Wolfpack Recreates College Football History: 1901--Yale's Defense

[Wolfpack]

After a bit of time spent re-programming the game, I have managed to create a completely automated process that will allow seasons to be played at a very accelerated (say, 5 seconds or less) rate. I still have to resolve close games manually, though, which is fine. Lends a bit of "live look-in" to the tighter contests. At any rate, I'm less likely to burn out from game play, though it will still take time and effort to produce these reports, which I don't mind. It's the more interesting work.

I am going to make a couple of rule changes to how I play. After a season spent without the Close Game factor in games where the lead was only six after four quarters, I've decided to reintroduce it for such margins. However, there is a catch. The CG roll must reveal a touchdown automatically scored, or there is a chance to score from inside the 10 yard line. If it says drive stalled at 45 and a Hail Mary attempted, then the game is over. In addition, any attempt to score from inside 10 yards has half success rate (i.e. if it would have succeeded on 1-8, it now only succeeds on 1-4). Remember, there isn't any passing at this point in history, so it isn't as easy to move the ball and score.

In addition, if a touchdown is scored on the close game chart in a tie game, the team surrendering the touchdown automatically loses, given there wouldn't be enough time left to answer with a touchdown.

For those curious about what has gone before, here's where to go:


1900 Season
FOFC Foundation Votes for Mythical 1900 Champion

[Wolfpack]

In 1901, 45 teams compete at the top level of college football. One school, Knox College of Galesburg, Illinois, reduced its playing schedule against top-level competition to three games, essentially dropping out of top-level play. However, five other schools, Bates College of Lewiston, Maine, Boston College, Kansas, Missouri, and Vermont all play enough games against top-level competition to qualify as top-level schools themselves for 1901.

The Western Conference continues to be the only major conference at the top level and again each member varies in participation, with Illinois playing six games against other members while Wisconsin plays just two (Minnesota and Chicago). Defending co-champ Iowa plays three games in-conference again.

This year, there may be a reward in store for the best team in the league. Rumblings out of California indicate a group of people responsible for putting on the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena every New Year's Day are considering setting up a college football game and inviting a team from the east to take on a team from the far western United States, probably a California school, as a way of getting more tourism for the parade and the region in general.

As for the "mythical" defending champions from Yale, winners of 12 in a row, they have a 13-game schedule for 1901, which they should dominate. However, Harvard has improved from 1900 and is expected to provide Yale a stiff challenge. The November 23 game in Cambridge, Massachusetts looks to be a potential clash of unbeatens to close the season.

But, that's down the road a ways. For now, we find ourselves with an unusual opener, a Tuesday night affair as the kids from Englewood High School come to the South Side to take on the University of Chicago, which went 11-4 in 1900, including a 23-0 shutout to open the season. The remainder of the weekend's games feature several cross-town warm-up games for the bigger teams in the matchups.

Schedule of Games for September 21, 1901
(9/17) Englewood HS at Chicago (11-4 in 1900)
(9/18) Fort Sheridan at Northwestern (5-5-2, 1-3-1 in 1900)
Cortland State at Syracuse (7-3 in 1900)
Grinnell Academy at Grinnell (1-6-2 in 1900)
Lebanon Valley at Carlisle (8-3 in 1900)
Lewisburg AC at Bucknell (3-5-1 in 1900)
Lincoln High at Nebraska (8-2 in 1900)
Lombard at Chicago
Minneapolis Central HS at Minnesota (7-3-2 in 1900)
North Central at Northwestern
Sacred Heart (WI) at Beloit (6-3-1 in 1900)
(9/22) Susquehanna at Penn State (5-5-1 in 1900)

[Wolfpack]

Headline for September 21, 1901
MINNESOTA SURVIVES SCARE
I don't know what it is about these high schoolers from Minneapolis Central, but they've given Minnesota fits over the last two years. They tied 10-10 last year and only a last second field goal gave Minnesota a 5-0 win this year.

Game of the Week
Minnesota 5, Minneapolis Central High 0
This is the choice by default since just about every other game was a blowout.

Comeback of the Week, Upset of the Week
Nebraska 17, Lincoln High 10
It was a losing effort, but the kids from Lincoln High were down 11-0 heading into the fourth before booting two field goals. However, they surrendered a touchdown and it sealed their fate. It's considered an upset because Nebraska drubbed Lincoln High 22-0 in the real game, so the high schoolers showed some heart to fight back.

How Everyone Fared
(9/17) Chicago 25, Englewood HS 11
(9/18) Northwestern 36, Fort Sheridan 0
Syracuse 40, Cortland State 10
Grinnell 33, Grinnell Alumni 0
Carlisle 40, Lebanon Valley 0
Bucknell 37, Lewisburg AC 6
Nebraska 17, Lincoln HS 10
Chicago 29, Lombard 5
Minnesota 5, Minneapolis Central HS 0
Northwestern 33, North Central 6
Beloit 12, Sacred Heart 0
(9/22)Penn State 22, Susquehanna 6
As expected, just about everyone who won in real life, won in the replay, and usually by healthy margins.


Schedule of Games for September 28, 1901
(9/25) Englewood High at Chicago (2-0) (not a misprint, they played again)
(9/25) Hyde Park High at Chicago (2-0) (yep, repeat of double-header that opened 1900 for Chicago)
(9/25) St. Paul Central High at Minnesota (1-0)
Albion at Michigan (6-4, 3-2 in 1900)
Boston College at Brown (7-4 in 1900)
Carleton at Minnesota (1-0)
Colgate at Cornell (9-3 in 1900)
Columbia (7-4 in 1900) at Buffalo
Drake (6-3 in 1900) at Des Moines Baptist
Englewood High at Illinois (8-4, 3-3 in 1900)
Franklin at Purdue (5-3, 1-3 in 1900)
Gallaudet at Carlisle (1-0)
Grinnell (1-0) vs Iowa State (3-4-1 in 1900) at Marshalltown, IA
Lehigh (4-7 in 1900) at Pennsylvania (11-2 in 1900)
Lombard at Northwestern (2-0)
Massachusetts (5-5 in 1900) at Holy Cross (4-4-2 in 1900)
Milwaukee Medical at Wisconsin (8-1, 3-0 in 1900)
Monmouth at Chicago (2-0)
Nebraska (1-0) at American Osteopath
Rensselaer at Syracuse (1-0)
Rockford YMCA at Beloit (1-0)
South Bend AC at Notre Dame (8-2 in 1900)
Susquehanna at Dickinson (4-6 in 1900)
Trinity (CT) (2-6 in 1900) at Yale (12-0 in 1900)
Villanova at Princeton (8-2-1 in 1900)
Wabash at Indiana (4-4, 1-3 in 1900)
Wesleyan (6-3 in 1900) at Tufts (2-8 in 1900)
Williams (4-52 in 1900) at Harvard (8-3 in 1900)
Worcester Tech at Amherst (7-5 in 1900)
Wyoming Seminary at Bucknell (3-5-1 in 1900)
(9/29) Ottawa at Kansas
(9/29) Penn State (5-5-1 in 1900) vs. Pittsburgh at Bellefonte, PA
Lots of action this week, including the opener for Yale against Trinity College. Expect the win streak to go to 13.

This year, I'm going to incorporate the neutral sites that are suggested by the historical records, so the Grinnell-Iowa State game is a true neutral site, with both schools located about 30 miles from Marshalltown, Iowa. However, the Penn State-Pittsburgh game isn't, since Bellefonte, Pennsylvania is only about 25 miles from State College. Pittsburgh is technically listed as the home team, if the records conform to today's style of presentation with the home team listed second. (Wouldn't surprise me if it were the other way around and Penn State was supposed to be the home team, since I don't think the big business of selling home games for money would have been all that prevalent in 1901.)

[Wolfpack]

Headline for September 28, 1901
YALE SHUTS OUT TRINITY
Yale begins its quest for a second straight undefeated season by blanking Trinity College 16-0 in New Haven. Yale has now won 13 in a row.

Best Game of the Week
Bucknell 11, Wyoming Seminary 10
Plenty of games to choose from, but for the sheer surprise of the finish, this gets the vote. Wyoming Seminary and Bucknell battle to a 0-0 tie through three. Wyoming Seminary converts two field goals in the fourth to Bucknell's one to take a 10-5 lead late. Working towards a field goal, Bucknell crossed midfield and reached the 43. Unexpectedly, Wyoming Seminary's defense completely breaks down on the next play and Bucknell's runner scores a touchdown. The conversion gives Bucknell an 11-10 lead. The stunned Seminary students fail to mount any kind of drive in response and Bucknell sends their supporters home happy with a win.

Comeback of the Week
Buffalo 10, Columbia 6
Columbia scored six in the second and kept the score 6-0 through three quarters, before Buffalo booted a field goal in the fourth to make it 6-5. Buffalo then converted a 49-yard field goal to jump ahead 10-6 and rode out a desparation kick from over 50 yards to keep the lead and win.

Upset of the Week
Wesleyan 11, Tufts 10
This was also contender for best game of the week. It was chosen because Wesleyan lost to Tufts IRL and also had only a 3-6-1 record all year compared to Tufts's 6-6-1 mark. Wesleyan made a field goal in the first and made it stick until Tufts put up 10 points in the fourth. Wesleyan responded by scoring a late touchdown and converted the XP to take an 11-10 lead. Tufts then missed a desparation 50-yarder as time expired.

How Everyone Fared
(9/25) Chicago 18, Englewood HS 6
(9/25) Hyde Park HS 0, Chicago 0
(9/25) Minnesota 17, St. Paul Central HS 2
Michigan 50, Albion 5
Brown 30, Boston College 0
Minnesota 51, Carleton 5
Cornell 28, Colgate 8
Buffalo 10, Columbia 6
Drake 33, Des Moines Baptist 0
Illinois 35, Englewood HS 6
Purdue 34, Franklin 0
Carlisle 22, Gallaudet 10
Grinnell 22, Iowa State 0
Pennsylvania 23, Lehigh 5
Northwestern 50, Lombard 0
Holy Cross 5, Massachusetts 0
Wisconsin 34, Milwaukee Medical 0
Chicago 34, Monmouth 6
Nebraska 0, American Osteopath 0
Syracuse 38, Rennselaer 5
Beloit 46, Rockford YMCA 0
South Bend AC 10, Notre Dame 10
Dickinson 11, Susquehanna 0
Yale 16, Trinity (CT) 0
Princeton 35, Villanova 0
Indiana 23, Wabash 0
Wesleyan 11, Tufts 10
Harvard 36, Williams 5
Amherst 12, Worcester Tech 0
Bucknell 11, Wyoming Seminary 10
Ottawa 38, Kansas 5
Penn State 10, Pittsburgh 0
Why Chicago has a habit of scheduling two same-day games against two high schools, we'll never know, but it does seem obvious that Hyde Park HS is better than Englewood HS. Elsewhere, Boston College and Kansas played their first games as top-level teams and both got busted in the mouth. Kansas in particular got whipped by non-top-level competition. Hmm. Seems like a theme for the next 100 years.

Ranking the 10 Best

RK LW TEAM		 W- L- T  WIN %   APF   APA   APD
 1 -- Northwestern	 3- 0- 0  1.000  39.7   2.0  37.7
 2 -- Minnesota		 3- 0- 0  1.000  24.3   2.3  22.0
 3 -- Syracuse		 2- 0- 0  1.000  39.0   7.5  31.5
 4 -- Beloit		 2- 0- 0  1.000  29.0   0.0  29.0
 5 -- Grinnell		 2- 0- 0  1.000  27.5   0.0  27.5
 6 -- Carlisle		 2- 0- 0  1.000  31.0   5.0  26.0
 7 -- Bucknell		 2- 0- 0  1.000  24.0   8.0  16.0
 8 -- Penn State	 2- 0- 0  1.000  16.0   3.0  13.0
 9 -- Michigan		 1- 0- 0  1.000  50.0   5.0  45.0
10 -- Princeton		 1- 0- 0  1.000  35.0   0.0  35.0

This ranking is purely based on a particular sort order: win percentage, total wins, average point differential. It is in no way indicative of how good or bad these teams are relative to one another. I chose to do this so there would be a better feel of who the better teams are as the season wore on and they could be tracked more closely (noting them in the schedule and results section and the like). Remember, opinion polls won't exist until the AP starts one up in 1936.

Schedule for the Top 10 for October 5, 1901
Lake Forest at #1 Northwestern (3-0)
Chicago College at #2 Minnesota (3-0)
#3 Syracuse (2-0) at Brown (1-0)
Cornell (IA) at #4 Beloit (2-0)
#5 Grinnell (2-0) at Drake (1-0)
(10/2) Gettysburg at #6 Carlisle (2-0)
Dickinson (1-0) at #6 Carlisle (2-0)
#7 Bucknell (2-0) at Cornell (1-0)
#8 Penn State (2-0) at Pennsylvania (1-0)
Case at #9 Michigan (1-0)
(10/2) Haverford at #10 Princeton (1-0)
New York University at #10 Princeton (1-0)
The first group of top 10 teams have some challenges this week. In particular, #5 Grinnell, #6 Carlise (vs. Dickinson), and #8 Penn State could have tough games. Though Bucknell is #7, they are going up against a very formidable opponent in Cornell and should lose.

[Wolfpack]

Headline for October 5, 1901
SYRACUSE, BELOIT TOPPLED
Upsets abounded this week as several of the ten best got beat, but the biggest surprises were the losses taken by Syracuse and Beloit. Syracuse was beaten 15-12 by Brown and Beloit dropped a stunning loss to lower-level Cornell College of Iowa, 11-5.

Best Game of the Week
Missouri 20, American Osteopath 16
A relatively light-scoring first half (5-0 American Osteopath at halftime) gave way to a thrilling second half that saw Mizzou manage three field goals in the third to take what seemed to be a commanding 15-5 lead into the fourth. AO struck back for a touchdown and a field goal, though, and took the lead 16-15 late. Missouri rallied for a field goal from just over 30 yards and then held on as AO missed a long-shot field goal at the end to win.

Comeback of the Week
Franklin & Marshall 11, Pennsylvania 11
Franklin & Marshall pushed Penn to the limit, leading 11-0 after three quarters, but Penn managed to rally in the fourth. They picked up a touchdown and then drove to the F&M 25 before converting a game-tying field goal as time ran out to salvage a tie.

Upset of the Week
Cornell (IA) 11, Beloit 5
Beloit was expected to be about as good as their 6-3-1 mark from 1900, which means they should handle schools like these while getting bested by the better teams from the Western Conference. That goes by the boards as Cornell of Iowa went into Beloit and pulled the upset. Beloit ranked #4 before the loss. Cornell put up a touchdown in the second (answered by a Beloit field goal) and a field goal in the third to lead 11-5 late. Beloit pushed to the Cornell 23, but turned the ball over on downs and Cornell ran out the clock to finish the upset.

How the Top 10 Fared
#1 Northwestern 17, Lake Forest 6
#2 Minnesota 40, Chicago College 0
Brown 15, #3 Syracuse 12
Cornell (IA) 11, #4 Beloit 5
#5 Grinnell 12, Drake 6
(10/2) #6 Carlisle 10, Gettysburg 0
#6 Carlisle 22, Dickinson 0
Cornell 34, #7 Bucknell 0
Pennsylvania 28, #8 Penn State 6
#9 Michigan 51, Case 10
(10/2) #10 Princeton 51, Haverford 0
#10 Princeton 16, New York University 0
Four of the ten teams at the top go down, but Northwestern and Minnesota roll past opposition. Overall, of the 45 teams in top-level competition, 22 are unbeaten and untied while another 4 are unbeaten but have a tie.

Ranking the 10 Best

RK LW TEAM		 W-L-T  WIN %   APF   APA   APD
 1  1 Northwestern	 4-0-0  1.000  34.0   3.0  31.0
 2  2 Minnesota		 4-0-0  1.000  28.3   1.8  26.5
 3  6 Carlisle		 4-0-0  1.000  23.5   2.5  21.0
 4 -- Cornell		 3-0-0  1.000  42.3   4.3  38.0
 5 10 Princeton		 3-0-0  1.000  34.0   0.0  34.0
 6 -- Harvard		 3-0-0  1.000  32.0   3.3  28.7
 7  5 Grinnell		 3-0-0  1.000  22.3   2.0  20.3
 8 -- Yale		 3-0-0  1.000  18.7   0.0  18.7
 9 -- Brown		 3-0-0  1.000  22.3   4.0  19.3
10  9 Michigan		 2-0-0  1.000  50.5   7.5  43.0

Northwestern and Minnesota remain atop the standings, while Carlisle makes the jump to #3. Four new teams join the rankings, including a certain school from New Haven in at #8 this week, Yale University.

Schedule for the Top 10 for October 12, 1901
Notre Dame (1-0-1) at #1 Northwestern (4-0)
Nebraska (2-0-1) at #2 Minnesota (4-0)
#3 Carlisle (4-0) at Bucknell (2-1)
(10/9) Hamilton at #4 Cornell (3-0)
Union (NY) at #4 Cornell (3-0)
(10/9) Lehigh (0-2) at #5 Princeton (3-0)
(10/9) Amherst (1-1) at #6 Harvard (3-0)
Columbia (2-1) at #6 Harvard (3-0)
#7 Grinnell (3-0) at Cornell (IA)
(10/9) Wesleyan (2-0) at #8 Yale (3-0)
#8 Yale (3-0) at Navy (0-1)
(10/9) Manhattan at #9 Brown (3-0)
#9 Brown (3-0) at Pennsylvania (2-0-1)
Indiana (2-0) at #10 Michigan (2-0)
Northwester, Minnesota, and Carlisle will be tested this week, but it would not be a surprise for all to win. Otherwise, the leading teams should be able to get wins.

[Wolfpack]

Headline for October 12, 1901
PENN STOPS BROWN
Brown was the only unbeaten among Top 10 teams to go down this week. After barely escaping Manhattan 12-11 mid-week, Brown was ripe to be plucked by Pennsylvania over the weekend, which happened to the tune of 28-6.

Best Game of the Week
Carlisle 15, Bucknell 12
It looked like a runaway. Bucknell seemed to be hung over from the thrashing the prior week against Cornell and Carlisle jumped to a 15-0 halftime lead. Playing a little desperate, Bucknell gambled and passed on a sure field goal for a touchdown, a difference of a measely point in 1901. But, they picked it up and it seemed to give them momentum as they scratched for another touchdown in the fourth to make it 15-12. Alas, on Bucknell's last drive, they turned the ball over, killing any chance of a game-winning field goal and Carlisle escaped with the win.

Comeback of the Week
Grinnell 12, Cornell (IA) 12 (tie)
This gets the nod by virtue of not being a loss like Bucknell suffered. Cornell (IA) once again gave an upper-division team fits, jumping on Grinnell with two first-half touchdowns to lead 12-0 at the break. Grinnell, however, fought back, shutting down Cornell in the second half while putting up two touchdowns of their own. Grinnell was ineffective on its last drive and punted, which allowed Cornell to get into long field goal range, but the kick missed as the game ended.

Upset of the Week
Army 6, Trinity (CT) 5
It's a loss, but upset pickings were slim this week as everyone who was supposed to win pretty much did. In real life, Army shut out Trinity 17-0, so for Trinity to be so close and just miss on a field goal that could have won at the end makes this a mild upset.

How the Top 10 Fared
#1 Northwestern 26, Notre Dame 10
#2 Minnesota 16, Nebraska 10
#3 Carlisle 15, Bucknell 12
(10/9) #4 Cornell 41, Hamilton 0
#4 Cornell 32, Union (NY) 0
(10/9) #5 Princeton 46, Lehigh 0
(10/9) #6 Harvard 32, Amherst 0
#6 Harvard 12, Columbia 5
#7 Grinnell 12, Cornell (IA) 12
#8 Yale 23, Navy 0
Pennsylvania 12, #9 Brown 0
#10 Michigan 45, Indiana 0
Nine of ten teams survive the weekend unbeaten, though with the varying number of games played, there will be some shuffling around.

Ranking the 10 Best

RK LW TEAM		 W-L-T  WIN %   APF   APA   APD
 1  4 Cornell		 5-0-0  1.000  40.0   2.6  37.4
 2  1 Northwestern	 5-0-0  1.000  32.4   4.4  28.0
 3  6 Harvard		 5-0-0  1.000  28.0   3.0  25.0
 4  2 Minnesota		 5-0-0  1.000  25.8   3.4  22.4
 5  8 Yale		 5-0-0  1.000  18.2   0.0  18.2
 6  3 Carlisle		 5-0-0  1.000  21.8   4.4  17.4
 7 -- Dartmouth		 4-0-0  1.000  37.3   0.0  37.3
 8  5 Princeton		 4-0-0  1.000  37.0   0.0  37.0
 9 -- Illinois		 4-0-0  1.000  32.0   6.8  25.2
10 10 Michigan		 3-0-0  1.000  48.7   5.0  43.7

As expected, some shuffling occurs. Cornell moves to #1 with Northwestern dropping to #2. Big loser among winners is Carlisle, which dropped to #6 after the near-miss against Bucknell. Harvard and Yale are #3 and #5 and on course for their collision at the end of the year which could have a whole lot at stake. Do remember the rankings are somewhat deceiving, otherwise you may overlook #10 Michigan. If they can catch up in games played, they're well ahead in point differential.

There are now 16 unbeaten, untied teams left. Only two others have no losses, but have been tied. Yale, Dartmouth, and Princeton have not allowed a point.

Schedule for the Top 10 for October 19, 1901
#6 Carlisle (5-0) at #1 Cornell (5-0)
#2 Northwestern (5-0) at #10 Michigan (3-0)
(10/16) Wesleyan () at #3 Harvard (5-0)
#3 Harvard (5-0) at Army (2-0)
#4 Minnesota, bye week
(10/16) Bowdoin (0-2) at #5 Yale (5-0)
(10/16) Haverford at #6 Carlisle (5-0)
#7 Dartmouth (4-0) at Williams (1-2)
(10/16) Dickinson (1-2) at #8 Princeton (4-0)
Brown (4-1) at #8 Princeton (4-0)
#9 Illinois (4-0) at Chicago (7-1-1)
We have some serious clashes this week, as both #1 and #2 tangle with other Top 10 foes. Cornell will likely remain unbeaten, but Michigan is heavily favored against Northwestern. Elsewhere, the remaining ranked teams look like solid favorites against the opposition and any such losses by them should be treated as good upsets.

[Wolfpack]

Headline for October 19, 1901
MICHIGAN ROUTS NORTHWESTERN
They aren't getting a lot of attention because they've played fewer games, but when they do play, their opponents don't stand a chance. #10 Michigan annihilated #2 Northwestern 62-18 in Ann Arbor. Again, because a sort order criteria is total wins, this won't move Michigan up that much, but the more important thing is to remain unbeaten so you can keep moving up. Losses kill rankings. Northwestern, for instance, will drop 14 places because of this loss.

Best Game of the Week, Upset of the Week, Comeback of the Week
Williams 16, Dartmouth 11
#7 Dartmouth was favored in this matchup, but Williams hands them a tough road loss. Dartmouth jumped ahead early with a TD in the first, but Williams then shut down Dartmouth's offense for nearly the rest of the game while adding a TD and field goal of their own to lead 11-6 as the game wound to an end. Dartmouth managed one last scoring drive, scoring on a 38-yard FG to tie the game. However, Williams had the answer. They pushed back up the field and set up a 38-yarder of their own, which they also converted as time ran out.

It is considered something of an upset because Dartmouth only had one loss all year IRL, and it wasn't to Williams, though they did narrowly escape 6-2. With the defeat, Dartmouth plunges out of the Top 10 and falls in line behind Northwestern down the order.

Also, due to the paucity of rallies from behind in this week's games, this game also wins Comeback of the Week for Dartmouth's efforts to tie it up before Williams beat them with their own late-game heroics.

How the Top 10 Fared
#1 Cornell 35, #6 Carlisle 0
#10 Michigan 62, #2 Northwestern 18
(10/16) #3 Harvard 17, Wesleyan 0
#3 Harvard 17, Army 0
(10/16) #5 Yale 44, Bowdoin 0
#5 Yale 38, Penn State 0
(10/16) #6 Carlisle 29, Haverford 10
Williams 16, #7 Dartmouth 11
(10/16) #8 Princeton 23, Dickinson 0
#8 Princeton 29, Brown 0
#9 Illinois 21, Chicago 6
Carlisle, Northwestern, and Dartmouth all take losses for the first time this season. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton sweep two-game weeks, which will move all of them up the rankings.

Ranking the 10 Best

RK LW TEAM		 W-L-T  WIN %   APF   APA   APD
 1  5 Yale		 7-0-0  1.000  24.7   0.0  24.7
 2  3 Harvard		 7-0-0  1.000  24.9   2.1  22.8
 3  1 Cornell		 6-0-0  1.000  39.2   2.2  37.0
 4  8 Princeton		 6-0-0  1.000  33.3   1.0  32.3
 5  9 Illinois		 5-0-0  1.000  29.8   6.6  23.2
 6  4 Minnesota		 5-0-0  1.000  25.8   3.4  22.4
 7 -- Lafayette		 5-0-0  1.000  29.6   7.4  22.2
 8 10 Michigan		 4-0-0  1.000  52.0   8.3  43.7
 9 -- Wisconsin		 4-0-0  1.000  36.8   4.3  32.5
10 -- Purdue		 4-0-0  1.000  31.0   5.8  25.2

As expected, the two-game sweeps push Yale and Harvard to the top of the list, both now 7-0. Cornell slides back to #3. Three new entries this week as Lafayette, Wisconsin, and Purdue move into the Top 10 for the first time this season. Just off the list at #11 is Iowa, so the Western Conference has a lot of teams near the top this year so far.

Unbeaten, untied teams left: 11
Unbeaten, once tied teams left: 3

Schedule for the Top 10 for October 26, 1901
(10/22) Bates (1-2) at #1 Yale (7-0)
Columbia (3-2) at #1 Yale (7-0)
Carlisle (6-1) at #2 Harvard (7-0)
Oberlin at #3 Cornell (6-0)
(10/23) Orange AC at #4 Princeton (6-0)
#7 Lafayette (5-0) at #4 Princeton (6-0)
Northwestern (5-1) at #5 Illinois (5-0)
Iowa (3-0) at #6 Minnesota (5-0)
Buffalo at #8 Michigan (4-0)
Kansas (3-1) at #9 Wisconsin (4-0)
#10 Purdue (4-0) at Indiana (3-1)
Just one Top 10 clash this week as Lafayette travels to Princeton, but another clash of unbeatens will occur as Iowa travels to Minneapolis to take on #6 Minnesota. A couple more slots will open up in the Top 10 next week. Purdue will get a test of its ranking against in-state rival Indiana. Otherwise, the remaining ranked teams should be able to move on to next week without much difficulty.

[Wolfpack]

Headline for October 26, 1901
NORTHWESTERN STUNS ILLINOIS
Hmm...I said that most of the ranked teams shouldn't have much difficulty. Wrong. Northwestern goes into Champaign and absolutely steals one from Illinois on a late field goal.

Best Game of the Week, Upset of the Week, Comeback of the Week
Northwestern 15, Illinois 12
Yet again, all three game awards go to the same game, but this was definitely worth it. Illinois jumped ahead 12-0 on the strength of two first half touchdowns. However, they seemed to relax after that, thinking they had the game in the bag. It's Northwestern after all, right? It is Northwestern, but they let up too much. Northwestern strikes for two field goals in the third to get to within 12-10, a score that would hold until late. Northwestern then drove the length of the field in a time-consuming march and scored one last field goal from 19 yards as time ran out to win the game 15-12. Illinois, it seems, didn't learn from their real-life counterparts, who were also sucker-punched by Northwestern 17-11.

How the Top 10 Fared
#1 Yale 29, Bates 0 (10/22)
#1 Yale 12, Columbia 0
#2 Harvard 29, Carlisle 0
#3 Cornell 38, Oberlin 10
#4 Princeton 43, Orange AC 10 (10/23)
#4 Princeton 34, #7 Lafayette 11
Northwestern 15, #5 Illinois 12
#6 Minnesota 28, Iowa 0
#8 Michigan 67, Buffalo 11
#9 Wisconsin 73, Kansas 0
Indiana 39, #10 Purdue 27
Illinois and Purdue are cut down for the first time along with Iowa. It is Iowa's first loss since losing to Northern Iowa (then known as Iowa State Normal School) in 1898. On a side note, to date, it's the only win Northern Iowa has ever had against Iowa in real life. (The web is an amazing place to find all this information out)

Ranking the 10 Best

RK LW TEAM		 W-L-T  WIN %   APF   APA   APD
 1  1 Yale		 9-0-0  1.000  23.8   0.0  23.8
 2  4 Princeton		 8-0-0  1.000  34.6   3.4  31.2
 3  2 Harvard		 8-0-0  1.000  25.4   1.9  23.5
 4  3 Cornell		 7-0-0  1.000  39.0   3.3  35.7
 5  6 Minnesota		 6-0-0  1.000  26.2   2.8  23.4
 6  8 Michigan		 5-0-0  1.000  55.0   8.8  46.2
 7  9 Wisconsin		 5-0-0  1.000  44.0   3.4  40.6
 8 -- Pennsylvania	 9-0-1  0.950  20.7   6.5  14.2
 9 -- Grinnell		 5-0-1  0.917  28.5   5.8  22.7
10 -- Holy Cross	 4-0-1  0.900  12.0   5.4   6.6

Princeton leapfrogs both Harvard and Cornell to #2, but looming on the horizon is a clash with #1 Yale. There are going to be some big games to finish the year off among the current top 4. Any or all of them falter and Michigan or Minnesota can benefit.

As can be seen, we are now down to just seven unbeaten, untied teams left. #8-10 teams are now the lone remaining unbeaten, once-tied teams. Congratulations are in order for both Grinnell and Holy Cross, who have improved considerably from their middling performances during the 1900 season and have cracked the Top 10. Considering remaining schedule, Holy Cross is likely to stay, while Grinnell must survive a tough game with Iowa in a few weeks to do so.

Just below the visible rankings, there are 10 other teams with one loss.

Schedule for the Top 10 for November 2, 1901
#1 Yale (9-0) at Army (3-1)
#2 Princeton (8-0) at #4 Cornell (7-0)
Brown (4-3) at #3 Harvard (8-0)
Haskell at #5 Minnesota (6-0)
Carlisle (6-2) vs #6 Michigan (5-0) at Detroit, MI
Nebraska vs #7 Wisconsin (5-0) at Milwaukee, WI
#8 Pennsylvania (9-0-1) at Columbia (3-3)
#9 Grinnell (5-0-1) at Iowa State (1-4)
#10 Holy Cross (4-0-1) at Andover
There is one big headliner game for the week: #2 Princeton at #4 Cornell. Cornell should be considered the slightly better team, so Princeton will have to prove they're worthy of #2. Of the remaining games, the most likely team to stumble is, surprisingly, Pennsylvania, facing a road game against Columbia, with Columbia being the slightly better team at home.

[Wolfpack]

I'll be out of town visiting family in North Carolina during the next two weeks. However, I will be bringing the game files with me, so I'll try to post when I can during that time. Stay tuned.

[tucker342]

Great stuff

It's really weird that College teams played High School teams and they were close games.....

[Wolfpack]

I've finally gotten a moment at the computer...

tucker: heh, it is interesting that it happened as it did. The only thing I can think of is at the time, there really wasn't that much of a talent gap between colleges and high schools, since the game had only been in existence as we know it for about 30 years by this point. Also, with the passing game removed, it's more a matter of brute force on the ground that will secure wins. It could be that the high schoolers were more adept at defense than at offense because it's easier in some way. IRL, high schools almost never won any of these games, but they weren't blown out that often, either. They just couldn't score for the most part.

Next report upcoming.

[Wolfpack]

Headline for November 2, 1901
CORNELL DEFEATS PRINCETON
Two teams enter...one team leaves...two teams enter...one team leaves.... A clash of heavyweights results in Cornell taking Princeton down 22-12. Cornell struck for all 22 points in the first half and shut out the visitors at the same time, which seemed to demoralize Princeton. They managed to fight back a little in the second half, getting a touchdown in each of the two quarters, but it didn't matter and Cornell cruised to the win.

Game of the Week
Beloit 22, Chicago 21
A game filled with fireworks by this era's standard. A scoreless first and a 6-5 halftime score favoring Beloit gave way to a great second-half melee. Beloit scored 10 in the third to Chicago's 5 to go up 16-10. Beloit added a touchdown in the fourth, but Chicago put up a rally, scoring 11 in the fourth to close to 22-21. However, Chicago could not complete the rally as a 40-yard FG missed near the end of the game, allowing Beloit to run out the clock and win.

Upset of the Week
Coe 10, Iowa 6
Iowa isn't as good as they were in 1900, but this doesn't auger well for the rest of the year. They fell to 3-2 with the loss (though they beat Knox over the weekend to go to 4-2 and snap the two-game losing streak) and they've still got Illinois, Grinnell and the season-ending clash with Michigan to go. Also, IRL, Iowa shut out Coe 11-0. (sorry, Tucker)

Comeback of the Week
Dickinson 15, Navy 12
Again, slim pickings. This was chosen for a pair of comebacks. Dickinson connected for a couple of field goals in the first to jump ahead 10-0. Navy answered over the next three quarters with two touchdowns to lead 12-10 late. Dickinson converted a 40-yard FG to step back in front 15-12. Navy tried to respond, but missed their last-second FG attempt, allowing Dickinson to pick up the win.

How the Top 10 Fared
#1 Yale 6, Army 0
#4 Cornell 22, #2 Princeton 12
#3 Harvard 32, Brown 0
#5 Minnesota 35, Haskell 21
#6 Michigan 34, Carlisle 6
#7 Wisconsin 35, Nebraska 0
Columbia 11, #8 Pennsylvania
Iowa State 12, #9 Grinnell 6
#10 Holy Cross 28, Andover 11
Another upset was Iowa State taking out Grinnell, but I chose the Iowa game due to Iowa's 1900 campaign as a way of showing how easily fortunes change for some teams in the early part of this century. At any rate, generally games went as expected and teams that should have won did win.

Ranking the 10 Best

 1  1 Yale		10-0-0  1.000  22.0   0.0  22.0
 2  3 Harvard		 9-0-0  1.000  26.1   1.7  24.4
 3  4 Cornell		 8-0-0  1.000  36.9   4.4  32.5
 4  5 Minnesota		 7-0-0  1.000  27.4   5.4  22.0
 5  6 Michigan		 6-0-0  1.000  51.5   8.3  43.2
 6  7 Wisconsin		 6-0-0  1.000  42.5   2.8  39.7
 7 10 Holy Cross	 5-0-1  0.900  14.7   6.3   8.4
 8  2 Princeton		 8-1-0  0.889  32.1   5.4  26.7
 9  8 Pennsylvania	 9-1-1  0.864  18.8   6.9  11.9
10 -- Dartmouth		 6-1-0  0.857  31.6   3.1  28.5

In spite of the losses, not a whole lot of change. Only Grinnell dropped out, replaced by Dartmouth, back in the list for the first time since mid-October. Down to six unbeatens and one unbeaten-once tied team. There are nine once-beatens.

Schedule for the Top 10 for November 9, 1900
Orange AC at #1 Yale
#2 Harvard at #9 Pennsylvania
Lehigh at #3 Cornell
North Dakota at #4 Minnesota
#5 Michigan at Ohio State
Iowa State at #6 Wisconsin
#7 Holy Cross at Pittsfield AC
#8 Princeton at Army
Vermont at #10 Dartmouth
Again one headliner clash as Harvard travels to Philly to take on Pennsylvania. However, Harvard is a much better team, so Penn is likely to be dealt its second loss at home. Also, Princeton could have some trouble with Army, who pushed Yale before succombing 6-0 last week.

[Wolfpack]

Headline for November 9, 1901
MICHIGAN ESCAPES OHIO STATE
The germination of a great rivalry has to happen at some point, so it looks like it'll be this one for this rivalry. IRL, Michigan trashed OSU 21-0. In this go-around, Ohio State puts up a sterner test. Michigan had rarely been challenged, but heading into the fourth quarter, they found themselves down 6-5, a score that had held since the first. The crowd in Columbus seemed to think they might have the upset of the year on their hands, but Michigan struck for a fourth quarter touchdown to take an 11-6 lead. Ohio State was not able to move the ball in the fourth and their final drive died meekly in their own end of the field, allowing Michigan to get out with the win and the unbeaten record intact.

Game of the Week
Brown 28, Lafayette 23
Not exactly headliner material, but they staged a great game and a great finish. Brown stepped in front 10-6 after the first quarter, a score that would hold until the half. The second half was a thrilling contest as the two teams traded touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters, leaving Brown hanging on to a 22-18 lead going down the stretch. Lafayette would convert a 40-yard FG to take a 23-22 lead, but the defense failed to hold it. Brown pushed back down field and suddenly broke a spectacular touchdown run from 22 yards out to retake the lead at 28-23. Lafayette could not move the ball with the little time left and Brown picked up their first win after suffering 5 losses in a row. Prior to that, Brown had started 4-0 and was in the Top 10.

Upset of the Week
(tie) Chicago 12, Northwestern 6
(tie) Princeton 15, Army 11
I've decided to be objective in choosing this game, so now this award is based on departure from expected score and the team that was expected to lose wins. In these two instances, the departure from expectations was 10 points. Northwestern was a four-point favorite against Chicago, but went down to defeat after falling behind 12-0 early. Army was a six-point favorite against Princeton, but Princeton pulled out the win on a late field goal.

Biggest Departure from Reality
Nebraska 23, Missouri 6
A new category which is objectively based on the biggest departure from the winning margin in a real life game. This one had a pretty big differential as Nebraska actually crushed Missouri 51-0 IRL. Here, Mizzou put up a better fight, though Nebraska scored a TD or field goal each quarter. Missouri also bettered the expectations against them, as they were expected to lose by 39.

Comeback of the Week
Bates 23, Bowdoin 21
Bowdoin seemed to have Bates beat heading into the fourth, leading 11-6 at half and 21-12 after three, but Bates made a push to win, scoring a touchdown early in the fourth and then converting a FG from the Bowdoin 25 as time was running out to score 11 unanswered points and win.

How the Top 10 Fared
#1 Yale 44, Orange AC 10
#2 Harvard 22, #9 Pennsylvania 6
#3 Cornell 28, Lehigh 0
#4 Minnesota 12, North Dakota 0
#5 Michigan 11, Ohio State 6
#6 Wisconsin 51, Iowa State 0
#7 Holy Cross 11, Pittsfield AC 10
#8 Princeton 15, Army 11
#10 Dartmouth 24, Vermont 0
All the ranked teams aside from Pennsylvania win this week, though some had closer calls than expected (see Michigan and Holy Cross). Wisconsin's demolition of Iowa State, coupled with Michigan's close win, should result in Wisconsin leaping ahead of Michigan in the standings.

Ranking the 10 Best

 1  1 Yale		11-0-0  1.000  24.0   0.9  23.1
 2  2 Harvard		10-0-0  1.000  25.7   2.1  23.6
 3  3 Cornell		 9-0-0  1.000  35.9   3.9  32.0
 4  4 Minnesota		 8-0-0  1.000  25.5   4.8  20.7
 5  6 Wisconsin 	 7-0-0  1.000  43.7   2.4  41.3
 6  5 Michigan		 7-0-0  1.000  45.7   8.0  37.7
 7  7 Holy Cross	 6-0-1  0.929  14.1   6.9   7.2
 8  8 Princeton		 9-1-0  0.900  30.4   6.0  24.4
 9 10 Dartmouth		 7-1-0  0.875  30.6   2.8  27.8
10 -- Illinois		 7-1-0  0.875  25.9   7.4  18.5

As expected, Wisconsin's big win shuffles them slightly ahead of Michigan in the standings. Pennsylvania drops out and is replaced by Illinois. Pretty much all other teams remain as they were last week. Six unbeatens left, one unbeaten-once tied team left, and five once-beaten teams left.

Schedule for the Top 10 for November 16, 1901
#8 Princeton at #1 Yale
#9 Dartmouth at #2 Harvard
#3 Cornell at Columbia
#5 Wisconsin at #4 Minnesota
Chicago at #6 Michigan
Boston College at #7 Holy Cross
#10 Illinois at Purdue
Some serious heft to this week's games as three games are between teams ranked in the top 10. Yale, Harvard, and Wisconsin are expected to win the big clashes. Elsewhere, Cornell might have some trouble at Columbia, but the remaining ranked teams should win their games. It should be noted that there could be several unbeatens this year as Michigan does not face Minnesota or Wisconsin (one of whom must lose in this week's clash, or worse yet, tie, knocking both out), while Cornell does not face Harvard or Yale (one of whom must lose next week, or again worse yet, tie, knocking both out), so there could be as many as four unbeatens at the end of the month.

[Wolfpack]

Headline for November 16, 1901
COLUMBIA UPSETS CORNELL
Cornell took a train ride down to the big city and took a much longer train ride back to Ithaca. Hopes for an undefeated season were dashed as Columbia ambushed the visitors, jumping to a 12-0 halftime lead. Cornell responded in the second half, tying the game at 12 in the fourth quarter, but the defense failed in the end as Columbia worked for a close-in field goal in the dying moments that they converted to win 17-12.

Best Game of the Week
Penn State 23, Lehigh 22
It was never meant to be this close. Penn State was supposed to role past an inferior Lehigh squad. Lehigh, it seemed, had other ideas. Lehigh booted two field goals in the opening quarter to get an early 10-0 lead only to watch Penn State roar back with two touchdowns in the second quarter. Only a Lehigh TD kept the visitors ahead 16-12 at the half. The teams traded touchdowns in the third leaving Lehigh ahead 22-18 going into the fourth quarter. Neither team threatened to score until late when Penn State finally drove into field goal range and booted a kick through from the Lehigh 25 with time expiring to escape with the 23-22 win at home.

Upset of the Week, Biggest Departure from Reality
Purdue 22, Illinois 6
Illinois, ranked #10 in the statistical poll, goes into West Lafayette and lays a huge egg in front of a joyous crowd of Purdue supporters. Illinois was expected to win by 9, but failed to show up and got beat with surprising ease. Purdue struck for a TD in the first, Illinois matched in the second, but after that, it was all Purdue and they dominated the 2nd half en route to the win.

It earns the Departure award because in real life, Illinois routed Purdue 28-6, so this was a 38-point flip-flop. Honorable mention should go to the Penn State-Lehigh game, which Penn State won 38-0 IRL, but only won by a point in this replay.

Comeback of the Week
Pennsylvania 17, Carlisle 15
It was a losing effort, but Carlisle made a great rally. Penn shut them out for three quarters, leading 12-0 going into the fourth. Carlisle booted a pair of field goals to draw to 12-10 and then got another late to surge ahead, but Penn had just enough time left to answer with their own field goal as time ran out to win 17-15.

How the Top 10 Fared
#1 Yale 21, #8 Princeton 6
#2 Harvard 23, #9 Dartmouth 12
Columbia 17, #3 Cornell 12
#5 Wisconsin 27, #4 Minnesota 10
#6 Michigan 36, Chicago 6
#7 Holy Cross 16, Boston College 15
Purdue 22, #10 Illinois 6
Elsewhere in the Top 10, Yale and Harvard passed their tests this week, setting up the big clash of the year this coming weekend. Wisconsin notched another victory over Minnesota, knocking them from the unbeatens, while Michigan rolled and Holy Cross eeked out a win.

Ranking the 10 Best

 1  1 Yale		12-0-0  1.000  23.8   1.3  22.5
 2  2 Harvard		11-0-0  1.000  25.5   3.0  22.5
 3  5 Wisconsin 	 8-0-0  1.000  41.6   3.4  38.2
 4  6 Michigan		 8-0-0  1.000  44.5   7.8  36.7
 5  7 Holy Cross	 7-0-1  0.938  14.4   7.9   6.5
 6  3 Cornell		 9-1-0  0.900  33.5   5.2  28.3
 7  4 Minnesota		 8-1-0  0.889  23.8   7.2  16.6
 8  8 Princeton		 9-2-0  0.818  28.2   7.4  20.8
 9 -- Pennsylvania	10-2-1  0.808  17.7   8.7   9.0
10  9 Dartmouth		 7-2-0  0.778  28.6   5.0  23.6

The headliner clashes cause some shuffling in the middle of the order as Cornell and Minnesota slide back behind Wisconsin, Michigan, and Holy Cross. Illinois drops out, replaced by Pennsylvania. There are now only four unbeatens left, one unbeaten-once tied team, and 3 once-beatens left (Notre Dame is 5-1-2 which makes them #14, off the list).

Schedule for the Top 10 for November 23, 1901
#1 Yale (12-0) at #2 Harvard (11-0)
Beloit (5-3-1) at #4 Michigan (8-0)
Tufts (6-4-1) at #5 Holy Cross (7-0-1)
Vermont (4-5) at #6 Cornell (9-1)
#7 Minnesota (8-1) at Northwestern (7-2)
#9 Pennsylvania (10-2-1) at Army (3-3)
St. Paul's (NH) (Non D-I) at #10 Dartmouth (7-2)

Byes: #3 Wisconsin (8-0)
Season over: #8 Princeton (9-2)
Schedule is decidedly lighter this week, except for that game up Cambridge-way. Something about a "Big Game". Harvard seems to have the better club playing at home. Tufts has an even chance against Holy Cross, Northwestern might give Minnesota problems, and Army is actually a better team then Penn, so Penn's stay in the Top 10 might be a brief one. Still, all attention in the college football world this week will be focused on Harvard hosting Yale.

[Wolfpack]

Headline for November 23, 1901
HARVARD SNAPS YALE'S WINNING STREAK
The clash in Cambridge turned out to be a fairly one-sided affair as Harvard's defense shut out Yale, resulting in a 12-0 win. It is Yale's first loss since the last game of the 1899 season when the lost to Princeton 11-10 in New Haven. Yale had won 24 in a row since then, including the unbeaten season in 1900. As a result, Harvard is now going to ascend to the top of the statistical poll this week. It is the last game for both teams, so neither is expected to move much from where they will end up in this week's poll.

Best Game of the Week
Navy 16, Columbia 11
There was a paucity of close games this week, so this one wins the award. Columbia played poorly against a team they should have beat, but perhaps it was due to being a little too proud of themselves for beating Cornell the prior week. Columbia converted a first quarter field goal, but the Navy came back with 16 points over the next two quarters while Columbia could only muster a touchdown to take a 16-11 lead into the fourth. Defenses dominated the fourth and neither team threatened to score again the remainder of the game, enabling Navy to win the game.

Upset of the Week
Grinnell 21, Drake 5
A mild surprise, but earns the award on the margin of victory as Drake was expected to win by 2. Grinnell was up from the get-go, getting a field goal in the first and adding a touchdown to Drake's field goal in the second to lead 11-5 at the break. A scoreless third gave way to two Grinnell field goals in the fourth to provide the final margin.

Biggest Departure from Reality
Cornell 28, Vermont 0
It is a big departure only in the sense that Cornell probably could only hope to have replicated their real life 67-0 pasting of Vermont. Based on ratings, Cornell was only expected to win by 31, so this actually is about what they should have done. It would seem that Vermont in real life didn't bother to show up and play at all.

Comeback of the Week
No award this week. There just wasn't a game where a winner (or near loser) rallied from any significant deficit. It was either a blowout or a tight, low-scoring game that never saw any kind of separation.

How the Top 10 Fared
#2 Harvard 12, #1 Yale 0
#4 Michigan 74, Beloit 10
Tufts 10, #5 Holy Cross 0
#6 Cornell 28, Vermont 0
Northwestern 6, #7 Minnesota 5
Army 12, #9 Pennsylvania 0
#10 Dartmouth 18, St. Paul's (NH) 0
There will be quite a bit of shuffling around as three ranked teams go down to defeat to unranked teams in addition to Yale's loss. However, as noted in the prior report, these were teams that were expected to have troubles this week, so none of the losses are really a surprise.

Ranking the 10 Best

 1  2 Harvard		12-0-0  1.000  24.3   2.8  21.5
 2  4 Michigan		 9-0-0  1.000  47.8   8.0  39.8
 3  3 Wisconsin 	 8-0-0  1.000  41.6   3.4  38.2
 4  1 Yale		12-1-0  0.923  21.9   2.2  19.7
 5  6 Cornell		10-1-0  0.909  33.0   4.7  28.3
 6  5 Holy Cross	 7-1-1  0.833  12.8   8.1   4.7
 7  8 Princeton		 9-2-0  0.818  28.2   7.4  20.8
 8 10 Dartmouth		 8-2-0  0.800  27.5   4.5  23.0
 9  7 Minnesota		 8-2-0  0.800  21.9   7.1  14.8
10 -- Northwestern	 8-2-0  0.800  22.5  11.3  11.2

A rare instance of every team shifting places in the list. Harvard ascends to the #1 position, becoming the first team other than Yale to hold it since October 12. Michigan's win while Wisconsin stayed idle allowed Michigan to move to #2 based on win total. Michigan is also in good position to claim the Western Conference title since Wisconsin only plays a couple of games in-conference this year while everyone else has been hit with at least one loss. A trip to Pasadena to start the New Year might be in order.

Schedule for the Top 10 for November 28, 1901
Iowa (5-3) vs #2 Michigan (9-0) at Chicago
#3 Wisconsin (8-0) at Chicago (9-5-1)
#5 Cornell (10-1) at Pennsylvania (10-3-1)
#8 Dartmouth (8-2) at Brown (6-5) (11/27)
#9 Minnesota (8-2) at Illinois (7-2)
#10 Northwestern (8-2) at Purdue (6-2)

Season over: #1 Harvard, #4 Yale, #6 Holy Cross, #7 Princeton
The 1901 season draws to a close with Thanksgiving Day matchups across America. Harvard has locked up #1 in the rankings since no team can match their win total. Minnesota and Northwestern have tough conference road games to finish and could be beaten, but the remaining ranked teams are probably going to win their final games.

[Wolfpack]

Headline for November 28, 1901
MICHIGAN CLAIMS WESTERN CONFERENCE TITLE
As expected, Michigan routed Iowa 63-10 in Chicago to finish their conference games at 4-0. The only other unbeaten, Wisconsin, finished 2-0 after beating Chicago. All other teams suffered too many losses to be considered. Since Michigan has a full game advantage in the standings, they claim the 1901 Western Conference championship outright. Season-long speculation has come to pass and Michigan has been invited to California to face Stanford University, considered one of the better teams in the western United States, in a game dubbed "The Rose Bowl" on New Year's Day, 1902. It will be held in conjunction with the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California that day.

Game of the Week, Biggest Departure from Reality
Lafayette 28, Dickinson 25
Lafayette was expected to beat Dickinson fairly easy, but it never came off that way. Instead Lafayette had to use a last-second field goal to get the win against a determined Dickinson squad. Dickinson scored two field goals to a Lafayette touchdown in the first to take a 10-6 lead, but Lafayette seemed to get things under control with 11 unanswered in the second to lead 17-10 at the half. A Lafayette touchdown offset a Dickinson field goal to make it 23-15 after three and Lafayette looked to be in good shape. Dickinson wouldn't go away, though. They surged into the lead on a pair of field goals to lead 25-23 late in the fourth. However, Lafayette got the drive they needed and booted an easy field goal at the end to claim the win.

The game wins the Departure award because, in real life, Lafayette shut out Dickinson 29-0. It was never supposed to be this close.

Upset of the Week
Milwaukee Medical 20, Beloit 12
A disappointing end for the season for Beloit as they suffer a bad loss at the hands of Milwaukee Medical. Four second half field goal by Milwaukee Medical were more than enough to offset the two touchdowns offered by Beloit. Beloit was expected to win by 11 and lost by 8, a 19-point swing. IRL, Beloit won 11-0.

Comeback of the Week
Northwestern 18, Purdue 12
This game wins the award because the Dickinson comeback against Lafayette failed. Northwestern scored a touchdown in the first, only to watch Purdue score two touchdowns in each of the next two quarters to lead 12-6 in the fourth. Northwestern scored a touchdown and then score another one late in the fourth quarter to pull off the come-from-behind-win.

How the Top 10 Fared
#2 Michigan 63, Iowa 10
#3 Wisconsin 49, Chicago 23
#5 Cornell 17, Pennsylvania 17 (tie)
#8 Dartmouth 28, Brown 5
#9 Minnesota10, Illinois 6
#10 Northwestern 18, Purdue 12
Cornell and Minnesota both needed late field goals to avoid taking losses and Northwestern needed a touchdown to break a tie late, but the remaining teams in action weren't seriously challenged.

Ranking the 10 Best

 1  1 Harvard		12-0-0  1.000  24.3   2.8  21.5
 2  2 Michigan		10-0-0  1.000  49.3   8.2  41.1
 3  3 Wisconsin 	 9-0-0  1.000  42.4   5.6  36.8
 4  4 Yale		12-1-0  0.923  21.9   2.2  19.7
 5  5 Cornell		10-1-1  0.875  31.7   5.8  25.9
 6  6 Holy Cross	 7-1-1  0.833  12.8   8.1   4.7
 7  8 Dartmouth		 9-2-0  0.818  27.5   4.5  23.0
 8  7 Princeton		 9-2-0  0.818  28.2   7.4  20.8
 9  9 Minnesota		 9-2-0  0.818  20.8   7.0  13.8
10 10 Northwestern	 9-2-0  0.818  22.1  11.4  10.7

As expected, with few teams playing the last week and none of them losing, little movement occurs at the top. The season finishes with 3 unbeatens and four once beatens (Notre Dame just misses the top 10, finishing #11 with a 7-1-2 mark and percentage points behind the 9-2 teams).

Bowl Schedule
Rose Bowl: #2 Michigan (10-0) vs. Stanford (3-1-2)
Not much is known about Stanford's 1901 season. They apparently played a coulple of Bay Area athletic clubs twice each, winning once and tying once with each club. They also shut out Nevada 12-0, but lost their last game 2-0 to California. Given the data at hand, Michigan should not have a problem winning "The Rose Bowl".

[Wolfpack]

Headline for January 1, 1902
MICHIGAN ROUTS STANFORD
Stanford supporters seemed full of bluster as Michigan arrived to take them on, but their team was no match for the Western Conference champions. Michigan racked up 50 points and gave up none midway through the fourth when the Stanford coach decided to concede the game to Michigan. (In the replay, Michigan did score an additional touchdown, but to mimick life a bit, I gave Michigan the win at 50-0, one better than when Stanford gave up at 49-0 in the real game.)

Though the Tournament of Roses organizers pulled in some money for staging the game, they seemed disappointed by the lopsidedness of the game and are probably not going to schedule another "Rose Bowl" next year, expecting another blowout performance by a team from back east.

[Wolfpack]

And with that, the 1901 season is (re-written) into the books. I'll post the final won/lost table for overall and conference standings as I did for 1900 and start a separate FOFC Foundation poll thread to select the 1901 champion. There will be seven teams on this year's ballot (I intend to include all unbeatens and once-beatens on this list each year).

Hopefully, these lists will be up today or tomorrow.

[Wolfpack]

Here's the final tally for all teams in the 1901 season. Sort order is win percentage, total wins, average point differential. Dif is difference in games from real life.

Overall Nationwide Final Standings
Team		W/L Rep	  W/L IRL  Dif
Harvard		12- 0- 0  12- 0- 0   0
Michigan	11- 0- 0  11- 0- 0   0
Wisconsin	 9- 0- 0   9- 0- 0   0
Yale		12- 1- 0  11- 1- 1  +0.5
Cornell		10- 1- 1  11- 1- 0  -0.5
Holy Cross	 7- 1- 1   7- 1- 1   0
Dartmouth	 9- 2- 0  10- 1- 0  -1
Princeton	 9- 2- 0   9- 1- 1  -0.5
Minnesota	 9- 2- 0   9- 1- 1  -0.5
Northwestern	 9- 2- 0   8- 2- 1  +0.5
Notre Dame 	 7- 1- 2   8- 1- 1  -0.5
Pennsylvania	10- 3- 2  10- 5- 0  +1
Grinnell	 6- 2- 1   7- 1- 1  -0.5
Illinois	 7- 3- 0   8- 2- 0  -1
Columbia	 9- 4- 0   8- 5- 0  +1
Lafayette	 8- 4- 0   9- 3- 0  -1
Indiana		 6- 3- 0   6- 3- 0   0
Purdue		 6- 3- 0   4- 4- 1  +1.5
Nebraska	 5- 2- 2   7- 2- 0  -1
Tufts		 8- 4- 1   6- 6- 1  +2
Army		 5- 3- 0   5- 1- 2  -1
Bucknell	 6- 4- 0   6- 4- 0   0
Chicago		 9- 6- 1   9- 5- 2  -0.5
Carlisle	 7- 5- 1   5- 7- 1  +2
Syracuse	 5- 4- 0   7- 2- 0  -2
Iowa		 5- 4- 0   6- 3- 0  -1
Massachusetts	 4- 3- 2   8- 1- 0  -3
Williams	 5- 4- 1   6- 4- 0  -0.5
Brown		 6- 6- 0   4- 7- 1  +1.5
Beloit		 5- 5- 1   5- 3- 3  -1
Amherst		 5- 5- 2   4- 6- 2  +1
Navy		 5- 5- 1   6- 4- 1  -1
Dickinson	 5- 5- 0   4- 6- 0  +1
Kansas		 5- 5- 0   3- 5- 2  +1
Drake		 4- 4- 0   4- 4- 0   0
Bates		 3- 3- 0   3- 3- 0   0
Wesleyan	 4- 5- 1   3- 6- 1  +1
Iowa State	 4- 6- 0   2- 6- 2  +1
Penn State	 3- 5- 0   5- 3- 0  -2
Vermont		 4- 7- 0   5- 5- 1  -1.5
Trinity (CT)	 2- 6- 0   1- 6- 1  +0.5
Boston College	 2- 7- 0   2- 7- 0   0
Bowdoin		 2- 7- 0   2- 7- 0   0
Missouri	 1- 6- 1   1- 6- 1   0
Lehigh		 1-11- 0   1-11- 0   0

Western Conference Final Standings
x-Michigan	 4- 0- 0   4- 0- 0   0
Wisconsin	 2- 0- 0   2- 0- 0   0
Northwestern	 3- 2- 0   3- 2- 0   0
Illinois	 3- 3- 0   4- 2- 0   -1
Minnesota	 2- 2- 0   3- 1- 0   -1
Purdue		 2- 2- 0   0- 3- 1   +1.5
Indiana		 1- 2- 0   1- 2- 0   0
Chicago		 1- 4- 0   0- 4- 1   +0.5
Iowa		 0- 3- 0   0- 3- 0   0

Interesting to see that there was hardly any fluctuation at the top and bottom from real life, but there was increased amounts towards the middle. Not much in the way of teams exceeding real life, though Tufts and Carlisle both improved 2 games. UMass suffered the worst drop-off, sliding three games from their real life season.

[tucker342]

Just got caught up, great stuff!

Too bad Iowa had such a crappy season. Oh well

[Wolfpack]

FOFC FOUNDATION AWARDS HARVARD 1901 NATIONAL TITLE
The vote wasn't unanimous, but it was close. Only one dissenting ballot selected Michigan while the remaining votes cast by the FOFC Foundation chose Harvard University as the champion of the 1901 season. Harvard (12-0), Michigan (11-0), and Wisconsin (9-0) all finished the year unbeaten, but Harvard's strong performance against tougher competition seemed to bolster their case, including Harvard's victory at the end of 1901 that snapped Yale's 24-game win streak dating to 1899. Michigan had a superb offensive season and won the Western Conference (now Big 10) title that year, but some struggles including a close game against future rival Ohio State seemed to take a bit of luster from their season.

In all, the foundation considered seven teams for the title: Harvard, Michigan, Wisconsin, Yale, Cornell, Holy Cross, and Notre Dame. None of the teams besides Harvard and Michigan received a vote.

"Harvard is a worthy champion," foundation chairman Wolfpack said. "Michigan made a great case with the fact that they were demolishing opponents by 50 points in some games, but the competition they faced wasn't nearly as challenging as Harvard's, which played all 12 games against top-level teams. Michigan, on the other hand played several teams that didn't compete at that level that year."

[AdmiralACF]

It's strange seeing these scholarly schools as football powerhouses.

I'm looking forward to seeing if they can continue to do well in 1902!