1912 college football season

American college football season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1912 college football season was the first season of the modern era of college football, as the NCAA implemented changes to increase scoring:[1]

  • Teams were given 4 downs instead of 3 downs to gain ten yards
  • The value of a touchdown was increased from 5 points to 6 points
  • The length of the playing field was reduced from 110 yards to 100 yards, and end zones of ten yards were added
  • Kickoff was made from the 40 yard line rather than at midfield.
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At the end of the season, Harvard was named the year's champion by The New York Times.[2]

Conference and program changes

Conference changes

Membership changes

More information School, 1911 Conference ...
School1911 Conference1912 Conference
Florida GatorsIndependentSIAA
Georgetown HoyasIndependentSAIAA
Johns Hopkins Blue JaysIndependentSAIAA
Maryland TerrapinsIndependentSAIAA
North Carolina Tar HeelsIndependentSAIAA
North Carolina A&M AggiesIndependentSAIAA
Rice OwlsProgram EstablishedIndependent
Richmond SpidersIndependentSAIAA
St. John's ?IndependentSAIAA
Mississippi Normal Golden EaglesProgram EstablishedIndependent
Virginia CavaliersIndependentSAIAA
VPI Fighting GobblersIndependentSAIAA
Washington & Lee GeneralsIndependentSAIAA
West Tennessee Normal TigersProgram EstablishedIndependent
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September

September 21 The first six-point touchdowns were registered in Carlisle's 50–7 win over Albright College, and Rhode Island's 7–0 defeat of Massachusetts Agricultural (now U. Massachusetts-Amherst).[3]

On September 26, Cornell defeated Washington & Jefferson 3–0. Maine defeated Fort McKinley 38–0, Rhode Island State College beat Massachusetts Agricultural 7–0, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) beat Schenectady's Columbia College, 13–0 [4]

September 28 Harvard beat Maine 7–0 and Yale beat Holy Cross 7–0. Princeton beat Stevens 65–0 and three days later, beat Rutgers 41–6. Dartmouth won 26–0 over Bates College. After opening with a 33–0 Wednesday win over Albright, Lehigh beat Delaware 45–0. Swarthmore won at Johns Hopkins 40–6. Carlisle beat Dickinson 35–0, and followed on Wednesday with a 65–0 win over Villanova at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Vanderbilt opened with a 105–0 win over visiting Bethel College.

October

October 5 Harvard beat Holy Cross 19–0; Yale beat Syracuse, 21–0; Princeton defeated Lehigh 35–0; and Dartmouth beat Massachusetts 47–0. Carlisle and Washington & Jefferson played a scoreless tie. Penn State beat Carnegie Tech 41–0. Swarthmore won at Lafayette 22–0. Wisconsin opened with a 13–0 win over Lawrence College, Michigan beat Case 34–0, and Chicago beat Indiana 13–0. Texas defeated TCU 30–10. Vanderbilt scored in triple digits again, but was scored upon, in a 100–3 win over Maryville College. Georgia beat Chattanooga 33–0 and Auburn beat Mercer 56–0 in a game at Columbus, Georgia.

October 12 Harvard defeated Williams 26–3, Yale beat Lafayette 16–0, Princeton beat Virginia Tech 31–0, and Dartmouth defeated Vermont 55–0. Penn State beat Washington & Jefferson 30–0, Carlisle won at Syracuse 33–0, Lehigh won at Navy, 14–0 and Swarthmore won at Penn 6–3. Georgetown beat Washington & Lee, 20–0

Vanderbilt beat visiting Rose-Hulman Institute 54–0. Georgia beat The Citadel 33–0. Auburn beat visiting Florida 27–13. Wisconsin beat Northwestern 56–0 and Michigan defeated Michigan State 55–7.

October 19 Yale won at Army, 16–0, Dartmouth won at Williams 21–0, Harvard beat Amherst 46–0, and Princeton beat Syracuse 62–0 and as all four Ivy teams stayed unbeaten. Penn State won at Cornell 29–6, Carlisle won at Pittsburgh 45–8, and Swarthmore won at Annapolis, defeating Navy 21–6, to stay unbeaten. Georgetown won at North Carolina State, 48–0.

Vanderbilt and Georgia met in Atlanta. Vandy handed the Bulldogs their only loss in a 46–0 drubbing. Sewanee beat Chattanooga 27–0, and Auburn defeated Clemson 27–6. After warmup wins over Daniel Baker College and Trinity College, Texas A&M beat Arkansas 27–0 in a game at Dallas. In another game at Dallas, Texas lost to Oklahoma, 21–6. Wisconsin beat Purdue 41–0, Michigan won at Ohio State 14–0, and Chicago defeated Iowa 34–14.

October 26 Princeton (6–0–0) hosted Dartmouth (5–0–0) and won 22–7. Harvard defeated Brown 30–10 and Yale beat Washington & Jefferson, 13–3. Penn State beat visiting Gettysburg College 25–0 and Swarthmore beat Villanova 27–0.

In an intersectional game, Michigan lost at Syracuse 18–7. Vanderbilt beat Ole Miss 24–0 in Nashville, and Sewanee beat Tennessee 33–6 at Chattanooga. In Birmingham, Auburn defeated Mississippi State, 7–0.

Carlisle won at Georgetown, 34–20, followed two days later by a game in Toronto in a 49–7 win against the "Toronto All-Stars". At Philadelphia, Penn State beat Pennsylvania, 22–6. Chicago beat Purdue 7–0. In Columbus, Georgia, Georgia beat Alabama 13–9.

November

November 2 In a matchup of unbeatens, Harvard (5–0–0) hosted Princeton (6–0–0). Charles Brickley of Harvard intercepted two passes and kicked a 47–yard field goal and set up a touchdown for Harvard in its 16–6 win [5]

Carlisle won its 9th game, staying unbeaten with a 34–14 win over Lehigh. Yale defeated Brown 10–0 and Dartmouth beat Amherst 60–0.

Georgetown beat North Carolina 37–10 in a game played in Richmond, Virginia. Swarthmore beat Ursinus 22–0 Michigan narrowly beat visiting South Dakota, 7–6. In Philadelphia, Penn State beat Penn 14–0.

Wisconsin beat Chicago 30–12 and Purdue beat Northwestern 21–6. Georgia and Sewanee played to a 13–13 tie. Vanderbilt stayed unbeaten with a 13–0 win over Virginia. Auburn won at Georgia Tech 27–7. Texas won at Baylor 19–7.

November 9 In an intersectional meeting between the best teams of the East and the South, Harvard hosted Vanderbilt. Going into the contest, both teams had records of 6–0–0, and Vanderbilt had outscored its opponents 342–3. Harvard played all of its substitutes, and scored a touchdown and a field goal in a 9–3 game to give Vandy its only loss of the season.[6]

Carlisle visited West Point, beating Army 27–6, as Jim Thorpe scored three touchdowns and three extra points, and Alex Arcasa scored two more TDs.[7] Army halfback (and future American president) Dwight D. Eisenhower was injured while tackling Thorpe. Eisenhower, who was described in the press as someone "who hits the line harder than any other man on the Army team" [8] played his last game the following week against Tufts University.

Lehigh won at previously unbeaten (6–0–0) Swarthmore 3–0. Wisconsin beat visiting Arkansas 64–7, Michigan lost at Penn, 27–21, Chicago beat Northwestern 3–0, and Purdue and visiting Illinois played to a 9–9 tie.

Penn State beat Villanova 71–0, Princeton beat NYU 54–0, and Dartmouth beat Amherst 60–0. In Augusta, Georgia, Georgia beat Clemson 27–6 and in Atlanta, Sewanee beat Georgia Tech 7–0. Auburn defeated LSU 7–0 in a game played at Mobile. In a game at Houston, Texas A&M beat Oklahoma 28–6. Texas beat Ole Miss 53–14 in a Wednesday game at Houston.

November 16 Harvard beat Dartmouth at home, 3–0. Yale (7–0–0) traveled to Princeton (7–1–0) and the teams played to a 6–6 tie. In Philadelphia, Carlisle (10–0–1) suffered its first loss, falling to Penn, 34–26. Swarthmore narrowly beat Bucknell, 14–13. Penn State beat Ohio State in Columbus, 37–0. Michigan beat Cornell 20–7 to close its season at 5–2–0 Georgetown beat Virginia 16–13.

Wisconsin won at Minnesota 14–0 and Chicago won at Illinois 10–0. Vanderbilt beat Centre 23–0. Georgia beat Georgia Tech in Atlanta, 20–0 Sewanee and Alabama played to a 6–6 tie in Birmingham. Texas A&M beat Mississippi State 41–7 at Houston, and beat Tulane three days later, 41–0, to extend its record to 7–0–0.

November 23 At the Yale campus in New Haven, Harvard (8–0–0) faced Yale (7–0–1) to wrap up the season. Harvard's 20–0 win left it one of three teams that was unbeaten and untied. Wisconsin closed a perfect season with a 28–10 win at Iowa, to finish 7–0–0. Purdue beat Indiana 34–7 and Chicago won 7–0 over visiting Minnesota. Carlisle won at Springfield College, 30–24. Lehigh won at Lafayette 10–0 Swarthmore closed its season with a 0–0 tie at Dickinson. In Birmingham, Vanderbilt (7–1–0) and Auburn (6–0–0) played to a 7–7 tie. Texas A&M (7–0–0) beat Kansas State 13–10 and Texas defeated Southwestern 28–3.

November 28, Thanksgiving Day, Penn State closed its season with a 38–0 win at Pittsburgh, to finish 8–0–0. Vanderbilt (8–0–1) defeated visiting previously unbeaten Sewanee (5–0–2), winning 16–0. Georgia defeated previously unbeaten Auburn 12–6. Carlisle closed its season with a 32–0 win at Brown. Georgetown beat Virginia Tech 24–3 to close its season at 8–1–0. Texas A&M finished its season in Dallas with a 53–0 win over Baylor, and Texas closed its season with a 48–0 win over visiting Arkansas. Lehigh won at Franklin & Marshall, 29–0.

Conference standings

Major conference standings

More information Conf., Overall ...
1912 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Nebraska +200810
Iowa State +200620
Drake220530
Missouri230530
Kansas120440
Washington University020440
  • + Conference co-champions
1912 Northwest Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Washington $400600
Idaho220220
Whitman220220
Oregon230340
Washington State230230
Oregon Agricultural130340
  • $ Conference champion
1912 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Colorado Mines +510910
Utah +410511
Colorado320630
Colorado Agricultural320320
Colorado College240540
Denver130261
Wyoming050270
  • + Conference co-champions
1912 South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Georgetown $500810
Washington and Lee310810
Virginia110630
VPI120540
Johns Hopkins010090
North Carolina A&M020430
North Carolina040341
  • $ Conference champion
1912 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Vanderbilt $301811
Texas A&M200810
Kentucky State100720
Auburn611611
Georgia511611
Sewanee212512
Georgia Tech530531
Alabama331531
Tulane330530
Mississippi A&M330430
Clemson330440
Ole Miss220530
Mercer231531
LSU230430
Mississippi College140340
Tennessee140440
Florida021521
Central University020450
The Citadel030240
Howard (AL)040170
  • $ Conference champion
1912 Western Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Wisconsin $500700
Chicago610610
Purdue221421
Minnesota220430
Northwestern230231
Illinois131331
Iowa130430
Indiana050250
  • $ Conference champion
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Independents

More information Conf., Overall ...
1912 Eastern college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Harvard  900
Penn State  800
Carlisle  1211
Princeton  711
Swarthmore  711
Yale  711
Lehigh  920
Dartmouth  720
Wesleyan  720
Colgate  520
Washington & Jefferson  831
Rhode Island State  630
Bucknell  631
Temple  320
Penn  740
Army  530
Brown  640
Franklin & Marshall  640
Holy Cross  431
Rutgers  540
Tufts  540
Fordham  440
Villanova  330
Lafayette  451
Syracuse  450
Carnegie Tech  341
New Hampshire  341
Geneva  340
Vermont  350
Pittsburgh  360
Boston College  241
Cornell  370
NYU  260
1912 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Notre Dame  700
Lincoln (MO)  100
Lake Forest  501
Michigan Agricultural  710
North Dakota Agricultural  510
South Dakota  510
Mount Union  920
Saint Louis  712
Michigan  520
Wabash  520
Buchtel  521
Detroit  521
Iowa State Teachers  521
St. Mary's (OH)  420
Michigan State Normal  421
Butler  530
Doane  530
Haskell  740
Central Michigan  212
Western State Normal  320
St. Viator  440
Fairmount  450
Marquette  340
Northern Illinois State  350
Baldwin–Wallace  010
Heidelberg  060
1912 Southern college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Middle Tennessee State Normal  100
Texas  710
VMI  710
Maryland  611
Oklahoma A&M  520
Stetson  520
Livingstone  311
Louisville  310
Morris Harvey  310
Mississippi Normal  210
South Carolina  521
Navy  630
Spring Hill  420
West Virginia  630
Oklahoma  540
Rice  320
Chattanooga  440
Sam Houston Normal  220
Southwest Texas State  332
Davidson  340
Marshall  340
Southwestern Louisiana Industrial  340
Tennessee Docs  340
Arkansas  460
Baylor  350
Catholic University  350
Louisiana Industrial  121
West Tennessee State Normal  121
Wake Forest  260
Kendall  140
Delaware  161
Birmingham  160
Biddle  010
1912 Western college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
New Mexico A&M  510
Utah Agricultural  421
Arizona  210
Montana  430
Cheney Normal  010
Montana Agricultural  020
New Mexico  040
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Minor conferences

Minor conference standings

More information Conf., Overall ...
1912 Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Howard $300500
Hampton310410
Virginia Union010210
Lincoln (PA)020020
Shaw020020
  • $ Conference champion
1912 Eastern Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Randolph–Macon $300520
Hampden–Sydney210260
Richmond120170
William & Mary030070
  • $ Conference champion
1912 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Carthage210520
Southern Illinois  340
1912 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Ohio State $500630
Oberlin510710
Western Reserve410540
Denison411611
Miami (OH)112332
Case330450
Wittenberg231631
Kenyon231431
Ohio Wesleyan250360
Wooster141141
Cincinnati031341
Ohio041171
  • $ Conference champion
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Awards and honors

All-Americans

The consensus All-America team included:

Statistical leaders

  • Team scoring most points: Carlisle, 454
  • Team scoring most points by margin: Vanderbilt, 391 to 19
  • Player scoring most points: Jim Thorpe, Carlisle, 224
  • Player scoring most touchdowns: Jim Thorpe, 29
  • Total offense leader: Jim Thorpe, 1972
  • Rushing yards leader: Jim Thorpe, 1869+
  • Rushing avg. leader: Jim Thorpe, 9.8

References

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