1910 college football season

1910 college football season
Michigan vs. Penn
Champion	Harvard
←  1909  · football seasons ·  1911  →

The 1910 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Harvard and Pittsburgh as having been retrospectively selected national champions, by four "major selectors" in about 1927, 1947, 1980 and 2003. ^[1] Harvard claims a national championship for the 1910 season. Auburn also claims a national title based on a selection in Richard Billingsley's unrevised original math system.

Rules

Cartoon by Ryan Walker on the ongoing attempt to make a brutal sport more effete through rules changes.

Rule changes were made prior to the 1910 season to permit more use of the forward pass, with complicated limitations: ^[2]

• The only eligible receivers were the two ends, who could catch a pass no more than 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and could not be interfered with until the ball was caught.
• A legal pass could not be thrown unless the quarterback was at least 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage and the rest of the players, except the two ends, were at least 1 yard behind the scrimmage line.
• On kickoffs and punts, the kicking team's players could not be touched until they had advanced 20 yards
• Flying tackles were outlawed, and "the man making a tackle must have at least one foot on the ground".
• The ballcarrier could no longer be aided in any way by his teammates.
• Games were now played as four quarters, each 15 minutes long, rather than two halves of 35 minutes each ^[3]

Other rules in 1910 were: ^[4]

• Field 110 yards in length
• Kickoff made from midfield
• Three downs to gain ten yards
• Touchdown worth 5 points
• Field goal worth 3 points

The season ran from September 24 until Thanksgiving Day (November 24). ^[5] Prior to Thanksgiving, the season's death toll was 22; the previous season's was 30. ^[6]

Conference and program changes

• The Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference (CFAC) changed its name to the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference (RMFAC, now just the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) in 1910 after expanding into Utah.

Conference changes

School	1909 Conference	1910 Conference
The Citadel Bulldogs	Independent	SIAA
Denver Pioneers	Independent	Rocky Mountain
Howard Bulldogs	Independent	SIAA
Indiana State Normal Fightin' Teachers	Independent	Dropped Program
Louisville Cardinals	Program Established	Independent
Utah Utes	Independent	Rocky Mountain

Program changes

• Arkansas changed its nickname from the Cardinals to the current Razorbacks.

Conference standings

Major conference standings

1910 Missouri Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Nebraska $ 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Iowa 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Missouri 2 – 1 – 1 4 – 2 – 2 Iowa State 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Kansas 1 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Washington University 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Drake 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1910 Northwest Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Washington $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 0 – 0 Oregon 2 – 0 – 0 4 – 1 – 0 Oregon Agricultural 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 2 – 1 Idaho 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 2 – 0 Washington State 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 3 – 0 Whitman 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1910 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Colorado College + 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 0 – 0 Colorado + 3 – 0 – 0 6 – 0 – 0 Utah 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 2 – 0 Denver 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 Colorado Mines 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 Colorado Agricultural 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 5 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1910 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Vanderbilt + 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 1 Auburn + 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Sewanee 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Georgia 4 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Ole Miss 2 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Mississippi A&M 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Mercer 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Georgia Tech 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Clemson 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 LSU 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 5 – 0 Tennessee 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 The Citadel 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Alabama 0 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Howard (AL) 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1910 Western Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Illinois + 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 0 – 0 Minnesota + 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Indiana 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 1 – 0 Iowa 1 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Wisconsin 1 – 2 – 1 1 – 2 – 2 Northwestern 1 – 2 – 1 1 – 3 – 1 Chicago 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Purdue 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 5 – 0 + – Conference co-champions

Independents

1910 Eastern college football independents records v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Pittsburgh   –   9 – 0 – 0 Harvard   –   9 – 0 – 1 Penn   –   9 – 1 – 1 Princeton   –   7 – 1 – 0 Trinity (CT)   –   7 – 1 – 0 Ursinus   –   6 – 1 – 0 Rhode Island State   –   5 – 1 – 1 Lafayette   –   7 – 2 – 0 Army   –   6 – 2 – 0 Brown   –   7 – 2 – 1 Yale   –   6 – 2 – 2 Dartmouth   –   5 – 2 – 0 Cornell   –   5 – 2 – 1 Penn State   –   5 – 2 – 1 Colgate   –   4 – 2 – 1 Swarthmore   –   5 – 3 – 0 Franklin & Marshall   –   4 – 3 – 2 Syracuse   –   5 – 4 – 1 Rutgers   –   3 – 2 – 3 Carlisle   –   8 – 6 – 0 Holy Cross   –   3 – 3 – 2 Temple   –   3 – 3 – 0 Washington & Jefferson   –   3 – 3 – 1 Wesleyan   –   4 – 4 – 1 New Hampshire   –   2 – 3 – 1 NYU   –   2 – 4 – 1 Geneva   –   2 – 5 – 2 Dickinson   –   3 – 7 – 0 Lehigh   –   2 – 6 – 1 Bucknell   –   2 – 6 – 0 Vermont   –   1 – 5 – 1 Carnegie Tech   –   1 – 6 – 1 Tufts   –   1 – 7 – 1 Boston College   –   0 – 4 – 2 Villanova   –   0 – 4 – 2	1910 Midwestern college football independents records v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wabash   –   4 – 0 – 0 Michigan Agricultural   –   6 – 1 – 0 St. Mary's (OH)   –   5 – 1 – 0 Central Michigan   –   5 – 1 – 1 Marquette   –   6 – 1 – 2 Notre Dame   –   4 – 1 – 1 Buchtel   –   7 – 2 – 0 Saint Louis   –   7 – 2 – 0 Michigan   –   3 – 0 – 3 Fairmount   –   6 – 2 – 1 Lake Forest   –   5 – 2 – 0 Western State Normal   –   4 – 2 – 0 Northern Illinois State   –   4 – 2 – 1 Mount Union   –   4 – 2 – 2 South Dakota State   –   4 – 2 – 2 Detroit College   –   3 – 2 – 0 Doane   –   3 – 2 – 1 Butler   –   4 – 3 – 1 Rose Poly   –   4 – 4 – 0 North Dakota Agricultural   –   2 – 3 – 0 Miami (OH)   –   2 – 4 – 1 Carthage   –   2 – 4 – 0 Ohio Northern   –   2 – 5 – 0 Iowa State Teachers   –   1 – 4 – 1 Haskell   –   2 – 7 – 0 Heidelberg   –   1 – 7 – 0 Michigan State Normal   –   0 – 5 – 1 Ohio   –   0 – 6 – 1	1910 Southern college football independents records v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central University   –   9 – 0 – 0 Louisiana Industrial   –   7 – 0 – 0 Stetson   –   3 – 0 – 0 Navy   –   8 – 0 – 1 North Carolina A&M   –   4 – 0 – 2 Spring Hill   –   3 – 0 – 1 Texas A&M   –   8 – 1 – 0 Arkansas   –   7 – 1 – 0 Florida   –   6 – 1 – 0 Baylor   –   6 – 1 – 1 Georgetown   –   6 – 1 – 1 Marshall   –   5 – 1 – 1 Kentucky State   –   7 – 2 – 0 Texas   –   6 – 2 – 0 Virginia   –   6 – 2 – 0 Southwestern Louisiana Industrial   –   6 – 2 – 1 Chattanooga   –   5 – 2 – 1 Kendall   –   2 – 1 – 1 Maryland   –   4 – 3 – 1 Oklahoma   –   4 – 2 – 1 Washington and Lee   –   4 – 3 – 0 South Carolina   –   4 – 4 – 0 Birmingham   –   3 – 3 – 1 VMI   –   3 – 3 – 1 Davidson   –   3 – 4 – 2 Oklahoma A&M   –   3 – 4 – 0 West Virginia   –   2 – 4 – 1 Catholic University   –   2 – 4 – 0 North Carolina   –   3 – 6 – 0 George Washington   –   2 – 2 – 2 Wake Forest   –   2 – 7 – 0 Delaware   –   1 – 2 – 2 Mississippi College   –   0 – 4 – 0 Southwest Texas State   –   0 – 4 – 0 Tulane   –   0 – 7 – 0
1910 Western college football independents records v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Washington   –   6 – 0 – 0 USC   –   7 – 0 – 1 Oregon   –   4 – 1 – 0 Utah Agricultural   –   5 – 2 – 0 Hawaii   –   4 – 2 – 0 Idaho   –   4 – 2 – 0 Montana   –   3 – 2 – 1 Oregon Agricultural   –   3 – 2 – 1 New Mexico A&M   –   3 – 2 – 0 Wyoming   –   4 – 4 – 0 Washington State   –   2 – 3 – 0 New Mexico   –   0 – 3 – 0

Minor conferences

Conference	Champion(s)	Record
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	Kansas State Agricultural	4–0
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Alma	1–0
Ohio Athletic Conference	Oberlin	3–0–1

Minor conference standings

1910 Eastern Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Randolph–Macon $ 3 – 0 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Hampden–Sydney 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 William & Mary 1 – 2 – 0 1 – 7 – 1 Richmond 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1910 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southern Illinois   –   –   7 – 1 – 0	1910 Missouri Valley Conference for Black Schools football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lincoln (MO) $ 1 – 0 – 0 2 – 0 – 0 Western University 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 2 – 0 Lawrence Athletics 1 – 1 – 0 1 – 1 – 0 George R. Smith   –   0 – 0 – 0 Topeka Industrial Institute   –   0 – 0 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1910 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Oberlin $ 3 – 0 – 1 5 – 1 – 2 Case 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 1 Ohio State 5 – 1 – 2 5 – 1 – 3 Cincinnati 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Western Reserve 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Ohio Wesleyan 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Miami (OH) 1 – 1 – 0 2 – 4 – 1 Denison 3 – 4 – 2 3 – 4 – 2 Wooster 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 Kenyon 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 Wittenberg 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Ohio 0 – 1 – 0 0 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion

Awards and honors

All-Americans

Main article: 1910 College Football All-America Team

The consensus All-America team included Walter Camp's selections:

Position	Name	Height	Weight (lbs.)	Class	Hometown	Team
QB	Earl Sprackling	5'9"	150	Jr.	Cleveland, Ohio	Brown
HB	Percy Wendell			So.	Roxbury, Massachusetts	Harvard
HB	Talbot Pendleton					Princeton
FB	Leroy Mercer			So.		Penn
E	Stanfield Wells			Jr.	Massillon, Ohio	Michigan
T	Robert McKay			Sr.		Harvard
G	Albert Benbrook		240	Sr.	Chicago, Illinois	Michigan
C	Ernest Cozens			Sr.		Penn
G	Bob Fisher			Jr.	Boston, Massachusetts	Harvard
T	James Walker					Minnesota
E	John Kilpatrick					Yale

References

1. Official 2009 NCAA Division I Football Records Book (PDF). Indianapolis, IN: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2009. p. 70. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
2. "New Football As Walter Camp Sees It", New York Times, September 15, 1910
3. "Features of New Football Rules". Davenport Daily Times . Davenport, Iowa. September 21, 1910. p. 8. Retrieved November 29, 2024– via newspapers.com.
4. Danzig, Allison (1956). The History of American Football: Its Great Teams, Players, and Coaches . Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. pp.  70–71.^{[ better source needed ]}
5. "Football Under New Rules Starts To-Day", New York Times, September 24, 1910
6. "Death toll of football season". Eugene Daily Guard. Oregon. November 23, 1910. p. 6.