“Mythical” National Championships

7 comments so far August 18, 2009 by Steve Hanway

For years, when writers would talk about college’s national championship, they’d feel obliged to put the word “mythical” in front of it, because of the lack of a playoff. With the advent of the Bowl Alliance and then the BCS, you didn’t see the word “mythical” as often, in part because people were more willing to accept the winner of a consensus #1 versus #2 matchup as a legitimate national champion.

But there’s another kind of national championship which seems truly mythical and yet teams seem quick to claim. These are championships that weren’t awarded by the Associated Press, the Coaches Poll (whether it was UPI or USAToday), or the BCS. Instead, it might be the product of a single guy like the “Dunkel Index”. Or they might have been awarded many years later, by people who never saw teams firsthand (not even on TV or film). Nevertheless, teams will stick out their chests as if these were as recognized as an AP or Coaches champion handed out at the end of a season.

One of the first times I saw this kind of excessive self-promotion was when I saw a copy of Barry Switzer’s autobiography. Beyond the three titles he won as a head coach at Oklahoma, he wanted to claim some of these other national championships.

Then prior to a Nebraska/USC face-off, I heard the Trojans try to claim 11 national titles. 11? Really? The Trojans claimed titles in 1962, 1967, 1972, and 2004 that not many would quibble with. They were tops in both the AP and Coaches Poll. They won a share of the national title in 1978 and 2003 as well (i.e. one of the two polls). They also got a share of the title in 1974, but that was also because there was a rule forbidding the coaches from voting for Oklahoma while it was on probation. The Sooners were the AP champion that year. By my math, that’s not more than 7 national titles. How they get to 11, I’ll never know. But somehow they got to claim it on national television unchallenged.

Then recently an almost comical media guide from the University of Mississippi arrived at my door. Ole Miss wanted to claim three national titles in 1959, 1960, and 1962. I may give USC grief for being a bit generous in claiming titles, but I’d give them the 1962 title over the Rebels, considering the coaches and writers did and that the Trojans won the Rose Bowl that year. But hey, Litkenhous (is that a microbrew?) thought Ole Miss was better. I’m sure they can proudly display their Litkenhous trophy (if one exists). Who wouldn't like a cool Litkenhous on a hot summer day?

The 1959 season saw Syracuse claim both the AP and Coaches polls and then they went on to win the Cotton Bowl. But some computers (like Sagarin’s) like Mississippi better. Good thing for Mississippi that no one ever questions a computer poll, right? Wait, did they even have computers in 1959?

Mississippi’s best argument might be 1960 when Minnesota was crowned national champion in each poll but they went on to lose the Rose Bowl (this was before polls were taken after Bowl games). The Rebels won the Sugar Bowl after an undefeated season. By today’s standards, that at least looks like a national champion. But did the players on that team in 1960 or early 1961 even know it? If you’re awarded a national championship and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

It seems like the right thing to do here is to create a new standard. That’s why it’s time to hand out some Big Red Network national championships. Just to make it easy let’s say we default to the Associated Press rankings, except where we note here. The 1890 Husker team went undefeated at 2-0. Clearly they are national champion material. (Doane didn’t know what hit them). The 1902 and 1903 Husker teams also went undefeated and also earn national championships. The 1913, 1914, and 1915 Husker teams all went undefeated, so they get titles too. Beginning in 1981, the BRN poll began to take video evidence into account through an appeals process so that miscarriages of justice and corrupt officiating practices could be rectified. As such, Nebraska claimed national titles in 1982 and 1993 after cleaning up screw jobs in State College and the Orange Bowl. Using a special formula (the “who scored more all year and who didn’t get blown out by Florida and who didn’t get to play a home game for the national championship” index) the 1983 Huskers also claim a title. The Huskers grabbed the 1997 title using that same index because Michigan didn’t score 40 points all year. And what the heck, Mississippi can have their 1960 championship.

Tally it up and the Huskers have won 14 national championships. Take that USC!

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