Thursday, July 28, 2011

1931 College Football Final Rankings

1931 is the first of three consecutive years in which our analysis shows that the USC Trojans had the best season in the country. Amazingly, this year's Rose Bowl featured the #1 and #2 teams from our system as well as the Dickinson System that was used to award the Knute Rockne trophy to the national champion. (Coach Rockne had died earlier that year in a plane crash.) USC won that game 21-12, solidifying their position as the top team in America.

1. USC Trojans (10-1) - 1.5
2. Tulane Green Wave (11-1) - 1.7
3. Tennessee Volunteers (9-0-1) - 3.0
4. Pittsburgh Panthers (8-1) - 3.8
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-2-1) - 5.0
6. Northwestern Wildcats (7-1-1) - 7.1
7. Georgia Bulldogs (8-2) - 7.2
8. Army Black Knights (8-2-1) - 8.5
9. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-1) - 8.7
10. Utah Utes (7-2) - 9.5
11. Harvard Crimson (7-1) - 12.0
12. Purdue Boilermakers (9-1) - 12.7
13. New York University Violets (6-3-1) - 14.8
14. Colgate Raiders (8-1) - 15.1
(tie) Columbia Lions (7-1-1) - 15.1
16. Cornell Big Red (7-1) - 15.2
17. Michigan Wolverines (8-1-1) - 16.6
18. Vanderbilt Commodores (5-4) - 18.1
19. Yale Bulldogs (5-1-2) - 20.8
20. California Golden Bears (8-2) - 22.5
21. Kansas State Wildcats (8-2) - 22.6
22. Oregon State Beavers (6-3-1) - 23.1
23. Fordham Rams (6-1-2) - 23.2
24. Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-3) - 25.0
25. SMU Mustangs (9-1-1) - 26.1
26. Texas A&M Aggies (7-3) - 27.6
27. Syracuse Orange (7-1-1) - 27.7
28. Oregon Ducks (6-2-2) - 28.1
29. Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-2) - 28.4
30. St. Mary's Gaels (8-2) - 28.7
31. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-3) - 29.3
32. Stanford Cardinal (7-2-2) - 29.5
33. Washington Huskies (5-3-1) - 30.2
34. Marquette Golden Eagles (8-1) - 31.6
35. Michigan State Spartans (5-3-1) - 34.8
36. Temple Owls (8-1-1) - 36.5
37. Bucknell Bison (6-0-3) - 36.8
38. Dartmouth Big Green (5-3-1) - 38.6
39. Kentucky Wildcats (5-2-2) - 39.5
40. Texas Longhorns (6-4) - 40.5
41. Auburn Tigers (5-3-1) - 40.7
42. Washington State Cougars (6-4) - 41.3
43. Maryland Terrapins (8-1-1) - 41.4
44. Utah State Aggies (6-2) - 44.7
45. Rice Owls (6-4) - 45.0
46. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (3-5-1) - 47.1
(tie) TCU Horned Frogs (9-2-1) - 47.1
48. Colorado State Rams (5-4) - 47.7
49. UCLA Bruins (3-4-1) - 48.7
50. Oklahoma State Cowboys (8-2-1) - 49.1
51. Colorado Buffaloes (5-3) - 50.8
52. Pennsylvania Relays (6-3) - 51.4
53. Wisconsin Badgers (5-4-1) - 53.5
54. Washington & Jefferson Presidents (6-4) - 54.4
55. Detroit Mercy Titans (7-2-1) - 54.8
56. North Carolina Tar Heels (4-3-3) - 55.4
57. South Carolina Gamecocks (5-4-1) - 56.7
58. Duke Blue Devils (5-3-2) - 58.2
59. Wyoming Cowboys (6-4) - 60.0
60. Brown Bears (7-3) - 60.4
61. Oklahoma Sooners (4-7-1) - 62.1
62. Iowa State Cyclones (5-3) - 62.8
63. Kansas Jayhawks (5-5) - 63.2
64. LSU Tigers (5-4) - 64.0
65. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-7-1) - 65.9
66. Navy Midshipmen (5-5-1) - 66.7
67. Centenary Gents (5-5) - 67.3
68. Villanova Wildcats (4-3-2) - 67.8
69. Idaho Vandals (3-4) - 68.8
70. Arizona State Sun Devils (6-2) - 69.6
71. Florida Gators (2-6-2) - 70.3
72. Gonzaga Bulldogs (3-4) - 71.0
73. Grinnell Pioneers (5-3) - 71.6
74. Drake Bulldogs (5-6) - 74.9
75. Georgetown Hoyas (4-5-1) - 75.1
76. Colorado College Tigers (4-4) - 75.4
77. West Virginia Mountaineers (4-6) - 77.1
78. Baylor Bears (3-6) - 79.4
79. BYU Cougars (4-4) - 80.2
80. Creighton Bluejays (4-5) - 80.5
(tie) Sewanee Tigers (6-3-1) - 80.5
82. Denver Pioneers (4-6) - 80.9
(tie) New Mexico State Aggies (6-4) - 80.9
84. Indiana Hoosiers (2-5-1) - 83.2
85. Northern Colorado Bears (2-4-1) - 83.7
86. Arkansas Razorbacks (3-5-1) - 85.5
87. Virginia Tech Hokies (3-4-2) - 86.5
88. New Mexico Lobos (3-3-1) - 87.7
89. Illinois Fighting Illini (2-6) - 89.4
90. Washington & Lee Generals (4-5-1) - 90.3
91. NC State Wolfpack (3-6) - 91.2
92. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (3-5) - 93.9
93. Missouri Tigers (2-8) - 94.0
94. Davidson Wildcats (4-4-2) - 94.2
95. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-4) - 94.4
96. Iowa Hawkeyes (1-6-1) - 97.6
97. Arizona Wildcats (3-5-1) - 98.2
98. Chicago Maroons (2-6-1) - 99.2
99. VMI Keydets (3-6-1) - 101.1
100. Montana Grizzlies (1-6) - 101.5
101. Ole Miss Rebels (2-6-1) - 102.0
102. Virginia Cavaliers (1-7-2) - 103.4
103. Clemson Tigers (1-6-2) - 103.6
(tie) Colorado Mines Orediggers (1-5-1) - 103.6
105. Western State Mountaineers (1-6) - 105.1
106. Montana State Bobcats (1-5-1) - 106.4
(tie) Princeton Tigers (1-7) - 106.4
108. Penn State Nittany Lions (2-8) - 109.4
109. Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-6) - 109.6
110. Washington (MO) Bears (2-7) - 111.0

Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

1932 College Football Final Rankings

In 1932, the Colgate Red Raiders, were unbeaten, untied and unscored upon - the last team to shut out every single opponent they played. Still, because of their schedule, this wasn't enough for them to be declared national champions in the systems of the time - the primary one being the Dickinson System, which granted the national championship to the Michigan Wolverines - or even to be invited to the Rose Bowl (the only bowl game of the time). We put the Red Raiders at #2.

There were actually eight undefeated teams that season, but our analysis shows that the USC Trojans, actual winners of the Rose Bowl that year, had the best season. In fact, the Trojans as Baggaley National Champions is a motif that plays itself out for three straight years - 1931, 1932 and 1933 - a feat that has not been duplicated since.

Here are the complete rankings for 1932:

1. USC Trojans (10-0) - 1.2
2. Colgate Raiders (9-0) - 1.8
3. TCU Horned Frogs (10-0-1) - 3.8
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-2) - 4.1
5. Michigan Wolverines (8-0) - 4.9
6. Tennessee Volunteers (9-0-1) - 5.8
7. Purdue Boilermakers (7-0-1) - 6.9
8. Pittsburgh Panthers (8-1-2) - 8.6
9. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-2) - 10.8
(tie) Utah Utes (6-1-1) - 10.8
11. Auburn Tigers (9-0-1) - 11.8
12. Washington Huskies (6-2-2) - 13.1
13. Army Black Knights (8-2) - 13.2
14. Texas Longhorns (8-2) - 14.3
15. Virginia Tech Hokies (8-1) - 15.1
16. Washington State Cougars (7-1-1) - 17.4
17. Wisconsin Badgers (6-1-1) - 17.5
18. Michigan State Spartans (7-1) - 18.0
19. Centenary Gents (8-0-1) - 18.3
20. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-1-3) - 21.4
21. Oregon Ducks (6-3-1) - 22.1
22. LSU Tigers (6-3-1) - 23.3
23. BYU Cougars (8-1) - 23.4
24. Stanford Cardinal (6-4-1) - 25.7
25. Vanderbilt Commodores (6-1-2) - 26.1
26. Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-2) - 26.4
27. Duke Blue Devils (7-3) - 26.5
28. Fordham Rams (6-2) - 27.0
29. Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-3) - 27.7
30. Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-1-1) - 28.1
31. California Golden Bears (7-3-2) - 30.5
32. St. Mary's Gaels (6-2-1) - 30.8
33. Pennsylvania Relays (6-2) - 33.7
34. Columbia Lions (7-1-1) - 34.1
35. Tulane Green Wave (6-2-1) - 34.5
36. Santa Clara Broncos (6-3) - 35.8
37. Cornell Big Red (5-2-1) - 37.6
(tie) Northwestern Wildcats (3-4-1) - 37.6
39. Rice Owls (7-3) - 37.9
40. New York University Violets (5-3) - 38.7
41. Villanova Wildcats (7-2) - 41.0
42. NC State Wolfpack (6-1-2) - 43.9
43. Detroit Mercy Titans (8-2) - 44.5
44. UCLA Bruins (6-4) - 45.0
45. Brown Bears (7-1) - 45.2
46. Kentucky Wildcats (4-5) - 45.3
47. Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-3) - 46.5
48. Temple Owls (5-1-2) - 47.5
49. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-5-1) - 48.7
50. Georgia Bulldogs (2-5-2) - 50.9
51. Oregon State Beavers (4-6) - 51.9
52. Kansas Jayhawks (5-3) - 52.8
53. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (4-3-2) - 53.4
54. Colorado College Tigers (5-2) - 53.8
55. Colorado State Rams (4-3-1) - 55.1
56. Princeton Tigers (2-2-3) - 55.5
57. Texas A&M Aggies (4-4-2) - 56.4
58. Kansas State Wildcats (4-4) - 59.6
59. Washington & Jefferson Presidents (5-3-1) - 60.3
60. South Carolina Gamecocks (5-4-2) - 61.0
61. Oklahoma Sooners (4-4-1) - 61.6
62. Illinois Fighting Illini (5-4) - 61.9
63. Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-1-2) - 62.6
64. Marquette Golden Eagles (4-3-1) - 64.8
65. William & Mary Tribe (8-4) - 66.0
66. George Washington Colonials (6-2-1) - 66.6
67. Dartmouth Big Green (4-4) - 66.8
(tie) Yale Bulldogs (2-2-3) - 66.8
69. Creighton Bluejays (5-2-1) - 67.0
70. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-3-2) - 70.0
71. Florida Gators (3-6) - 72.3
72. Indiana Hoosiers (3-4-1) - 72.7
73. Chicago Maroons (3-4-1) - 73.4
(tie) Colorado Buffaloes (2-4) - 73.4
75. Denver Pioneers (4-3-1) - 73.9
76. North Carolina Tar Heels (3-5-2) - 74.3
77. Idaho Vandals (3-5) - 75.4
78. Harvard Crimson (5-3) - 76.7
79. St. Louis Billikens (5-2) - 78.1
80. Ole Miss Rebels (5-6) - 78.6
81. Utah State Aggies (4-4) - 79.4
82. Richmond Spiders (4-2-2) - 83.1
83. West Virginia Mountaineers (5-5) - 83.2
84. Davidson Wildcats (4-4-1) - 84.5
85. Iowa State Cyclones (3-4-1) - 85.1
86. Northern Colorado Bears (4-2-1) - 85.9
87. SMU Mustangs (3-7-2) - 86.8
88. Baylor Bears (3-5-1) - 87.1
89. Lafayette Leopards (3-5) - 87.4
90. Virginia Cavaliers (5-4) - 88.6
91. Bucknell Bison (4-4-1) - 90.9
92. Navy Midshipmen (2-6-1) - 91.8
93. Grinnell Pioneers (3-4-1) - 93.3
94. Maryland Terrapins (5-6) - 94.1
95. Syracuse Orange (4-4-1) - 96.6
96. Clemson Tigers (3-5-1) - 96.9
97. Wyoming Cowboys (2-6-1) - 97.9
98. Arkansas Razorbacks (1-6-2) - 98.9
99. Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-5) - 100.0
100. Washington (MO) Bears (4-4) - 100.3
101. San Francisco Dons (2-6) - 100.5
102. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (3-2-2) - 101.2
103. Iowa Hawkeyes (1-7) - 101.5
104. Missouri Tigers (1-7-1) - 102.5
105. Montana State Bobcats (3-3-1) - 105.2
106. Colorado Mines Orediggers (1-7) - 105.6
107. Drake Bulldogs (2-6-1) - 107.0
108. Arizona State Sun Devils (4-3-1) - 108.8
109. VMI Keydets (2-8) - 109.2
110. Penn State Nittany Lions (2-5) - 109.4
111. Citadel Bulldogs (4-5) - 109.7
112. Washington & Lee Generals (1-9) - 111.4
113. Georgetown Hoyas (2-6-1) - 114.0
114. Montana Grizzlies (2-7) - 114.3
115. Arizona Wildcats (4-5) - 114.4
116. Western State Mountaineers (1-5) - 115.0
117. New Mexico State Aggies (4-5-1) - 116.4
118. Sewanee Tigers (2-7-1) - 117.8
119. Butler Bulldogs (2-4-1) - 119.7
120. New Mexico Lobos (1-6-1) - 120.6


Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

1933 College Football Final Rankings

1933 was the last year in which there was just one bowl - the Rose Bowl. In that game, Columbia beat Stanford 7-0. The various ranking systems split up their national titles between the Michigan Wolverines and the Princeton Tigers. Ironically, our analysis shows that the USC Trojans had the most successful season in 1933, despite losing to Stanford 13-7 and playing Oregon State to a scoreless tie.

1. USC Trojans (10-1-1) - 1.5
2. Princeton Tigers (9-0) - 2.4
3. Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-1) - 3.6
4. Michigan Wolverines (7-0-1) - 4.9
5. Duquesne Dukes (10-1) - 5.3
6. Pittsburgh Panthers (8-1) - 5.9
7. LSU Tigers (7-0-3) - 6.0
8. Tennessee Volunteers (7-3) - 7.9
9. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1-1) - 10.6
10. Oregon Ducks (9-1) - 10.8
11. Army Black Knights (9-1) - 11.3
(tie) Duke Blue Devils (9-1) - 11.3
13. Centenary Gents (8-0-4) - 12.0
14. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) - 14.2
15. Stanford Cardinal (8-2-1) - 16.2
16. Detroit Mercy Titans (7-1) - 16.6
17. Purdue Boilermakers (6-1-1) - 17.3
18. Columbia Lions (8-1) - 17.8
19. Georgia Bulldogs (8-2) - 19.8
20. Iowa Hawkeyes (5-3) - 20.3
21. Colorado Buffaloes (7-2) - 21.4
22. Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-0-4) - 24.4
23. TCU Horned Frogs (9-2-1) - 24.6
24. Fordham Rams (6-2) - 25.2
25. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (6-1) - 26.5
26. California Golden Bears (6-3-2) - 26.7
27. Bucknell Bison (7-2) - 27.0
28. Tulane Green Wave (6-3-1) - 27.2
29. St. Mary's Gaels (6-3-1) - 28.2
30. Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-1) - 28.5
31. Illinois Fighting Illini (5-3) - 29.2
32. Arkansas Razorbacks (7-3-1) - 30.0
33. UCLA Bruins (6-4-1) - 32.2
34. Oregon State Beavers (6-2-2) - 33.6
35. Kansas State Wildcats (6-2-1) - 35.0
36. Colorado State Rams (5-1-1) - 35.7
37. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-5) - 37.6
38. Washington Huskies (5-4) - 37.8
39. Colgate Raiders (6-1-1) - 38.1
40. Washington State Cougars (5-3-1) - 40.9
41. Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-2-1) - 41.9
42. Utah Utes (5-3) - 45.0
43. Florida Gators (5-3-1) - 45.1
44. Auburn Tigers (5-5) - 46.0
45. Navy Midshipmen (5-4) - 46.9
46. Ole Miss Rebels (6-3-2) - 47.0
47. Cornell Big Red (4-3) - 47.1
48. Arizona Wildcats (5-3) - 47.8
49. Loyola Marymount Lions (7-2-1) - 48.2
50. Michigan State Spartans (4-2-2) - 49.1
51. Texas A&M Aggies (6-3-1) - 51.4
52. George Washington Colonials (5-3-1) - 52.1
53. Oklahoma Sooners (4-4-1) - 52.6
54. Kansas Jayhawks (5-4-1) - 52.9
55. Santa Clara Broncos (6-2-1) - 54.5
56. Vanderbilt Commodores (4-3-3) - 54.9
57. Furman Paladins (6-1-2) - 56.2
58. Denver Pioneers (5-3-1) - 57.6
59. Northwestern Wildcats (1-5-2) - 59.5
60. Chicago Maroons (3-3-2) - 60.0
61. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-5-1) - 62.8
62. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (4-3-2) - 62.9
63. Villanova Wildcats (7-2-1) - 64.3
64. Baylor Bears (6-4) - 65.8
65. Harvard Crimson (5-2-1) - 66.1
66. SMU Mustangs (4-7-1) - 66.3
67. Texas Longhorns (4-5-2) - 67.7
68. Wisconsin Badgers (2-5-1) - 68.2
69. North Carolina Tar Heels (4-5) - 69.0
70. Utah State Aggies (4-4) - 69.9
71. Mercer Bears (4-3-2) - 71.2
72. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (5-1) - 71.4
73. Montana Grizzlies (3-4) - 71.8
74. Idaho Vandals (4-4) - 72.5
75. Davidson Wildcats (6-2-1) - 73.6
76. Richmond Spiders (5-4) - 75.2
77. South Carolina Gamecocks (6-3-1) - 75.7
78. Dartmouth Big Green (4-4-1) - 76.4
79. Syracuse Orange (4-4) - 76.5
80. Drake Bulldogs (6-3-1) - 79.7
81. Temple Owls (5-3) - 80.6
82. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-3-1) - 83.8
83. Northern Colorado Bears (4-3) - 84.4
84. Kentucky Wildcats (5-5) - 84.8
85. Iowa State Cyclones (3-5-1) - 85.2
86. Virginia Tech Hokies (4-3-3) - 86.5
87. BYU Cougars (5-4) - 86.7
88. NC State Wolfpack (1-5-3) - 86.8
89. Yale Bulldogs (4-4) - 87.2
90. Marquette Golden Eagles (3-4-1) - 89.1
91. Pennsylvania Relays (2-4-1) - 89.9
92. William & Mary Tribe (6-5) - 90.2
93. St. Louis Billikens (6-3) - 92.3
94. Clemson Tigers (3-6-2) - 95.2
95. New York University Violets (2-4-1) - 96.1
96. Washington & Jefferson Presidents (2-7-1) - 97.9
97. Creighton Bluejays (3-4-1) - 98.8
98. Sewanee Tigers (3-6) - 99.3
99. West Virginia Mountaineers (3-5-3) - 99.4
100. Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-6-1) - 99.5
101. Gonzaga Bulldogs (2-6-1) - 100.4
102. San Francisco Dons (1-6-1) - 102.6
103. Rice Owls (3-8) - 102.7
104. Brown Bears (3-5) - 103.1
105. Washington & Lee Generals (4-4-2) - 104.1
106. Maryland Terrapins (3-7) - 104.3
(tie) Virginia Cavaliers (2-6-2) - 104.3
108. Washington (MO) Bears (4-5) - 105.9
109. New Mexico Lobos (3-4-1) - 108.4
110. Lafayette Leopards (3-5-1) - 109.7
111. Indiana Hoosiers (1-5-2) - 111.7
112. Citadel Bulldogs (3-5-1) - 111.9
113. Colorado College Tigers (2-5-1) - 113.8
114. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (0-5-1) - 114.1
115. VMI Keydets (2-7-1) - 114.2
116. Wyoming Cowboys (2-6-1) - 114.6
117. Montana State Bobcats (2-5) - 117.2
118. Western State Mountaineers (0-5) - 118.2
119. Colorado Mines Orediggers (1-5) - 118.9
120. Arizona State Sun Devils (3-5) - 121.8
121. Grinnell Pioneers (0-8-1) - 122.1
122. New Mexico State Aggies (2-6) - 122.2
123. Butler Bulldogs (2-6) - 123.2
124. Wofford Terriers (3-6) - 123.6
125. Georgetown Hoyas (1-6-1) - 126.1
126. Missouri Tigers (1-8) - 126.9


Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.

Friday, July 22, 2011

1934 College Football Final Rankings

In 1934, both the Alabama Crimson Tide and Minnesota Golden Gophers finished the season undefeated and untied. Both teams were declared national champions by different ranking services. Our analysis shows that Alabama had the better season.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (10-0) - 1.0
2. Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-0) - 2.0
3. Pittsburgh Panthers (8-1) - 3.0
4. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) - 4.3
5. Stanford Cardinal (9-1-1) - 6.5
6. Colgate Raiders (7-1) - 7.1
7. Tennessee Volunteers (8-2) - 7.4
8. Rice Owls (9-1-1) - 7.9
9. Navy Midshipmen (8-1) - 10.0
10. Tulane Green Wave (10-1) - 11.5
11. Temple Owls (7-1-2) - 12.2
12. LSU Tigers (7-2-2) - 12.6
13. Princeton Tigers (7-1) - 14.3
14. SMU Mustangs (8-2-2) - 14.6
15. Army Black Knights (7-3) - 15.6
16. North Carolina Tar Heels (7-1-1) - 17.9
17. Columbia Lions (7-1) - 18.2
18. Duke Blue Devils (7-2) - 18.5
19. Texas Longhorns (7-2-1) - 18.7
20. Illinois Fighting Illini (7-1) - 19.6
21. Utah State Aggies (5-1-1) - 20.6
22. Loyola Marymount Lions (7-2-1) - 22.7
23. Syracuse Orange (6-2) - 22.8
24. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-3) - 23.2
25. Santa Clara Broncos (7-2-1) - 24.7
26. Northern Colorado Bears (6-1) - 26.4
27. New Mexico Lobos (8-1) - 27.5
28. Colorado Buffaloes (6-1-2) - 28.2
29. Colorado State Rams (6-2-1) - 29.7
30. Arizona Wildcats (7-2-1) - 30.0
31. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (5-2-1) - 30.1
32. Michigan State Spartans (8-1) - 33.1
33. Duquesne Dukes (8-2) - 33.7
34. Yale Bulldogs (5-3) - 34.5
35. Utah Utes (5-3) - 35.9
36. Georgia Bulldogs (7-3) - 36.4
37. St. Mary's Gaels (7-2) - 37.0
38. Centenary Gents (10-2) - 38.1
39. Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-2-1) - 39.4
40. Washington State Cougars (4-3-1) - 40.1
41. Washington (MO) Bears (7-3) - 40.5
42. San Francisco Dons (3-3-1) - 40.6
43. Washington Huskies (6-1-1) - 42.3
44. TCU Horned Frogs (8-4) - 42.8
45. Maryland Terrapins (7-3) - 43.1
46. Fordham Rams (5-3) - 44.8
47. Purdue Boilermakers (5-3) - 46.8
48. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-4-2) - 48.0
49. Oregon Ducks (6-4) - 50.4
50. UCLA Bruins (7-3) - 50.5
51. Kansas Jayhawks (3-4-3) - 51.1
52. Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-3) - 51.4
53. Kansas State Wildcats (7-2-1) - 52.1
54. Washington & Lee Generals (7-3) - 54.5
55. Chicago Maroons (4-4) - 54.7
56. Iowa State Cyclones (5-3-1) - 57.6
57. Indiana Hoosiers (3-3-2) - 58.2
58. Dartmouth Big Green (6-3) - 58.4
59. Vanderbilt Commodores (6-3) - 58.8
60. Bucknell Bison (7-2-2) - 60.1
61. New Mexico State Aggies (4-1-3) - 61.0
62. Kentucky Wildcats (5-5) - 61.3
63. West Virginia Mountaineers (6-4) - 61.5
64. Wisconsin Badgers (4-4) - 61.7
65. Penn State Nittany Lions (4-4) - 62.7
66. Oklahoma Sooners (3-4-2) - 63.3
67. Richmond Spiders (8-1) - 65.8
68. George Washington Colonials (6-3-1) - 69.3
69. Detroit Mercy Titans (5-3-1) - 69.4
70. USC Trojans (4-6-1) - 70.1
71. Gonzaga Bulldogs (8-2-1) - 70.2
72. Florida Gators (6-3-1) - 72.5
73. Clemson Tigers (5-4) - 73.2
74. Marquette Golden Eagles (4-5) - 73.7
75. Iowa Hawkeyes (2-5-1) - 76.7
76. Arizona State Sun Devils (4-3-1) - 78.4
(tie) Pennsylvania Relays (4-4) - 78.4
78. Cornell Big Red (2-5) - 78.9
79. Baylor Bears (3-7) - 79.3
80. California Golden Bears (6-6) - 79.6
81. Northwestern Wildcats (3-5) - 80.3
82. Oregon State Beavers (3-6-2) - 81.8
83. Ole Miss Rebels (4-5-1) - 84.0
84. Denver Pioneers (5-5-1) - 84.3
85. Wyoming Cowboys (3-5) - 84.4
86. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (4-5) - 85.3
87. South Carolina Gamecocks (5-4) - 87.8
88. Georgetown Hoyas (4-3-1) - 88.7
89. Virginia Tech Hokies (5-5) - 89.0
90. BYU Cougars (4-5) - 90.1
91. Montana Grizzlies (2-5-1) - 90.5
92. Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-6) - 90.6
93. Harvard Crimson (3-5) - 93.1
94. NC State Wolfpack (2-6-1) - 95.1
95. Idaho Vandals (3-5) - 96.3
96. Auburn Tigers (2-8) - 96.5
97. Villanova Wildcats (3-4-2) - 97.1
98. Davidson Wildcats (4-4-1) - 97.6
99. Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-5-1) - 97.8
100. William & Mary Tribe (2-6) - 99.0
101. Texas A&M Aggies (2-7-2) - 99.2
102. Furman Paladins (5-4) - 100.0
103. Washington & Jefferson Presidents (4-5) - 101.8
104. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-9) - 103.7
105. New York University Violets (3-4-1) - 106.1
106. Virginia Cavaliers (3-6) - 106.9
107. Michigan Wolverines (1-7) - 107.2
108. Brown Bears (3-6) - 107.7
109. Loyola (New Orleans) Wolfpack (4-5) - 108.4
110. Montana State Bobcats (2-5) - 108.9
111. St. Louis Billikens (3-3-2) - 111.1
112. Missouri Tigers (0-8-1) - 113.4
113. VMI Keydets (1-8) - 114.0
114. Drake Bulldogs (3-6-1) - 114.3
115. Sewanee Tigers (2-7) - 115.0
116. Grinnell Pioneers (2-7) - 115.2
117. Citadel Bulldogs (3-5-1) - 117.2
118. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1-5-1) - 117.4
119. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-7) - 117.7
120. Creighton Bluejays (2-7) - 120.7
121. Mercer Bears (3-6-1) - 121.9
122. Colorado Mines Orediggers (1-6) - 122.3
123. Colorado College Tigers (1-7) - 122.4
124. Western State Mountaineers (2-5) - 124.7


Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.

Monday, July 18, 2011

1935 College Football Final Rankings

In 1935, the last year prior to the advent of the AP writers' college football poll, the most prominent system for awarding a national championship was the Dickinson System, developed by a University of Illinois professor. Dickinson's system awarded the national championship trophy that year to SMU. A poll of sports writers (but not the AP poll) declared Minnesota the national champion. Other systems chose the Princeton Tigers. All three teams were undefeated and untied at the end of the regular season (although SMU, the Southwest Conference champions lost in the Rose Bowl to Stanford 7-0). Our analysis declares it a tie between Princeton and SMU (even taking into account the Rose Bowl loss).

1. Princeton Tigers (9-0) - 1.6
(tie) SMU Mustangs (12-1) - 1.6
3. TCU Horned Frogs (12-1) - 4.2
4. Duke Blue Devils (8-2) - 5.0
(tie) Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-0) - 5.0
6. North Carolina Tar Heels (8-1) - 5.1
7. Stanford Cardinal (8-1) - 6.1
8. LSU Tigers (9-2) - 8.1
9. Auburn Tigers (8-2) - 8.7
10. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) - 9.7
11. California Golden Bears (9-1) - 12.1
12. UCLA Bruins (8-2) - 12.9
13. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2-1) - 13.0
14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1-1) - 14.8
15. Marquette Golden Eagles (7-1) - 16.6
16. Pittsburgh Panthers (7-1-2) - 17.0
17. Vanderbilt Commodores (7-3) - 17.3
18. Rice Owls (8-3) - 17.8
19. Furman Paladins (8-1) - 19.2
20. Michigan State Spartans (6-2) - 20.8
21. St. Mary's Gaels (5-2-2) - 21.5
22. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-3) - 22.4
23. Arizona Wildcats (7-2) - 22.7
24. Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-2-1) - 24.2
25. Georgia Bulldogs (6-4) - 24.6
26. Fordham Rams (6-1-2) - 25.0
27. Villanova Wildcats (7-2) - 26.0
28. Army Black Knights (6-2-1) - 27.7
29. Temple Owls (7-3) - 28.6
30. Iowa Hawkeyes (4-2-2) - 31.1
31. New York University Violets (7-1) - 31.4
32. Kentucky Wildcats (5-4) - 32.4
33. Washington Huskies (5-3) - 33.4
34. Dartmouth Big Green (8-2) - 33.8
35. Utah State Aggies (5-2-1) - 36.1
36. San Francisco Dons (5-3) - 37.9
37. Oregon Ducks (6-3) - 38.0
38. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-5) - 38.1
39. Clemson Tigers (6-3) - 38.9
40. Navy Midshipmen (5-4) - 39.1
41. Yale Bulldogs (6-3) - 41.4
42. Baylor Bears (8-3) - 42.8
43. Northwestern Wildcats (4-3-1) - 43.1
44. Oklahoma Sooners (6-3) - 44.4
45. Pennsylvania Relays (4-4) - 46.1
(tie) Tulane Green Wave (6-4) - 46.1
47. Arkansas Razorbacks (5-5) - 47.4
48. Colgate Raiders (5-3) - 48.2
49. Colorado Buffaloes (5-4) - 48.6
50. Ole Miss Rebels (9-3) - 48.7
51. Utah Utes (4-3-1) - 49.1
52. Santa Clara Broncos (3-6) - 50.6
53. New Mexico State Aggies (7-1-2) - 52.6
54. Washington (MO) Bears (6-4) - 55.5
55. Oregon State Beavers (6-4-1) - 55.6
56. Maryland Terrapins (7-2-2) - 55.7
57. Detroit Mercy Titans (6-3) - 57.5
58. Syracuse Orange (6-1-1) - 59.2
59. Purdue Boilermakers (4-4) - 59.3
60. USC Trojans (5-7) - 59.7
61. Tennessee Volunteers (4-5) - 60.3
62. Indiana Hoosiers (4-3-1) - 60.8
63. Xavier Musketeers (6-3) - 64.2
64. Washington State Cougars (5-3-1) - 64.4
65. Texas Longhorns (4-6) - 66.1
66. Centenary Gents (6-5) - 66.6
(tie) Denver Pioneers (6-3) - 66.6
68. Penn State Nittany Lions (4-4) - 66.7
69. NC State Wolfpack (6-4) - 69.2
70. Michigan Wolverines (4-4) - 69.6
71. Loyola Marymount Lions (6-5) - 70.7
72. Texas A&M Aggies (3-7) - 71.7
73. New Mexico Lobos (6-4) - 72.6
74. Kansas Jayhawks (4-4-1) - 72.8
75. Colorado State Rams (3-4-1) - 74.4
76. Illinois Fighting Illini (3-5) - 75.3
77. Missouri Tigers (3-3-3) - 76.5
78. Bucknell Bison (6-3) - 77.0
79. Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-3-2) - 78.3
80. Duquesne Dukes (6-3) - 80.6
81. George Washington Colonials (6-3) - 82.2
82. Wyoming Cowboys (4-4) - 83.9
83. Virginia Tech Hokies (4-3-2) - 84.7
84. BYU Cougars (4-4) - 84.9
85. Kansas State Wildcats (2-4-3) - 85.1
86. Iowa State Cyclones (2-4-3) - 85.5
87. Davidson Wildcats (4-3-2) - 87.0
88. Chicago Maroons (4-4) - 87.8
89. Colorado College Tigers (4-3-1) - 89.0
90. Florida Gators (3-7) - 90.2
91. Columbia Lions (4-4-1) - 90.5
92. Drake Bulldogs (4-4-2) - 91.2
93. Citadel Bulldogs (4-3-1) - 91.4
94. Georgetown Hoyas (4-4) - 93.6
95. West Virginia Mountaineers (3-4-2) - 94.1
96. Montana Grizzlies (1-5-2) - 95.7
97. Washington & Lee Generals (3-4-1) - 99.0
98. Mercer Bears (4-5) - 99.1
99. William & Mary Tribe (3-4-3) - 99.3
100. Northern Colorado Bears (4-3) - 99.6
101. St. Louis Billikens (5-6) - 100.0
102. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (2-5-1) - 101.0
103. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-7) - 103.9
104. Arizona State Sun Devils (2-5-1) - 104.5
105. Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-4-1) - 104.8
106. VMI Keydets (2-7-1) - 105.7
107. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-7) - 106.5
108. Montana State Bobcats (2-6-1) - 108.2
109. Richmond Spiders (3-3-3) - 108.9
110. Harvard Crimson (3-5) - 110.6
111. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (3-6-1) - 111.0
112. Wisconsin Badgers (1-7) - 111.4
113. Idaho Vandals (2-7) - 111.8
114. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (3-3-3) - 113.7
115. Creighton Bluejays (3-5-1) - 114.4
116. Virginia Cavaliers (1-5-4) - 115.0
117. Presbyterian Blue Hose (2-7) - 116.1
118. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-7) - 117.0
119. Centre Colonels (1-7-1) - 118.1
120. Washburn Ichabods (4-6) - 119.5
121. Colorado Mines Orediggers (1-6) - 121.3
122. Loyola (New Orleans) Wolfpack (2-6-1) - 121.9
123. Cornell Big Red (0-6-1) - 124.1
124. Western State Mountaineers (1-6) - 124.7
125. Grinnell Pioneers (3-5-1) - 124.8
126. Sewanee Tigers (2-7) - 126.6
127. Brown Bears (1-8) - 128.0
128. UTEP Miners (1-8) - 129.0

Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

75 Years of the AP Poll - How Do We Think They've Done Declaring a National Champion?

2010 was the 75th year of the AP Poll. Notre Dame has won the most AP national championships in that time - 8 - followed by Alabama and Oklahoma with 7 each. Meanwhile, in the same period of time, in our analysis, no team has won the "Baggaley" national championship more than six times - a total shared by Alabama, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Notre Dame has had the best season in our analysis five times.

Our analysis has agreed with the AP National Champion 34 out of the 75 years - 45% of the time. It should be noted that prior to 1968, the AP champion was declared before any bowl games, and our analysis includes bowl games, so that might account for some of the discrepancies. In fact, prior to 1968, our analysis agreed with the AP National Champion only 41% of the time, while it has agreed with the AP Poll 49% of the time since that change was made.

Here is a summary of the AP and Baggaley National Champions from the past 75 years:

YearAP ChampBaggaley Champ
1936Minnesota Golden GophersPittsburgh Panthers
1937Pittsburgh PanthersCalifornia Golden Bears
1938TCU Horned FrogsTennessee Volunteers
1939Texas A&M AggiesTexas A&M Aggies
1940Minnesota Golden GophersTennessee Volunteers
1941Minnesota Golden GophersDuke Blue Devils
1942Ohio State BuckeyesTulsa Golden Hurricane
1943Notre Dame Fighting IrishNotre Dame Fighting Irish
1944Army Black KnightsArmy Black Knights
1945Army Black KnightsArmy Black Knights
1946Notre Dame Fighting IrishGeorgia Bulldogs
1947Notre Dame Fighting Irish/Michigan Wolverines (tie)Texas Longhorns
1948Michigan WolverinesMichigan Wolverines
1949Notre Dame Fighting IrishNotre Dame Fighting Irish
1950Oklahoma SoonersKentucky Wildcats
1951Tennessee VolunteersMaryland Terrapins
1952Michigan State SpartansGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets
1953Maryland TerrapinsMaryland Terrapins
1954Ohio State BuckeyesUCLA Bruins
1955Oklahoma SoonersOklahoma Sooners
1956Oklahoma SoonersOklahoma Sooners/Tennessee Volunteers (tie)
1957Auburn TigersArizona State Sun Devils
1958LSU TigersArmy Black Knights
1959Syracuse OrangeOle Miss Rebels
1960Minnesota Golden GophersNew Mexico State Aggies
1961Alabama Crimson TideAlabama Crimson Tide
1962USC TrojansAlabama Crimson Tide
1963Texas LonghornsTexas Longhorns
1964Alabama Crimson TideArkansas Razorbacks/Notre Dame Fighting Irish (tie)
1965Alabama Crimson TideMichigan State Spartans
1966Notre Dame Fighting IrishNotre Dame Fighting Irish
1967USC TrojansUSC Trojans
1968Ohio State BuckeyesPenn State Nittany Lions
1969Texas LonghornsSan Diego State Aztecs
1970Nebraska CornhuskersDartmouth Big Green
1971Nebraska CornhuskersNebraska Cornhuskers
1972USC TrojansUSC Trojans
1973Notre Dame Fighting IrishOhio State Buckeyes
1974Oklahoma SoonersOklahoma Sooners
1975Oklahoma SoonersArkansas State Red Wolves
1976Pittsburgh PanthersPittsburgh Panthers
1977Notre Dame Fighting IrishArkansas Razorbacks
1978Alabama Crimson TideAlabama Crimson Tide
1979Alabama Crimson TideAlabama Crimson Tide
1980Georgia BulldogsFlorida State Seminoles
1981Clemson TigersPittsburgh Panthers
1982Penn State Nittany LionsNebraska Cornhuskers
1983Miami HurricanesNebraska Cornhuskers
1984BYU CougarsBYU Cougars/Florida Gators (tie)
1985Oklahoma SoonersOklahoma Sooners
1986Penn State Nittany LionsMiami Hurricanes
1987Miami HurricanesFlorida State Seminoles
1988Notre Dame Fighting IrishMiami Hurricanes/Notre Dame Fighting Irish (tie)
1989Miami HurricanesColorado Buffaloes
1990Colorado BuffaloesMiami Hurricanes
1991Miami HurricanesWashington Huskies
1992Alabama Crimson TideAlabama Crimson Tide
1993Florida State SeminolesFlorida State Seminoles
1994Nebraska CornhuskersNebraska Cornhuskers
1995Nebraska CornhuskersNebraska Cornhuskers
1996Florida GatorsFlorida Gators
1997Michigan WolverinesNebraska Cornhuskers
1998Tennessee VolunteersOhio State Buckeyes
1999Florida State SeminolesFlorida State Seminoles
2000Oklahoma SoonersOklahoma Sooners
2001Miami HurricanesMiami Hurricanes
2002Ohio State BuckeyesMiami Hurricanes
2003USC TrojansUSC Trojans
2004USC TrojansUtah Utes
2005Texas LonghornsTexas Longhorns
2006Florida GatorsOhio State Buckeyes
2007LSU TigersLSU Tigers
2008Florida GatorsOklahoma Sooners
2009Alabama Crimson TideAlabama Crimson Tide
2010Auburn TigersOregon Ducks


Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided much of the data for our analysis.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Most Successful Top Division College Football Programs of the Past 75 Years (1936-2010)

A couple of months ago, we posted our rankings for The Most Successful Top Division College Football Programs of the Past 50 Years. Now, with 75 years of data, we post our rankings for the most successful programs of the past 75 years. Again, rankings are based on a school's average performance over the period included. In order to be included in this list, a school must have sponsored a top-division college football team for at least 8 of the 75 years, and only those years at which a team competed at the top division are counted.

1. Oklahoma Sooners
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Alabama Crimson Tide
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5. Texas Longhorns
6. Tennessee Volunteers
7. Michigan Wolverines
8. USC Trojans
9. Penn State Nittany Lions
10. Florida State Seminoles
11. LSU Tigers
12. Georgia Bulldogs
13. Auburn Tigers
14. Nebraska Cornhuskers
15. Florida Gators
16. Boise State Broncos
17. Arkansas Razorbacks
18. UCLA Bruins
19. Michigan State Spartans
20. Miami Hurricanes
21. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
22. Ole Miss Rebels
23. Texas A&M Aggies
24. Santa Clara Broncos
25. Washington Huskies
26. Clemson Tigers
27. Arizona State Sun Devils
28. Colorado Buffaloes
29. Yale Bulldogs
30. Dartmouth Big Green
31. Missouri Tigers
32. Purdue Boilermakers
33. West Virginia Mountaineers
34. Stanford Cardinal
35. North Carolina Tar Heels
36. Boston College Eagles
37. South Florida Bulls
38. Pittsburgh Panthers
39. Syracuse Orange
40. Texas Tech Red Raiders
41. Southern Miss Golden Eagles
42. Mississippi State Bulldogs
43. Oregon Ducks
44. Wisconsin Badgers
45. California Golden Bears
46. Fordham Rams
47. Minnesota Golden Gophers
48. Houston Cougars
49. Maryland Terrapins
50. Utah Utes
51. Virginia Tech Hokies
52. Kentucky Wildcats
53. Iowa Hawkeyes
54. Princeton Tigers
55. Miami University RedHawks
56. Arizona Wildcats
57. South Carolina Gamecocks
58. Oklahoma State Cowboys
59. BYU Cougars
60. San Diego State Aztecs
61. Air Force Falcons
62. Baylor Bears
63. Navy Midshipmen
64. Duke Blue Devils
65. TCU Horned Frogs
66. Fresno State Bulldogs
67. NC State Wolfpack
68. Cornell Big Red
69. Georgetown Hoyas
70. Illinois Fighting Illini
71. Harvard Crimson
72. Bowling Green Falcons
73. Duquesne Dukes
74. SMU Mustangs
75. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
76. ECU Pirates
77. Army Black Knights
78. Wyoming Cowboys
79. Hawaii Warriors
80. St. Mary's Gaels
81. Washington State Cougars
82. Oregon State Beavers
83. Villanova Wildcats
84. Pennsylvania Relays
85. Memphis Tigers
86. Louisville Cardinals
87. Kansas Jayhawks
88. Virginia Cavaliers
89. Toledo Rockets
90. Holy Cross Crusaders
91. Detroit Mercy Titans
92. Connecticut Huskies
93. Central Michigan Chippewas
94. Nevada Wolf Pack
95. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
96. Cincinnati Bearcats
97. Hardin-Simmons Cowboys
98. UCF Knights
99. Northwestern Wildcats
100. Troy Trojans
101. San Francisco Dons
102. Rice Owls
103. Tulane Green Wave
104. Denver Pioneers
105. Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs
106. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
107. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
108. Indiana Hoosiers
109. Colgate Raiders
110. Western Michigan Broncos
111. Iowa State Cyclones
112. Vanderbilt Commodores
113. Appalachian State Mountaineers
114. Colorado State Rams
115. William & Mary Tribe
116. Kansas State Wildcats
117. Marquette Golden Eagles
118. Temple Owls
119. Ball State Cardinals
120. Utah State Aggies
121. Long Beach State 49ers
122. San Jose State Spartans
123. New Mexico Lobos
124. Brown Bears
125. North Texas Mean Green
126. Boston University Terriers
127. West Texas A&M Buffaloes
128. George Washington Colonials
129. Indiana State Sycamores
130. Ohio Bobcats
131. Texas-Arlington Mavericks
132. Pacific Tigers
133. VMI Keydets
134. Columbia Lions
135. Northern Illinois Huskies
136. Marshall Thundering Herd
137. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
138. Loyola Marymount Lions
139. UAB Blazers
140. UTEP Miners
141. Furman Paladins
142. Washington & Lee Generals
143. UNLV Rebels
144. Richmond Spiders
145. Drake Bulldogs
146. Citadel Bulldogs
147. Southern Illinois Salukis
148. Dayton Flyers
149. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
150. Wichita State Shockers
151. Xavier Musketeers
152. Lamar Cardinals
153. Kent State Golden Flashes
154. Buffalo Bulls
155. Arkansas State Red Wolves
156. Cal State Fullerton Titans
157. Montana Grizzlies
158. Idaho Vandals
159. Akron Zips
160. New York University Violets
161. New Mexico State Aggies
162. St. Louis Billikens
163. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
164. Illinois State Redbirds
165. Davidson Wildcats
166. Eastern Michigan Eagles
167. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

Of course, a weakness of this anaylsis is that it doesn't take into account the number of years a team competed as a top division, aside from requiring a minimum number of years. As a result, teams like the Boise State Broncos end up ranked a bit high, considering Boise State only competed at the top division of football for the last 15 of the 75 years. The way the ranking is calculated, essentially, Boise State's average performance over the last 15 years is being compared to other teams' average performance over 75 years - and it is certainly much more difficult to perform consistently over 75 years than 15. While Boise State's meteoric rise to a consistent position among the top teams of college football during that time is amazing, does it really justify making the Broncos the #16 program of the past 75 years?

We have devised a formula that attempts to make appropriate adjustments for how many years (out of the 75) a team has competed at the top division in its computations, and we also include the resulting rankings here - see below. (We still require that a school sponsor top-division football for at least 8 years to be included.):

1. Oklahoma Sooners
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Alabama Crimson Tide
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5. Texas Longhorns
6. Tennessee Volunteers
7. Michigan Wolverines
8. USC Trojans
9. Penn State Nittany Lions
10. LSU Tigers
11. Georgia Bulldogs
12. Nebraska Cornhuskers
13. Auburn Tigers
14. Florida Gators
15. Florida State Seminoles
16. Arkansas Razorbacks
17. UCLA Bruins
18. Michigan State Spartans
19. Miami Hurricanes
20. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
21. Ole Miss Rebels
22. Texas A&M Aggies
23. Clemson Tigers
24. Washington Huskies
25. Colorado Buffaloes
26. Arizona State Sun Devils
27. Missouri Tigers
28. Purdue Boilermakers
29. West Virginia Mountaineers
30. North Carolina Tar Heels
31. Stanford Cardinal
32. Boston College Eagles
33. Pittsburgh Panthers
34. Texas Tech Red Raiders
35. Syracuse Orange
36. Mississippi State Bulldogs
37. Oregon Ducks
38. Wisconsin Badgers
39. California Golden Bears
40. Minnesota Golden Gophers
41. Maryland Terrapins
42. Utah Utes
43. Iowa Hawkeyes
44. Virginia Tech Hokies
45. Kentucky Wildcats
46. South Carolina Gamecocks
47. Oklahoma State Cowboys
48. Arizona Wildcats
49. Navy Midshipmen
50. BYU Cougars
51. Yale Bulldogs
52. Baylor Bears
53. Duke Blue Devils
54. TCU Horned Frogs
55. Dartmouth Big Green
56. NC State Wolfpack
57. Houston Cougars
58. Boise State Broncos
59. Illinois Fighting Illini
60. Southern Miss Golden Eagles
61. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
62. SMU Mustangs
63. Army Black Knights
64. Wyoming Cowboys
65. Washington State Cougars
66. Oregon State Beavers
67. Kansas Jayhawks
68. Virginia Cavaliers
69. Santa Clara Broncos
70. Air Force Falcons
71. Miami University RedHawks
72. Princeton Tigers
73. Northwestern Wildcats
74. San Diego State Aztecs
75. Rice Owls
76. Cornell Big Red
77. Tulane Green Wave
78. Fresno State Bulldogs
79. Bowling Green Falcons
80. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
81. Indiana Hoosiers
82. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
83. Harvard Crimson
84. Iowa State Cyclones
85. Memphis Tigers
86. ECU Pirates
87. Vanderbilt Commodores
88. Louisville Cardinals
89. South Florida Bulls
90. Pennsylvania Relays
91. Villanova Wildcats
92. Colorado State Rams
93. Cincinnati Bearcats
94. Kansas State Wildcats
95. Toledo Rockets
96. Fordham Rams
97. Hawaii Warriors
98. Holy Cross Crusaders
99. Utah State Aggies
100. New Mexico Lobos
101. Western Michigan Broncos
102. Colgate Raiders
103. Central Michigan Chippewas
104. San Jose State Spartans
105. Temple Owls
106. Georgetown Hoyas
107. Detroit Mercy Titans
108. William & Mary Tribe
109. Duquesne Dukes
110. UTEP Miners
111. St. Mary's Gaels
112. Nevada Wolf Pack
113. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
114. Hardin-Simmons Cowboys
115. Brown Bears
116. Denver Pioneers
117. North Texas Mean Green
118. Ohio Bobcats
119. West Texas A&M Buffaloes
120. Connecticut Huskies
121. Ball State Cardinals
122. UCF Knights
123. Pacific Tigers
124. VMI Keydets
125. San Francisco Dons
126. Columbia Lions
127. Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs
128. Troy Trojans
129. Northern Illinois Huskies
130. Marquette Golden Eagles
131. New Mexico State Aggies
132. Richmond Spiders
133. Long Beach State 49ers
134. Furman Paladins
135. George Washington Colonials
136. Appalachian State Mountaineers
137. Marshall Thundering Herd
138. Citadel Bulldogs
139. Boston University Terriers
140. Kent State Golden Flashes
141. Idaho Vandals
142. UNLV Rebels
143. Drake Bulldogs
144. Wichita State Shockers
145. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
146. Indiana State Sycamores
147. Texas-Arlington Mavericks
148. UAB Blazers
149. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
150. Loyola Marymount Lions
151. Washington & Lee Generals
152. Arkansas State Red Wolves
153. Dayton Flyers
154. Southern Illinois Salukis
155. Montana Grizzlies
156. Buffalo Bulls
157. Davidson Wildcats
158. Akron Zips
159. Xavier Musketeers
160. Eastern Michigan Eagles
161. Cal State Fullerton Titans
162. Lamar Cardinals
163. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
164. New York University Violets
165. St. Louis Billikens
166. Illinois State Redbirds
167. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

1936 College Football Final Rankings

In yesterday's post, we mentioned that the Pittsburgh Panthers, in our analysis, had the best season among top-division college football teams in 1936. 1936 was the first year of the AP poll, and voters chose Minnesota as their first national champion. Our analysis places the Golden Gophers at #4 for that season.

With the completion of the 2010 season, the AP Poll has been in existence for 75 years. In one of our upcoming posts we will do a full comparison of those 75 years. How many of those years did the voters' national champion match up with our analysis? We'll also be posting our list of the most successful top-division college football programs over the last 75 years. Watch for these postings in the coming week.

For now, here is the list of our final rankings for 1936:

1. Pittsburgh Panthers (8-1-1) - 1.5
2. Duke Blue Devils (9-1) - 1.8
3. LSU Tigers (9-1-1) - 3.1
4. Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-1) - 4.2
5. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0-1) - 5.0
6. Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-2) - 6.2
7. Santa Clara Broncos (8-1) - 6.6
8. Utah State Aggies (7-0-1) - 9.7
9. TCU Horned Frogs (9-2-2) - 10.9
10. Duquesne Dukes (8-2) - 12.0
(tie) Tennessee Volunteers (6-2-2) - 12.0
12. Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-3-1) - 13.1
13. Washington Huskies (7-2-1) - 13.2
14. Arkansas Razorbacks (7-3) - 13.6
15. Marquette Golden Eagles (7-2) - 14.3
16. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-2-1) - 16.9
17. Pennsylvania Relays (7-1) - 17.2
18. Dartmouth Big Green (7-1-1) - 18.2
19. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-3) - 19.6
(tie) Yale Bulldogs (7-1) - 19.6
21. Auburn Tigers (7-2-2) - 19.9
22. North Carolina Tar Heels (8-2) - 21.0
23. Northwestern Wildcats (7-1) - 22.3
24. Fordham Rams (5-1-2) - 24.1
25. Navy Midshipmen (6-3) - 25.1
26. Tulane Green Wave (6-3-1) - 27.4
27. Princeton Tigers (4-2-2) - 27.7
28. Army Black Knights (6-3) - 28.0
29. Utah Utes (6-3) - 29.7
30. George Washington Colonials (7-1-1) - 31.0
(tie) Villanova Wildcats (7-2-1) - 31.0
32. Michigan State Spartans (6-1-2) - 31.5
33. Denver Pioneers (7-1-1) - 33.3
34. Colgate Raiders (6-3) - 33.7
35. Texas A&M Aggies (8-3-1) - 35.1
36. St. Mary's Gaels (6-3-1) - 36.7
37. USC Trojans (4-2-3) - 37.3
38. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-5-1) - 37.4
39. Colorado Buffaloes (4-3) - 38.2
40. Purdue Boilermakers (5-2-1) - 39.8
41. Georgia Bulldogs (5-4-1) - 42.4
42. Davidson Wildcats (5-4) - 43.4
43. Arizona Wildcats (5-2-3) - 44.3
(tie) Holy Cross Crusaders (7-2-1) - 44.3
45. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (5-2-2) - 44.8
46. Ole Miss Rebels (5-5-2) - 45.1
47. Washington State Cougars (6-3-1) - 45.5
48. Kentucky Wildcats (6-4) - 49.2
49. Indiana Hoosiers (5-2-1) - 49.4
50. Detroit Mercy Titans (7-3) - 51.1
51. Kansas State Wildcats (4-3-2) - 51.3
52. Georgetown Hoyas (6-2-1) - 51.9
53. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-4) - 53.6
54. California Golden Bears (6-5) - 54.0
55. New York University Violets (5-3-1) - 54.4
56. UCLA Bruins (6-3-1) - 55.0
57. Missouri Tigers (6-2-1) - 55.2
58. Furman Paladins (7-2) - 58.3
59. Temple Owls (6-3-2) - 58.4
60. Clemson Tigers (5-5) - 58.6
61. Baylor Bears (6-3-1) - 60.1
62. Manhattan Jaspers (6-4) - 60.5
63. Rice Owls (5-7) - 61.8
64. Oklahoma Sooners (3-3-3) - 64.8
65. SMU Mustangs (5-4-1) - 65.4
66. Columbia Lions (5-3) - 66.2
67. Montana Grizzlies (6-3) - 66.5
68. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-4-1) - 66.7
69. Texas Longhorns (2-6-1) - 69.0
70. Harvard Crimson (3-4-1) - 69.4
71. Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-3) - 71.6
72. Centenary Gents (6-4-2) - 72.2
73. Stanford Cardinal (2-5-2) - 72.8
74. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (2-6) - 73.8
75. Oregon State Beavers (4-6) - 75.3
76. Colorado State Rams (4-4-1) - 77.0
77. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-5) - 78.0
78. Miami Hurricanes (6-2-2) - 78.3
79. Loyola Marymount Lions (6-3) - 78.9
80. BYU Cougars (4-5) - 79.0
81. Maryland Terrapins (6-5) - 79.6
82. Bucknell Bison (4-4-1) - 82.2
83. Illinois Fighting Illini (4-3-1) - 83.7
84. Drake Bulldogs (6-4) - 85.2
85. West Virginia Mountaineers (6-4) - 86.0
86. Florida Gators (4-6) - 86.6
87. VMI Keydets (6-4) - 87.7
88. Colorado College Tigers (3-4-1) - 87.8
(tie) Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-4-1) - 87.8
90. Cornell Big Red (3-5) - 88.8
91. Iowa State Cyclones (3-3-2) - 91.5
92. Northern Colorado Bears (5-4) - 92.1
93. Creighton Bluejays (4-4) - 93.3
94. Idaho Vandals (3-7) - 94.8
(tie) St. Louis Billikens (5-4-1) - 94.8
96. South Carolina Gamecocks (5-7) - 95.8
97. Vanderbilt Commodores (3-5-1) - 96.1
98. NC State Wolfpack (3-7) - 96.7
99. San Francisco Dons (4-4-2) - 99.8
100. Oregon Ducks (2-6-1) - 100.1
101. Washington (MO) Bears (3-7) - 101.4
102. Michigan Wolverines (1-7) - 101.6
103. Wyoming Cowboys (2-5-1) - 101.7
104. Washington & Lee Generals (4-5) - 103.6
105. Citadel Bulldogs (4-6) - 104.2
106. Wisconsin Badgers (2-6) - 105.0
107. New Mexico State Aggies (6-4-1) - 107.1
108. Montana State Bobcats (3-5) - 108.9
109. Loyola (New Orleans) Wolfpack (4-6) - 109.5
110. Virginia Tech Hokies (5-5) - 110.2
111. Kansas Jayhawks (1-6-1) - 112.6
112. Mercer Bears (3-6-1) - 112.9
113. Chicago Maroons (2-5-1) - 113.4
(tie) Western State Mountaineers (1-6) - 113.4
115. Presbyterian Blue Hose (3-6) - 114.5
116. UTEP Miners (5-3-1) - 115.7
117. Colorado Mines Orediggers (2-6) - 116.8
118. Syracuse Orange (1-7) - 119.0
119. Virginia Cavaliers (2-7) - 119.6
120. Arizona State Sun Devils (4-5) - 120.3
121. Erskine Flying Fleet (4-5) - 121.9
122. New Mexico Lobos (2-7) - 123.5
123. Richmond Spiders (4-4-2) - 125.0
124. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (3-4-1) - 125.2
125. Washburn Ichabods (2-6-1) - 126.4
126. Sewanee Tigers (0-6-1) - 126.8
127. William & Mary Tribe (1-8) - 127.7
128. Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-9) - 128.4
129. Brown Bears (3-7) - 128.9
130. Wofford Terriers (1-7-1) - 130.2
131. Grinnell Pioneers (2-7) - 131.8

Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.

Monday, July 11, 2011

1937 College Football Final Rankings

In 1937, the Pittsburgh Panthers were declared the AP Poll's second ever national champions. (1936 was the first year for the poll.) It seems the poll did not get off to a good start, however. Our analysis does not agree with the AP Poll's champion for any of the first three years - until 1939. So who do we say had the best season in 1937? The California Golden Bears (who have not won a "Baggaley" championship since).

We should mention, however, that Pittsburgh was our #2 ranked team for 1937 and - ironically - our national champion for 1936 (see tomorrow's posting). Pittsburgh was also our national champion for 1976 and 1981, so Panthers fans should not feel too upset at our disagreement with the AP Poll in this case.

Here's the entire list of rankings for 1937:

1. California Golden Bears (10-0-1) - 1.3
2. Pittsburgh Panthers (9-0-1) - 2.4
3. Dartmouth Big Green (7-0-2) - 3.3
4. Villanova Wildcats (8-0-1) - 3.5
5. Fordham Rams (7-0-1) - 5.4
6. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-1) - 6.0
7. LSU Tigers (9-2) - 7.2
8. Yale Bulldogs (6-1-1) - 9.0
9. Auburn Tigers (6-2-3) - 9.4
10. Colorado Buffaloes (8-1) - 9.7
11. Santa Clara Broncos (9-0) - 10.1
12. North Carolina Tar Heels (7-1-1) - 12.7
13. Duke Blue Devils (7-2-1) - 13.7
14. Arkansas Razorbacks (6-2-2) - 14.0
15. Rice Owls (6-3-2) - 16.3
16. Vanderbilt Commodores (7-2) - 16.9
17. Tennessee Volunteers (6-3-1) - 17.7
18. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-3-1) - 18.1
19. Army Black Knights (7-2) - 19.7
20. Harvard Crimson (5-2-1) - 20.6
21. Baylor Bears (7-3) - 22.2
22. Cornell Big Red (5-2-1) - 23.0
23. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (6-2-2) - 23.9
24. Washington Huskies (7-2-2) - 25.0
25. Holy Cross Crusaders (8-0-2) - 25.2
26. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-2) - 25.6
27. Detroit Mercy Titans (7-3) - 27.6
(tie) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-2-1) - 27.6
29. Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-2) - 28.2
30. Georgia Bulldogs (6-3-2) - 30.3
31. Montana Grizzlies (7-1) - 31.5
32. Tulane Green Wave (5-4-1) - 32.5
33. TCU Horned Frogs (4-4-2) - 33.8
34. Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-1-2) - 34.1
35. Texas A&M Aggies (5-2-2) - 34.4
36. Michigan State Spartans (8-2) - 35.3
37. West Virginia Mountaineers (8-1-1) - 37.0
38. Stanford Cardinal (4-3-2) - 38.5
39. USC Trojans (4-4-2) - 41.4
40. Oklahoma Sooners (5-2-2) - 41.5
41. Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-4) - 42.6
42. Arizona Wildcats (8-2) - 43.8
43. Utah Utes (5-3) - 45.9
44. Indiana Hoosiers (5-3) - 46.5
45. Duquesne Dukes (6-4) - 46.7
46. Drake Bulldogs (8-2) - 47.1
47. SMU Mustangs (5-6) - 47.2
48. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-3) - 47.4
49. BYU Cougars (6-3) - 48.4
50. Maryland Terrapins (8-2) - 48.8
51. Ole Miss Rebels (4-5-1) - 50.2
52. Syracuse Orange (5-2-1) - 50.8
53. Texas Longhorns (2-6-1) - 50.9
54. Clemson Tigers (4-4-1) - 51.0
55. Temple Owls (3-2-4) - 54.3
56. Manhattan Jaspers (6-3-1) - 56.6
(tie) Oregon State Beavers (3-3-3) - 56.6
58. Northwestern Wildcats (4-4) - 56.7
59. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (2-5-1) - 58.5
60. New Mexico State Aggies (7-2) - 59.0
61. Purdue Boilermakers (4-3-1) - 59.5
62. Navy Midshipmen (4-4-1) - 61.8
63. Idaho Vandals (4-3-1) - 63.0
64. UTEP Miners (7-1-2) - 63.2
65. Wisconsin Badgers (4-3-1) - 66.6
66. NC State Wolfpack (5-3-1) - 67.0
67. Washington State Cougars (3-3-3) - 67.3
68. Florida Gators (4-7) - 68.0
69. Colgate Raiders (3-5) - 69.0
70. Columbia Lions (2-5-2) - 69.7
71. Denver Pioneers (6-3) - 71.7
72. Centenary Gents (6-3-3) - 72.3
73. Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-4-1) - 72.5
74. Princeton Tigers (4-4) - 72.8
75. New York University Violets (5-4) - 73.7
76. St. Mary's Gaels (4-3-2) - 74.7
77. UCLA Bruins (2-6-1) - 76.2
78. Furman Paladins (4-3-2) - 76.6
(tie) Kentucky Wildcats (4-6) - 76.6
80. Oregon Ducks (4-6) - 81.5
81. Bucknell Bison (3-3-2) - 82.0
82. Brown Bears (5-4) - 82.9
83. Michigan Wolverines (4-4) - 84.2
84. Virginia Tech Hokies (5-5) - 84.5
85. Boston College Eagles (4-4-1) - 85.6
86. George Washington Colonials (3-4-1) - 86.1
87. Missouri Tigers (3-6-1) - 87.7
88. Illinois Fighting Illini (3-3-2) - 88.0
89. St. Louis Billikens (7-2-1) - 89.0
90. Kansas Jayhawks (3-4-2) - 89.6
91. New Mexico Lobos (4-4-1) - 91.5
92. Citadel Bulldogs (7-4) - 91.6
93. VMI Keydets (5-5) - 93.9
94. Western State Mountaineers (5-3) - 94.8
95. Loyola Marymount Lions (4-7) - 95.3
96. South Carolina Gamecocks (5-6-1) - 95.5
97. Washington & Lee Generals (4-5) - 96.1
98. Pennsylvania Relays (2-5-1) - 96.4
99. Miami Hurricanes (4-4-1) - 98.3
100. Kansas State Wildcats (4-5) - 98.5
101. Montana State Bobcats (3-4-1) - 99.1
102. Georgetown Hoyas (2-4-2) - 101.9
103. Washington (MO) Bears (4-6) - 103.0
104. Colorado College Tigers (5-4) - 103.1
105. William & Mary Tribe (4-5) - 103.4
106. Utah State Aggies (2-4-2) - 105.7
107. Marquette Golden Eagles (3-6) - 107.3
108. Iowa Hawkeyes (1-7) - 108.0
109. San Francisco Dons (4-5-1) - 108.3
110. Gonzaga Bulldogs (2-6-2) - 109.5
111. Iowa State Cyclones (3-6) - 110.1
112. Richmond Spiders (5-4-1) - 113.0
113. Northern Colorado Bears (2-6) - 113.6
114. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-6) - 114.3
115. Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-6) - 115.2
116. Davidson Wildcats (2-8) - 116.3
117. Colorado Mines Orediggers (2-5) - 116.7
118. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (5-5) - 116.8
119. Wyoming Cowboys (3-5) - 118.2
120. Chicago Maroons (1-6) - 119.6
121. Virginia Cavaliers (2-7) - 119.8
122. Sewanee Tigers (2-7) - 121.3
123. Colorado State Rams (1-7) - 122.2
124. Creighton Bluejays (2-7) - 124.4
125. Arizona State Sun Devils (0-8-1) - 125.8
126. Washburn Ichabods (0-10) - 127.0

Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.

Friday, July 8, 2011

1938 College Football Final Rankings

1938 was the first year out of three consecutive years in which the Tennessee Volunteers finished the regular season undefeated and untied. Amazingly, not once during those three years was Tennessee awarded the national championship in the AP poll. In 1938, that championship went to the TCU Horned Frogs. Our analysis shows that Tennessee actually had the best season in the country two of those three years - and 1938 was one of them.

Here are the final rankings:

1. Tennessee Volunteers (11-0) - 1.1
2. TCU Horned Frogs (11-0) - 1.9
3. Pittsburgh Panthers (8-2) - 4.3
4. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (7-2) - 4.8
5. Holy Cross Crusaders (8-1) - 5.3
(tie) Oklahoma Sooners (10-1) - 5.3
7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-1) - 7.4
8. California Golden Bears (10-1) - 8.9
9. Duke Blue Devils (9-1) - 9.5
10. USC Trojans (9-2) - 11.1
11. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1-1) - 11.9
(tie) Tulane Green Wave (7-2-1) - 11.9
13. Fordham Rams (6-1-2) - 13.8
14. Villanova Wildcats (8-0-1) - 14.4
15. Clemson Tigers (7-1-1) - 15.3
16. Michigan Wolverines (6-1-1) - 16.8
17. Dartmouth Big Green (7-2) - 18.0
18. Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-2) - 18.4
19. Georgetown Hoyas (8-0) - 18.9
(tie) St. Mary's Gaels (6-2) - 18.9
21. Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-1) - 19.8
22. Cornell Big Red (5-1-1) - 21.4
23. Northwestern Wildcats (4-2-2) - 23.2
24. Santa Clara Broncos (6-2) - 23.6
25. Army Black Knights (8-2) - 24.2
26. Ole Miss Rebels (9-2) - 24.3
27. North Carolina Tar Heels (6-2-1) - 26.6
28. Utah Utes (7-1-2) - 27.0
29. Iowa State Cyclones (7-1-1) - 29.8
30. Purdue Boilermakers (5-1-2) - 30.7
31. UCLA Bruins (7-4-1) - 32.3
32. Vanderbilt Commodores (6-3) - 32.4
33. Michigan State Spartans (6-3) - 34.1
34. Wisconsin Badgers (5-3) - 34.6
35. Brown Bears (5-3) - 35.9
36. Navy Midshipmen (4-3-2) - 37.2
37. Baylor Bears (7-2-1) - 37.9
38. LSU Tigers (6-4) - 39.9
39. Miami Hurricanes (8-2) - 40.0
40. Oregon State Beavers (5-3-1) - 41.0
41. Texas A&M Aggies (4-4-1) - 41.1
42. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-3-1) - 41.3
43. Idaho Vandals (6-3-1) - 45.7
44. SMU Mustangs (6-4) - 47.0
45. New Mexico Lobos (8-3) - 47.1
46. Harvard Crimson (4-4) - 47.4
47. Creighton Bluejays (6-1-1) - 47.7
48. Detroit Mercy Titans (6-4) - 47.8
49. Missouri Tigers (6-3) - 48.1
50. Auburn Tigers (4-5-1) - 48.3
51. Washington Huskies (3-5-1) - 51.6
52. Stanford Cardinal (3-6) - 51.7
53. Boston College Eagles (6-1-2) - 52.9
54. South Carolina Gamecocks (6-4-1) - 54.8
55. Pennsylvania Relays (3-2-3) - 55.6
56. VMI Keydets (6-1-4) - 56.0
57. Syracuse Orange (5-3) - 56.2
58. Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-5-1) - 57.5
59. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-4-3) - 58.2
60. BYU Cougars (4-3-1) - 58.6
61. Rice Owls (4-6) - 62.3
62. Georgia Bulldogs (5-4-1) - 63.0
63. Drake Bulldogs (5-4-1) - 63.4
64. San Francisco Dons (5-2-1) - 63.9
65. Oregon Ducks (4-5) - 64.1
66. Columbia Lions (3-6) - 65.8
67. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-5-1) - 66.8
68. Arkansas Razorbacks (2-7-1) - 67.1
69. Colgate Raiders (2-5) - 68.5
70. Bucknell Bison (5-3) - 68.7
71. Montana Grizzlies (5-3-1) - 71.9
72. New York University Violets (4-4) - 72.0
73. Temple Owls (3-6-1) - 72.6
74. UTEP Miners (6-3) - 73.0
75. Kansas State Wildcats (4-4-1) - 73.4
76. Colorado Buffaloes (3-4-1) - 75.5
77. NC State Wolfpack (3-7-1) - 78.2
78. George Washington Colonials (5-4) - 79.4
79. Utah State Aggies (4-4) - 79.6
80. New Mexico State Aggies (7-2) - 79.7
81. Kansas Jayhawks (3-6) - 80.8
82. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-4-1) - 83.8
83. Denver Pioneers (4-4-1) - 84.1
84. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-5-1) - 84.2
85. Citadel Bulldogs (6-5) - 85.4
86. Washington (MO) Bears (6-3-1) - 86.4
87. West Virginia Mountaineers (4-5-1) - 86.6
88. Virginia Tech Hokies (3-5-2) - 87.2
89. Richmond Spiders (6-3-1) - 88.4
90. Centenary Gents (7-4) - 89.7
91. Manhattan Jaspers (5-4) - 89.9
92. Princeton Tigers (3-4-1) - 90.9
93. Yale Bulldogs (2-6) - 91.4
94. Duquesne Dukes (4-6) - 91.7
95. Virginia Cavaliers (4-4-1) - 91.9
96. Washington State Cougars (2-8) - 95.4
97. Wyoming Cowboys (2-5-1) - 97.7
98. Davidson Wildcats (4-6) - 98.0
(tie) Indiana Hoosiers (1-6-1) - 98.0
100. Marquette Golden Eagles (1-7) - 99.2
(tie) Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-6) - 99.2
102. Texas Longhorns (1-8) - 101.1
103. Arizona Wildcats (3-6) - 102.0
104. Washington & Lee Generals (4-4-1) - 102.8
105. Florida Gators (4-6-1) - 103.5
106. Kentucky Wildcats (2-7) - 107.9
107. St. Louis Billikens (3-5-2) - 108.3
108. Furman Paladins (2-7-1) - 108.6
(tie) Iowa Hawkeyes (1-6-1) - 108.6
110. Colorado State Rams (1-5-2) - 109.3
111. Gonzaga Bulldogs (1-7) - 110.6
112. Loyola Marymount Lions (4-5) - 111.2
113. Illinois Fighting Illini (3-5) - 112.1
114. Maryland Terrapins (2-7) - 113.6
115. Washburn Ichabods (6-3) - 113.9
116. Oklahoma State Cowboys (2-8) - 115.5
117. Hampden-Sydney Tigers (2-6) - 117.9
118. William & Mary Tribe (3-7) - 118.5
119. Chicago Maroons (1-6-1) - 119.5
120. Sewanee Tigers (1-8) - 120.6
121. Arizona State Sun Devils (3-6) - 120.9
122. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (2-6-1) - 122.6

Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

1939 College Football Final Rankings

In 1939, going into the bowls, the Tennessee Volunteers were not only unbeaten and untied, no one had even scored on them. The Volunteers lost 14-0 in the Rose Bowl to USC, but the AP poll awarded its national championship prior to any bowl games in those days. Surprisingly, it would seem, Tennessee was not declared national champions. Instead, the voters awarded the title to the undefeated Texas A&M Aggies. Our analysis includes the bowl games, and we agree with the voters on this one. Although Tennessee is our national champion for both 1938 (as you will see in our next posting) AND 1940, they did not show enough offensive firepower - scoring - to go with that stout defense and claim the title in 1939. Still, a three-year run where a team finishes ranked #1-#3-#1 is pretty impressive.

Here are the final rankings for 1939:

1. Texas A&M Aggies (11-0) - 1.0
2. Cornell Big Red (8-0) - 2.7
3. Tennessee Volunteers (10-1) - 3.2
4. Tulane Green Wave (8-1-1) - 4.1
5. USC Trojans (8-0-2) - 5.4
6. North Carolina Tar Heels (8-1-1) - 6.1
7. Duke Blue Devils (8-1) - 6.6
8. Clemson Tigers (9-1) - 7.6
9. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-2) - 9.3
10. Boston College Eagles (9-2) - 11.4
11. Missouri Tigers (8-2) - 12.7
(tie) Oklahoma Sooners (6-2-1) - 12.7
13. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-2) - 13.5
14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-2) - 14.2
15. Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-1-1) - 14.7
16. Duquesne Dukes (8-0-1) - 17.9
17. Fordham Rams (6-2) - 18.0
18. Princeton Tigers (7-1) - 18.8
19. Utah Utes (6-1-2) - 19.9
20. Ole Miss Rebels (7-2) - 20.2
21. Holy Cross Crusaders (7-2) - 21.3
22. Alabama Crimson Tide (5-3-1) - 21.4
23. Michigan Wolverines (6-2) - 22.0
24. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-3) - 22.9
25. UCLA Bruins (6-0-4) - 25.5
26. Georgetown Hoyas (7-0-1) - 25.7
27. Oregon State Beavers (9-1-1) - 26.4
28. SMU Mustangs (6-3-1) - 27.3
29. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-2) - 27.8
30. Santa Clara Broncos (5-1-3) - 29.9
31. Kentucky Wildcats (6-2-1) - 30.1
32. Pittsburgh Panthers (5-4) - 31.5
33. Villanova Wildcats (6-2) - 34.5
34. Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-4-1) - 34.7
35. Auburn Tigers (5-5-1) - 34.9
36. Baylor Bears (7-3) - 35.9
37. Richmond Spiders (7-1-2) - 37.0
38. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-1-2) - 38.2
39. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-1-1) - 40.1
40. LSU Tigers (4-5) - 41.2
41. Dartmouth Big Green (5-3-1) - 41.3
42. Purdue Boilermakers (3-3-2) - 44.3
43. Hardin-Simmons Cowboys (7-1-1) - 45.5
(tie) Oregon Ducks (3-4-1) - 45.5
45. Kansas State Wildcats (4-5) - 46.6
46. Virginia Cavaliers (5-4) - 46.8
47. Arizona State Sun Devils (8-2-1) - 48.1
48. Columbia Lions (2-4-2) - 49.3
49. Navy Midshipmen (3-5-1) - 49.8
50. New York University Violets (5-4) - 49.9
51. Detroit Mercy Titans (5-3-1) - 50.4
52. William & Mary Tribe (6-2-1) - 53.6
53. Northwestern Wildcats (3-4-1) - 54.2
54. George Washington Colonials (5-3) - 55.8
55. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-5-1) - 56.2
(tie) Colorado Buffaloes (5-3) - 56.2
57. Texas Longhorns (5-4) - 56.4
58. Gonzaga Bulldogs (6-2) - 59.7
59. New Mexico Lobos (8-2) - 60.5
60. VMI Keydets (6-3-1) - 61.1
61. Pennsylvania Relays (4-4) - 61.3
62. Indiana Hoosiers (2-4-2) - 61.9
63. Denver Pioneers (5-3-1) - 62.0
64. Michigan State Spartans (4-4-1) - 62.3
65. Marquette Golden Eagles (4-4) - 63.5
66. Florida Gators (5-5-1) - 64.9
67. Washington (MO) Bears (6-3-1) - 65.0
68. Georgia Bulldogs (5-6) - 66.2
69. Brown Bears (5-3-1) - 66.9
70. Syracuse Orange (3-3-2) - 67.0
71. Furman Paladins (5-4) - 67.6
72. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (3-5) - 70.2
73. Colgate Raiders (2-5-1) - 73.1
74. Yale Bulldogs (3-4-1) - 75.2
75. Illinois Fighting Illini (3-4-1) - 76.0
76. TCU Horned Frogs (3-7) - 77.0
77. Washington Huskies (4-5) - 77.9
78. Manhattan Jaspers (4-4) - 78.1
79. Harvard Crimson (4-4) - 78.8
80. Virginia Tech Hokies (4-5-1) - 79.6
81. Army Black Knights (3-4-2) - 79.7
82. BYU Cougars (5-2-2) - 80.3
83. Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-4-1) - 80.8
84. Washington & Lee Generals (3-4-1) - 82.2
85. Arizona Wildcats (6-4) - 85.0
86. Temple Owls (2-7) - 85.2
87. Washington State Cougars (4-5) - 85.8
88. Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-5-1) - 86.7
89. Miami Hurricanes (5-5) - 89.4
90. UTEP Miners (5-4) - 92.6
91. St. Mary's Gaels (3-4-1) - 93.5
92. Washburn Ichabods (6-4) - 93.8
93. Utah State Aggies (3-4-1) - 94.7
94. Wisconsin Badgers (1-6-1) - 95.0
95. Kansas Jayhawks (2-6) - 96.5
96. Bucknell Bison (3-5) - 96.8
97. West Virginia Mountaineers (2-6-1) - 96.9
98. Stanford Cardinal (1-7-1) - 97.5
99. St. Louis Billikens (5-3-2) - 97.7
100. Vanderbilt Commodores (2-7-1) - 101.2
101. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-5-1) - 101.7
102. Creighton Bluejays (4-5) - 102.6
103. California Golden Bears (3-7) - 102.7
104. Iowa State Cyclones (2-7) - 104.0
105. Rice Owls (1-9-1) - 104.7
106. Hampden-Sydney Tigers (4-5) - 105.5
107. San Francisco Dons (4-3-3) - 105.8
108. Drake Bulldogs (5-5) - 106.2
109. Colorado State Rams (2-7) - 106.7
110. Montana Grizzlies (3-6) - 109.4
111. Rhodes Lynx (3-5-1) - 110.0
112. NC State Wolfpack (2-8) - 110.4
113. Citadel Bulldogs (3-8) - 110.9
114. Sewanee Tigers (3-5) - 113.7
115. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-6-1) - 115.3
116. Idaho Vandals (2-6) - 115.7
117. Maryland Terrapins (2-7) - 116.4
118. Davidson Wildcats (2-7) - 117.2
119. New Mexico State Aggies (3-6) - 117.3
120. Centenary Gents (2-9-1) - 118.9
121. Loyola Marymount Lions (2-6-1) - 120.8
122. Wyoming Cowboys (0-7-1) - 123.0
123. Chicago Maroons (2-6) - 123.8
124. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1-6-1) - 124.8


Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

1940 College Football Final Rankings

In 1940, the Minnesota Golden Gophers were declared national champion in the AP Poll, with the Stanford Cardinal #2. Other polls awarded their national championship to the Boston College Eagles or the Tennessee Volunteers. Our analysis puts Minnesota and Stanford at #5 and #8 respectively, while Tennessee and Boston College had the first and second best seasons that year.

Here are the final rankings:

1. Tennessee Volunteers (10-1) - 1.1
2. Boston College Eagles (11-0) - 1.9
3. Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-0-1) - 3.6
4. Michigan Wolverines (7-1) - 4.5
5. Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-0) - 6.1
6. Georgetown Hoyas (8-2) - 6.7
7. Texas A&M Aggies (9-1) - 7.1
8. Stanford Cardinal (10-0) - 8.2
9. Duke Blue Devils (7-2) - 9.0
10. Santa Clara Broncos (6-1-1) - 10.2
11. Northwestern Wildcats (6-2) - 10.9
12. Pennsylvania Relays (6-1-1) - 12.3
13. Hardin-Simmons Cowboys (9-0) - 12.9
14. Cornell Big Red (6-2) - 14.5
15. Texas Longhorns (8-2) - 15.2
16. Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-2) - 15.6
17. Washington Huskies (7-2) - 16.4
18. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-2) - 17.8
(tie) Fordham Rams (7-2) - 17.8
20. Ole Miss Rebels (9-2) - 19.2
21. SMU Mustangs (8-1-1) - 20.6
22. Rice Owls (7-3) - 22.5
23. Auburn Tigers (6-4-1) - 26.5
24. Texas Tech Red Raiders (9-1-1) - 26.6
25. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-4) - 27.2
26. Missouri Tigers (6-3) - 27.6
(tie) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-3) - 27.6
28. Duquesne Dukes (7-1) - 28.3
29. LSU Tigers (6-4) - 28.6
30. Clemson Tigers (6-2-1) - 30.8
31. Detroit Mercy Titans (7-2) - 32.5
32. Oklahoma Sooners (6-3) - 33.8
33. Navy Midshipmen (6-2-1) - 34.8
34. Utah Utes (7-2) - 35.1
35. Penn State Nittany Lions (6-1-1) - 35.4
36. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (7-3) - 35.5
37. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-2) - 35.7
38. Colgate Raiders (5-3) - 37.2
39. Arizona Wildcats (7-2) - 37.5
40. Tulane Green Wave (5-5) - 38.5
41. North Carolina Tar Heels (6-4) - 40.2
42. Oregon Ducks (4-4-1) - 41.6
43. Pittsburgh Panthers (3-4-1) - 42.6
44. Georgia Bulldogs (5-4-1) - 44.9
45. St. Mary's Gaels (5-3) - 46.3
46. VMI Keydets (7-2-1) - 49.3
47. Michigan State Spartans (3-4-1) - 49.5
(tie) TCU Horned Frogs (3-7) - 49.5
49. Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-3-1) - 49.6
50. Baylor Bears (4-6) - 49.9
51. Columbia Lions (5-2-2) - 50.9
52. Oregon State Beavers (5-3-1) - 51.4
53. Kentucky Wildcats (5-3-2) - 51.6
54. Colorado Buffaloes (5-3-1) - 54.4
55. Wisconsin Badgers (4-4) - 55.5
56. Temple Owls (4-4-1) - 55.8
57. William & Mary Tribe (6-2-1) - 55.9
58. USC Trojans (3-4-2) - 57.4
59. Harvard Crimson (3-2-3) - 57.7
60. Creighton Bluejays (6-2-2) - 58.9
(tie) Indiana Hoosiers (3-5) - 58.9
62. Denver Pioneers (6-2-1) - 59.0
63. Iowa Hawkeyes (4-4) - 59.9
64. Villanova Wildcats (4-5) - 60.2
65. Furman Paladins (5-4) - 65.0
66. California Golden Bears (4-6) - 65.3
67. Syracuse Orange (3-4-1) - 67.1
68. Princeton Tigers (5-2-1) - 70.1
69. Florida Gators (5-5) - 70.5
70. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-7) - 71.2
71. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-6) - 71.6
72. Purdue Boilermakers (2-6) - 71.8
73. Washington State Cougars (4-4-2) - 72.2
74. Vanderbilt Commodores (3-6-1) - 73.3
75. Holy Cross Crusaders (4-5-1) - 75.4
76. New Mexico Lobos (5-4) - 75.5
77. Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-4-1) - 75.7
78. NC State Wolfpack (3-6) - 76.9
79. Manhattan Jaspers (3-6) - 80.7
80. George Washington Colonials (5-3-1) - 81.0
81. Richmond Spiders (6-3) - 82.0
82. Dartmouth Big Green (5-4) - 82.5
83. Iowa State Cyclones (4-5) - 82.8
84. Arizona State Sun Devils (7-2-2) - 83.1
85. Marquette Golden Eagles (2-6-1) - 83.2
86. Virginia Cavaliers (4-5) - 85.1
87. Brown Bears (6-3-1) - 87.7
88. West Virginia Mountaineers (4-4-1) - 87.8
89. Davidson Wildcats (5-5) - 88.8
90. San Francisco Dons (1-6-1) - 90.5
91. UCLA Bruins (1-9) - 90.6
92. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-6) - 90.9
93. St. Louis Billikens (3-6-1) - 92.2
94. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (3-5) - 93.7
95. BYU Cougars (2-4-2) - 96.0
96. Illinois Fighting Illini (1-7) - 96.1
97. Virginia Tech Hokies (5-5) - 97.4
98. Drake Bulldogs (4-5) - 98.6
99. Colorado State Rams (3-4-2) - 98.7
100. Kansas State Wildcats (2-7) - 98.8
101. Kansas Jayhawks (2-7) - 99.6
102. Yale Bulldogs (1-7) - 102.2
103. Miami Hurricanes (3-7) - 103.3
104. Citadel Bulldogs (4-5) - 103.7
105. Army Black Knights (1-7-1) - 105.5
106. UTEP Miners (4-4-1) - 105.9
107. Montana Grizzlies (4-4-1) - 107.0
108. Washington (MO) Bears (3-6) - 108.6
109. Sewanee Tigers (3-5) - 110.3
110. Utah State Aggies (2-5-1) - 110.4
111. Centenary Gents (3-7) - 111.5
112. Washington & Lee Generals (2-7-1) - 111.9
113. New York University Violets (2-7) - 112.2
114. Loyola Marymount Lions (3-7) - 113.7
115. Washburn Ichabods (4-6) - 114.7
116. Idaho Vandals (1-7-1) - 115.4
(tie) Maryland Terrapins (2-6-1) - 115.4
118. Hampden-Sydney Tigers (4-5) - 115.9
119. Wyoming Cowboys (1-7-1) - 118.9
120. New Mexico State Aggies (3-6) - 121.0
121. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (2-6) - 121.8


Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Most Successful Top-Division College Football Programs of the 40's (1941-1950)

Because of World War II, things were pretty unsettled for college football during the 40's. We only ranked teams who competed at the top division of football for at least four years during the decade (which eliminated most of the very successful military teams that sprang up to compete with the major college teams for the duration of the war). According to our analysis, the program of the decade for the years 1941-1950 was the Michigan Wolverines.

The Wolverines fininshed in the Top Twenty every single year and were ranked #1 in our analysis for 1948 and #2 for 1947. Second-place Notre Dame had, in some ways, an even more impressive decade, finishing #1 twice and in the top three five times. However, in 1950, the Fighting Irish finished the season 4-4-1 and fell to #67 in that season's rankings, allowing the Wolverines to pass them in the final decade rankings. Here are the final rankings for the years 1941-1950:

1. Michigan Wolverines
2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
3. Army Black Knights
4. Texas Longhorns
5. Tennessee Volunteers
6. Alabama Crimson Tide
7. Pennsylvania Relays
8. Georgia Bulldogs
9. Oklahoma Sooners
10. Duke Blue Devils
11. Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets
12. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
13. Ohio State Buckeyes
14. LSU Tigers
15. Michigan State Spartans
16. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
17. William & Mary Tribe
18. USC Trojans
19. Navy Midshipmen
20. North Carolina Tar Heels
21. Mississippi State Bulldogs
22. Minnesota Golden Gophers
23. Penn State Nittany Lions
24. Missouri Tigers
25. Rice Owls
26. Kentucky Wildcats
27. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
28. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
29. Stanford Cardinal
30. Tulane Green Wave
31. Vanderbilt Commodores
32. Northwestern Wildcats
33. Virginia Cavaliers
34. Illinois Fighting Illini
35. Cornell Big Red
36. California Golden Bears
37. SMU Mustangs
38. Baylor Bears
39. Villanova Wildcats
40. Santa Clara Broncos
41. Texas A&M Aggies
42. UCLA Bruins
43. Hardin-Simmons Cowboys
44. Oregon State Beavers
45. Miami Hurricanes
46. Washington Huskies
47. TCU Horned Frogs
48. Indiana Hoosiers
49. Oklahoma State Cowboys
50. Wisconsin Badgers
51. Clemson Tigers
52. Detroit Mercy Titans
53. Dartmouth Big Green
54. Yale Bulldogs
55. Purdue Boilermakers
56. Boston College Eagles
57. Ole Miss Rebels
58. Maryland Terrapins
59. Utah Utes
60. Texas Tech Red Raiders
61. Colorado Buffaloes
62. Holy Cross Crusaders
63. Nevada Wolf Pack
64. Oregon Ducks
65. Loyola Marymount Lions
66. Arkansas Razorbacks
67. Princeton Tigers
68. NC State Wolfpack
69. Washington State Cougars
70. Kansas Jayhawks
71. Columbia Lions
72. Fordham Rams
73. San Francisco Dons
74. South Carolina Gamecocks
75. Marquette Golden Eagles
76. Wyoming Cowboys
77. St. Mary's Gaels
78. Brown Bears
79. Colgate Raiders
80. Pittsburgh Panthers
81. Temple Owls
82. Colorado State Rams
83. Iowa Hawkeyes
84. West Virginia Mountaineers
85. Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs
86. Harvard Crimson
87. Arizona Wildcats
88. Georgetown Hoyas
89. Denver Pioneers
90. West Texas A&M Buffaloes
91. Iowa State Cyclones
92. UTEP Miners
93. Boston University Terriers
94. Auburn Tigers
95. Syracuse Orange
96. Duquesne Dukes
97. Florida Gators
98. VMI Keydets
99. Drake Bulldogs
100. Washington & Lee Generals
101. Nebraska Cornhuskers
102. Virginia Tech Hokies
103. Montana Grizzlies
104. Utah State Aggies
105. Arizona State Sun Devils
106. George Washington Colonials
107. Richmond Spiders
108. Wichita State Shockers
109. New Mexico Lobos
110. Citadel Bulldogs
111. Furman Paladins
112. Idaho Vandals
113. Davidson Wildcats
114. BYU Cougars
115. St. Louis Billikens
116. New York University Violets
117. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
118. New Mexico State Aggies
119. Kansas State Wildcats

Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.