1921 college football season

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1921 NCAA football season
BoMcMillin.jpg
Bo McMillin scoring against Harvard
Number of bowls 3
Bowl games December 26, 1921 – January 2, 1922
Champion California Golden Bears
Cornell Big Red
Lafayette Maroon
  • ← 1920
  • College football seasons
  • 1922 →

The 1921 NCAA football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing California Golden Bears, Cornell Big Red, Iowa Hawkeyes, Lafayette Leopards, Washington & Jefferson Presidents, and Vanderbilt Commodores as champions.[1] Only California, Cornell, and Lafayette claim national championships for the 1921 season.

Andy Smith's Pacific Coast Conference champion "Wonder Team" at California continued on its streak since 1920. Eastern power Cornell was coached by Gil Dobie and led by one of the sport's great backfields with George Pfann, Eddie Kaw, Floyd Ramsey, and Charles E. Cassidy. Jock Sutherland's Lafayette Maroons were led on the line by Frank Schwab.

Big Ten champion Iowa upset Notre Dame 10–7. Grantland Rice noted that the 1921 Notre Dame team "was the first team we know of to build its attack around a forward passing game, rather than use a forward passing game as a mere aid to the running game."[2]

1921 was the last season for the old Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Vanderbilt tied co-champion Georgia on an onside kick. On October 6, Centre upset Harvard 6–0 in what is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history. Overjoyed students painted the "impossible formula" C6H0 (Centre 6, Harvard 0) on everything in sight. Georgia Tech also claimed a conference title.

The 1922 Rose Bowl was fought to a scoreless tie, between California and Washington & Jefferson, in the last Rose Bowl to be played at Tournament Park. Washington & Jefferson is the smallest school to ever play in a Rose Bowl.

Conference and program changes[edit]

Conference establishments[edit]

Membership changes[edit]

School 1920 Conference 1921 Conference
Fresno State Bulldogs Program Established Independent
Nebraska Cornhuskers Independent MVIAA
Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels Independent SIAA
Phillips Haymakers Southwest Independent
San Diego State Professors Program Established Independent

First radio broadcast[edit]

A historical highlight of the regular season was the 1921 West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh football game, the first college football game to be broadcast live on radio.[3] Today, college football on radio is common for nearly every game in every division.

C6H0[edit]

Main article: 1921 Centre vs. Harvard football game

On October 29, Centre College beat Harvard 6 to 0 in what is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history. Overjoyed students painted the "impossible formula" C6H0 (Centre 6, Harvard 0) on everything in sight.

Rose Bowl[edit]

Main article: 1922 Rose Bowl
Image from the Rose Bowl.

In the 1922 Rose Bowl, the heavily favored California Golden Bears played Washington & Jefferson to a scoreless tie. The game holds several distinctions including being the only scoreless Rose Bowl game, the first tie in a Rose Bowl, the first African-American quarterback to play in the Rose Bowl (Charlie West from Washington & Jefferson), the first freshman to play in a Rose Bowl (Herb Kopf of Washington and Jefferson), the last Rose Bowl to be played at Tournament Park, and the smallest school (Washington & Jefferson College had only 450 students at the time) to ever play in a Rose Bowl.[4][5]

Other bowls[edit]

Conference standings[edit]

The following is a potentially incomplete list of conference standings:

1921 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Iowa $ 5 – 0 – 0     7 – 0 – 0
Chicago 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 1 – 0
Ohio State 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 2 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 1 – 1     5 – 1 – 1
Michigan 2 – 1 – 1     5 – 1 – 1
Indiana 1 – 2 – 0     3 – 4 – 0
Minnesota 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 4 – 0
Illinois 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 4 – 0
Purdue 1 – 4 – 0     1 – 6 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 5 – 0     1 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1921 IIAC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Southern Illinois   –   –       4 – 3 – 2
1921 NCAA independents football records
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Penn State   –       8 – 0 – 2
Notre Dame   –       10 – 1 – 0
USC   –       10 – 1 – 0
Navy   –       6 – 1 – 0
Dartmouth   –       6 – 2 – 1
Pittsburgh   –       5 – 3 – 1
Army   –       6 – 4 – 0
Idaho   –       4 – 3 – 1
Montana   –       3 – 3 – 1
1921 Missouri Valley football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Nebraska $ 3 – 0 – 0     7 – 1 – 0
Missouri 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 0
Kansas State 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0
Drake 2 – 2 – 0     5 – 2 – 0
Kansas 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 0
Iowa State 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 4 – 0
Oklahoma 2 – 3 – 0     5 – 3 – 0
Washington (MO) 2 – 3 – 0     4 – 3 – 1
Grinnell 0 – 4 – 0     2 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1921 PCC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
California $ 4 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 1
Washington State 2 – 1 – 1     4 – 2 – 1
Stanford 1 – 1 – 1     4 – 2 – 2
Oregon Agricultural 1 – 2 – 1     4 – 3 – 2
Oregon 0 – 1 – 2     5 – 1 – 3
Washington 0 – 3 – 1     3 – 4 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1921 RMFAC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Colorado $ 4 – 0 – 1     4 – 1 – 1
Utah 2 – 1 – 1     3 – 2 – 1
Montana State 0 – 1 – 0     2 – 4 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1921 SAIAA football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Washington & Lee $ 2 – 0 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
Georgetown 1 – 0 – 0     8 – 1 – 0
St. John's (MD) 1 – 0 – 0     1 – 0 – 0
Virginia 5 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
North Carolina 3 – 1 – 1     5 – 2 – 2
VPI 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0
Richmond 2 – 2 – 1     4 – 3 – 1
Maryland 2 – 2 – 1     3 – 5 – 1
Catholic 2 – 2 – 0     3 – 5 – 0
NC State 1 – 1 – 3     3 – 3 – 3
William & Mary 1 – 3 – 1     4 – 3 – 1
Trinity 0 – 1 – 0     6 – 1 – 2
Davidson 0 – 1 – 3     3 – 4 – 3
Johns Hopkins 0 – 2 – 0     1 – 2 – 0
VMI 0 – 3 – 1     3 – 5 – 1
George Washington 0 – 3 – 1     3 – 3 – 2
  • $ – Conference champion
1921 SIAA football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Georgia + 6 – 0 – 1     7 – 2 – 1
Georgia Tech + 5 – 0 – 0     8 – 1 – 0
Vanderbilt + 5 – 0 – 1     7 – 0 – 1
Tennessee 4 – 1 – 1     6 – 2 – 1
Florida 4 – 1 – 2     6 – 3 – 2
Mississippi College 3 – 1 – 1     7 – 2 – 1
Sewanee 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 0
LSU 2 – 1 – 1     6 – 1 – 1
South Carolina 2 – 1 – 1     5 – 1 – 2
Transylvania 2 – 1 – 0     4 – 4 – 0
Furman 4 – 2 – 1     7 – 2 – 1
Auburn 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0
Tulane 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 6 – 0
Mississippi A&M 2 – 3 – 1     4 – 4 – 1
Alabama 2 – 4 – 2     5 – 4 – 2
Oglethorpe 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
Chattanooga 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0
Kentucky 1 – 2 – 1     4 – 3 – 1
The Citadel 1 – 2 – 1     3 – 3 – 2
Ole Miss 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0
Howard 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0
Mercer 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0
Louisville 0 – 1 – 0     2 – 2 – 1
Wofford 0 – 2 – 0     2 – 7 – 0
Georgetown (KY) 0 – 3 – 0     2 – 6 – 0
Millsaps 0 – 3 – 1     0 – 3 – 1
Clemson 0 – 4 – 2     1 – 6 – 2
  • + – Conference co-champions
1921 SCIAC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Whittier 5 – 0 – 0     5 – 2 – 0
Redlands 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 2 – 1
Occidental 2 – 2 – 1     ? – ? – ?
Pomona 2 – 2 – 1     ? – ? – ?
Caltech 1 – 4 – 0     ? – ? – ?
SBUC 0 – 5 – 0     0 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1921 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Texas A&M $ 3 – 0 – 2     6 – 1 – 2
Texas 1 – 0 – 1     6 – 1 – 1
Arkansas 2 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 1
Baylor 2 – 2 – 0     8 – 3 – 0
Oklahoma A&M 1 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 1
Rice 1 – 2 – 1     4 – 4 – 1
SMU 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 6 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion



Minor conferences[edit]

Conference Champion(s) Record
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association Virginia Union 3–0–0
Inter-Normal Athletic Conference of Wisconsin Stout Normal 3–0–0
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Kansas State Teachers
Kansas State Teachers–Fort Hays 		6–0–1
6–0–0
Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association Louisiana Polytechnic 3–0–0
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association No champion –
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hamline 5–0–0
Nebraska Intercollegiate Conference Unknown —
Ohio Athletic Conference Miami (OH) 7–0–0
Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference Unknown —
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Pomona 5–0–0
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Morehouse —
Southwestern Athletic Conference Wiley —
Tri-Normal League State Normal–Cheney —

Awards and honors[edit]

All-Americans[edit]

Main article: 1921 College Football All-America Team

The consensus All-America team included:

Position Name Height Weight (lbs.) Class Hometown Team
QB Aubrey Devine 5'9" 170 Sr. Des Moines, Iowa Iowa
QB Bo McMillin 5'9" 165 Sr. Fort Worth, Texas Centre
HB Glenn Killinger 5'9" 163 Sr. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Penn State
HB Mal Aldrich 5'11" 165 Sr. Fall River, Massachusetts Yale
FB Eddie Kaw 5'10" 168 Jr. Houston, Texas Cornell
E Harold Muller 6'0" 180 Jr. Dunsmuir, California California
T Dan McMillan 6'1" 225 Sr. Los Angeles, California California
G Fiske Brown Sr. Plymouth, Massachusetts Harvard
G Stan Keck 5'11" 206 Sr. Greensburg, Pennsylvania Princeton
C Herb Stein 6'1" 186 Sr. Warren, Ohio Pittsburgh
G Frank Schwab 5'11" 195 Sr. Saltsburg, Pennsylvania Lafayette
G Iolas Huffman 5'11" 228 Sr. Chandlersville, Ohio Ohio State
E Eddie Anderson Sr. Mason City, Iowa Notre Dame

Statistical leaders[edit]

  • Total offense leader: Aubrey Devine, Iowa, 2211
  • Receptions leader: Eddie Anderson, Notre Dame, 26
  • Receiving yards leader: Eddie Anderson, 394

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Official 2013 Football Bowl Subdivision Records Book (PDF). The National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 76–77. 
  2. ^ Grantland Rice (December 3, 1921). "Where The West Got The Jump: In Addition To Developing Strong Defense and Good Running Game, Has Built Up Forward Pass" (PDF). American Golfer. 
  3. ^ Sciullo Jr, Sam, ed. (1991). 1991 Pitt Football: University of Pittsburgh Football Media Guide. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Sports Information Office. p. 116. 
  4. ^ Campbell, Jim (August 2006). "The 1922 Rose Bowl: David v. Goliath" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter. LA84 Foundation. Retrieved 2010-02-28. 
  5. ^ Washington and Jefferson College
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