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.