The 1935 college football rankings included (1) a United Press (UP) poll of sports writers, (2) a poll of sports editors conducted by the committee responsible for awarding the Toledo Cup to the nation's top college football team, and the (3) Boand, (4) Dickinson, and (5) Houlgate Systems. The Minnesota Golden Gophers (8–0), led by head coach Bernie Bierman, were selected as national champions in the UP poll, the Toledo Cup voting, and the Boand System. The SMU Mustangs (12–0 prior to losing the 1936 Rose Bowl), led by consensus All-Americans Bob Wilson and J. C. Wetsel, were selected as national champions by Dickinson and Houlgate.
Champions (by ranking) Major rankings (both contemporary and retroactive) have varied in who they identify as the season champion(s). Schools identified as 1935 season champions by at least one such ranking include: Minnesota, Princeton, SMU, and TCU as season champions: Berryman QPRS: SMU Billingsley Report: Minnesota Boand System: Minnesota College Football Researchers Association: Minnesota Dickinson System: SMU Dunkel System: Princeton Helms Athletic Foundation: Minnesota Houlgate System: SMU Litkenhous Ratings: Minnesota National Championship Foundation: Minnesota Poling System: Minnesota Sagarin Ratings Elo chess method: SMU Sagarin Ratings Predictor method: SMU Toledo Cup: Minnesota Williamson System: TCU Note: Boand System, Dickinson System, Dunkel System, Houlgate System, Litkenhous Ratings, Poling System, Toledo Cup, and Williamson System were given contemporarily. All other methods were given retroactively.
Associated Press rankings Weekly top ten rankings were published by the Associated Press news service throughout the season. The rankings were made solely by Associated Press sports editor Alan Gould. Gould's final rankings on December 3, 1935, declared a three-way tie for first between SMU, Princeton, and Minnesota. Gould's stated desire for content to fill space between games by encouraging controversy and "hoopla" led Gould to poll the nation's sportswriters in subsequent years; thus the AP Poll would officially begin in 1936.
Rank Team1SMUPrinceton Minnesota4LSUTCU6Stanford7Ohio State8North Carolina9California10Fordham
United Press poll At the end of the regular season, the United Press (UP) polled 141 sports writers from all sections of the country. Each writer was asked to rank the top ten teams, and the UP then assigned points with ten points being awarded to a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, etc. The leaders in the poll were:
Rank Team Points 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 1 Minnesota 1,366 98 34 1000000002 SMU1,246 30 68 30120000203Princeton1,008122052 14161426024TCU7900212363226204265Ohio State764010162224142816826Stanford7202261636401410687LSU6290582018241816848Notre Dame4590161212818262489California2920002082028282810Pittsburgh1380000324122214
The following teams were ranked below the top 10:
11. Fordham 12. North Carolina 13. Duke 14. Holy Cross 15. Auburn 16. Northwestern 17. Alabama 18. (tie) Army, Iowa, UCLA 21. (tie) Nebraska, Ohio 23. (tie) Marquette, Washington, Saint Mary's 26. (tie) Temple, Dartmouth, NYU
Toledo Cup The Toledo Cup was presented to the college football national champion. Overseen by a committee including westbrook Pegler, Avery Brundage, Gustavus Kirby, Lynn St. John, Wilbur C. Smith, Stewart Edward White, and Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the Toledo Cup award was based on input from a judge's committee of 250 sports editors of leading newspapers.
A preliminary vote was taken in December 1935 with the following results:
1. Minnesota - 840 points 2. Princeton - 379 points 3. SMU - 347 points 4. TCU - 71 points 5. Ohio State - 52 points 6. LSU - 24 points 7. Notre Dame - 23 points 8. Stanford - 22 points 9. California - 9 points 10. Pittsburgh - 2 points 11. (tie) Dartmouth, Alabama, Northwestern, and Saint Mary's - 1 point each
The final vote of the committee was taken in January 1936 with the following results:
1. Minnesota - 168 votes 2. SMU - 46 votes 3. Princeton - 22 votes
It was Minnesota's second consecutive year winning the Toledo Cup.
Boand System The Boand System was a mathematical rating system, also known as the "Azzi Ratem" system, developed by W. F. Boand. The Boand ratings released in early December 1935 were as follows:
1. Minnesota - 170 points 2. SMU - 165 points 3. Princeton - 160 points 4. Ohio State - 159 points 5. LSU - 157 points 6. Notre Dame - 152 points 7. California - 151 points 8. TCU - 149 points 9. Pittsburgh - 147 points 10. Stanford - 144 points 11. Nebraska - 143 points 12. Auburn - 142 points
Dickinson System The Dickinson System was a mathematical rating system devised by University of Illinois economics professor Frank G. Dickinson. In his 1935 rankings, Dickinson weighted each team's performance based on the strength of the conferences, reported as follows: Big Ten (+3.78), SWC (+3.31), East (0.00), Pacific Coast (-0.11), SEC (-0.12), Big Six (-1.95) and Southern (-6.15) "Dickinson System Rates Mustangs Champions of U.S.." Alton (Ill.) Evening Telegraph Dec. 10, 1935, p10 The final Dickinson System rankings for 1935 were released in December 1935, prior to SMU's loss to Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Dickinson ranked the top 11 teams as follows:
1. SMU (12-0) - 28.01 points 2. Minnesota (8-0) - 27.35 points 3. Princeton (9-0) - 26.00 points 4. LSU (9-1-1) - 24.03 points 5. (tie) Stanford (7-1) - 23.11 points 5. (tie) California (9-1) - 23.11 points 7. Ohio State (7-1) - 22.21 points 8. TCU (10-1) - 22.01 points 9. Notre Dame (7-1-1) - 21.66 points 10. UCLA (8-2) - 21.25 points 11. Fordham (6-1-2) - 20.89 points
Northwestern, North Carolina, and Dartmouth followed.
Houlgate In early December 1935, Deke Houlgate released his Houlgate System rankings as follows:
1. SMU 2. Princeton 3. LSU 4. California 5. Minnesota 6. TCU 7. Notre Dame 8. Tie: Holy Cross (9–0–1), Ohio State, Stanford 11. Pittsburgh 12. Tie: Fordham (6–1–2), Rice (8–3) 14. Tie: Duke, UCLA 16. North Carolina 17. Alabama 18. Auburn 19. Marquette (7–1) 20. Michigan State (6–2) 21. NYU (7–1) 22. Nebraska (6–2–1) 23. Tie: Catholic University (8–1), Furman (8–1) 25. Villanova (7–2) 26. Saint Mary's (5–2–2) 27. Tie: Army (6–2–1), Mississippi State (8–3) 29. Tie: Bucknell (6–3), Temple (7–3) 31. Tie: Oregon (6–3), Syracuse (6–1–1) 33. Vanderbilt (7–3–1) 34. Maryland (7–2–2) 35. Ole Miss (9–3) 36. Iowa (4–2–2) 37. Dartmouth (8–2) 38. Baylor (8–3) 39. Tie: Detroit (6–3), Yale (6–3) 41. Northwestern (4–3–1) 42. Clemson (6–3) 43. Georgia (6–4) 44. Tie: Colgate (7–3), Washington 46. Tie: NC State (6–4), Tulane (6–4) 48. Duquesne (6–3) 49. Boston College (6–3) 50. Tie: Indiana (4–3–1), Michigan (4–4), Navy (5–4), Penn State (4–4), Western Maryland
Notes
See also 1935 College Football All-America Team
References