1926 College Football Final Rankings

1926 was the first season in which a trophy was awarded to a college football team declaring them as national champions. (But we're going to go even further back! Stay tuned!) The Stanford Cardinal were declared national champion using the Dickinson System. They then proceeded to play the Alabama Crimson Tide to a 7-7 tie in the Rose Bowl. It shouldn't be too much of a surprise, then, that our system shows that Alabama actually had the best season in the country, followed by Stanford at #2.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-0-1) - 1.3
2. Stanford Cardinal (10-0-1) - 2.4
3. Michigan Wolverines (7-1) - 3.3
4. Brown Bears (9-0-1) - 4.9
5. Northwestern Wildcats (7-1) - 6.2
(tie) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-1) - 6.2
7. Navy Midshipmen (9-0-1) - 6.6
8. USC Trojans (8-2) - 7.3
9. Utah Utes (7-0) - 8.2
10. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) - 9.5
11. Vanderbilt Commodores (8-1) - 10.9
12. SMU Mustangs (8-0-1) - 12.3
13. Army Black Knights (7-1-1) - 12.8
14. Oregon State Beavers (7-1) - 13.9
15. Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-3) - 16.9
16. Pennsylvania Relays (7-1-1) - 18.8
17. Tennessee Volunteers (8-1) - 19.0
18. Presbyterian Blue Hose (7-2) - 19.4
19. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (7-2) - 19.8
(tie) Colgate Raiders (5-2-2) - 19.8
21. Missouri Tigers (5-1-2) - 19.9
22. Washington Huskies (8-2) - 21.1
23. Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-2) - 22.5
24. Furman Paladins (8-1-1) - 22.9
25. Washington State Cougars (6-1) - 25.2
26. Illinois Fighting Illini (6-2) - 25.4
27. Colorado State Rams (6-2-1) - 29.0
28. Texas Longhorns (5-4) - 29.8
29. Colorado College Tigers (5-2) - 30.2
30. Syracuse Orange (7-2-1) - 31.1
31. Kansas State Wildcats (5-3) - 31.8
32. Purdue Boilermakers (5-2-1) - 32.7
33. Georgia Bulldogs (5-4) - 33.3
34. Cornell Big Red (6-1-1) - 34.1
35. Wisconsin Badgers (5-2-1) - 35.1
36. Utah State Aggies (5-1-2) - 36.9
37. Davidson Wildcats (7-2-1) - 37.0
38. LSU Tigers (6-3) - 38.5
39. Oklahoma Sooners (5-2-1) - 38.9
40. Texas A&M Aggies (5-3-1) - 40.2
41. Dartmouth Big Green (4-4) - 40.4
42. Columbia Lions (6-3) - 40.9
43. Denver Pioneers (4-4) - 42.7
44. Washington & Jefferson Presidents (7-1-1) - 44.4
45. South Carolina Gamecocks (6-4) - 45.4
(tie) Yale Bulldogs (4-4) - 45.4
47. Princeton Tigers (5-1-1) - 46.1
48. Grinnell Pioneers (6-1-1) - 47.4
(tie) Virginia Cavaliers (6-2-2) - 47.4
50. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-5) - 50.3
51. Idaho Vandals (3-4-1) - 51.2
52. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-4-1) - 51.7
53. TCU Horned Frogs (6-1-2) - 51.8
54. Maryland Terrapins (5-4-1) - 53.1
55. Iowa State Cyclones (4-3-1) - 54.9
56. North Carolina Tar Heels (4-5) - 55.1
57. Pittsburgh Panthers (5-2-2) - 58.2
58. Citadel Bulldogs (7-3) - 58.3
59. Arkansas Razorbacks (5-5) - 59.3
60. West Virginia Mountaineers (6-4) - 59.8
61. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-4) - 60.7
62. Virginia Tech Hokies (5-3-1) - 60.9
63. Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-4) - 61.3
64. Montana State Bobcats (4-2-1) - 63.4
65. Chicago Maroons (2-6) - 65.2
66. Montana Grizzlies (3-5) - 66.1
67. Indiana Hoosiers (3-5) - 67.5
68. Colorado Buffaloes (3-5-1) - 68.5
69. Ole Miss Rebels (5-4) - 69.3
70. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-4-1) - 70.8
71. Baylor Bears (6-3-1) - 71.2
72. Washington & Lee Generals (4-3-2) - 72.5
73. Rice Owls (4-4-1) - 73.9
74. Northern Colorado Bears (6-4) - 74.0
75. Drake Bulldogs (2-6) - 74.9
76. NC State Wolfpack (4-6) - 75.4
77. Tulane Green Wave (3-5-1) - 76.2
78. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-5) - 76.4
(tie) Sewanee Tigers (2-6) - 76.4
80. Kentucky Wildcats (2-6-1) - 79.7
81. Oregon Ducks (2-4-1) - 79.8
82. VMI Keydets (5-5) - 82.9
83. Auburn Tigers (5-4) - 83.4
84. Michigan State Spartans (3-4-1) - 84.0
85. Florida Gators (2-6-2) - 84.7
86. Harvard Crimson (3-5) - 85.4
87. Kansas Jayhawks (2-6) - 86.6
88. Wyoming Cowboys (2-4-2) - 88.8
89. Duke Blue Devils (3-6) - 89.0
90. Washington (MO) Bears (1-7) - 90.6
91. California Golden Bears (3-6) - 91.2
92. BYU Cougars (1-5-1) - 91.4
93. Clemson Tigers (2-7) - 92.9
94. Wofford Terriers (2-8) - 94.8
95. Colorado Mines Orediggers (1-6) - 96.0
96. Western State Mountaineers (0-8) - 96.8


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