardless of whetherthe West or East was better, here is a third case in which Cornellclearly outperformed Illinois against a comparable opponent. AndCornell stomped the rest of their opponents 240-12, while Illinois beattheirs 111-14.

It seems pretty clear to me that Cornell shouldbe #1. However, Illinois' season was more similar to Cornell's than itwas different, and I think they merit a share of a mythical nationalchampionship for this season. Also, Illinois did play a somewhattougher schedule, especially considering the fact that Ohio State tiedColgate. If Ohio State was as good as Colgate, then Iowa and Wisconsinwere better, and that means Illinois hypothetically played 5 good teams toCornell's 2 or 3. That seems a bit of a stretch-- more likely, OhioState's tie with Colgate was an upset, especially since the game tookplace in Columbus. But in any case, Illinois played 7 teams that couldmerit inclusion in a top 50 for 1923, while Cornell played 5. That'snot a significant difference, but it's the one argument in Illinois'favor.

Theseare the awards I have been handing out for each season, except seasonswhen there are no contenders. For this purpose, what I mean by acontender is a team that I think is very close to being worthy ofsharing the national championship. A team that you could make anargument for, even if that argument is weak. But the contenders areteams that I myself do not see as national champions.

So Cornell ought to be #1, Illinois #2. Who should be #3? I'd gowith Yale, given the fact that Michigan had 3 weak performances toYale's 1, and Michigan posted twin wins on fluke plays. However, thefluke wins came over teams that were better than every team Yale playedexcept for Army, and Michigan played both on the road, whereas Yaledidn't play a single good team on the road. Michigan's schedule wastherefore arguably much tougher, so you could go with either team at #3.

Billingsley's computer chose Michigan to stand alone

The National Championship Foundation split the title between Illinois and Michigan. Grade: 2.3

Sagarin's original recipe system selected Cornell. Grade:5.0Everybody else selected Illinois alone. Grade: 4.0

Grade point averages 1919-1923:

Now I have to wonder, if he wasn't born January 1, 1900, where did that story come from? Why would someone make it up?