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.