1947 college football season

American college football season August 2023 1947 Notre Dame 13 Notre Dame (AP)Michigan (AP (special postseason poll) various others How many national championships does Michigan have? |https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2024/01/08/michigan-football-national-championships-how-many-wolverines-1997/72108704007/ ) Johnny Lujack(quarterback, Notre Dame) The 1947 college football season finished with Notre Dame, Michigan, and Penn State all unbeaten and untied, but the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame were the first place choice for 107 of the 142 voters in the final regular season AP poll in early December, and repeated as national champions.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=n2MwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jWoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4145%2C4558743 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Associated Press Notre Dame team again voted best in country December 9, 1947 17 Michigan was selected for the top spot by six contemporary math systems.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2020/FBS.pdf 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records The National Collegiate Athletic Association July 2020 Indianapolis January 12, 2021 November 1, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201101032438/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2020/FBS.pdf live Second-ranked Michigan met #8 USC in the Rose Bowl and won 49–0, while fourth-ranked Penn State was tied 13–13 by #3 SMU in the Cotton Bowl; Notre Dame didn't participate in the postseason for over four decades (until the 1969 season). A special post-bowl AP poll was conducted with Michigan and Notre Dame as the only options, and Michigan won by a vote of 226 to 119.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=o5dRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TWoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4760%2C1433224 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Associated Press Sports writers choose Michigan almost 2 to 1 January 7, 1948 16 During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". The NCAA did recognize a national champion based upon the final results of the Associated Press poll of sportswriters (the United Press Coaches Poll started in 1950). The extent of that recognition came in the form of acknowledgment in the annual NCAA Football Guide of the "unofficial" national champions.November 2025 Conference and program changes Conference changes Two conferences began play in 1947: Mid-American Conference – an active NCAA Division I FBS conference; formed by five members from Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Yankee Conference – an NCAA Division I–AA conference active through the 1997 season and one of the predecessors to the modern Colonial Athletic Association; formed by six members from around New England, many from the recently disbanded New England Conference. One conference played its final season in 1947: Indiana Intercollegiate Conference – conference active in football since the 1923 season. Membership changes School 1946 Conference 1947 Conference Butler Bulldogs Indiana Intercollegiate Conference MAC Cincinnati Bearcats Independent MAC Connecticut Huskies New England Yankee Maine Black Bears New England Yankee Massachusetts Redmen Independent Yankee New Hampshire Wildcats New England Yankee Ohio Bobcats Independent MAC Rhode Island State Rams New England Yankee Vermont Catamounts Independent Yankee Western Reserve Red Cats Independent MAC Season chronology September The Associated Press did not poll the writers until after the games of October 4. Among the five teams that had been ranked highest in 1946 (Notre Dame, Army, Georgia, UCLA and Illinois), Georgia opened on September 20 with a 34–7 win over Southern Mississippi and UCLA hosted Iowa the following Friday and won 22–7. The next day, September 27, Army beat Villanova 13–0, Illinois beat Pittsburgh 14–0, and Georgia beat Tennessee 27–0. October On October 4 Notre Dame won at Pittsburgh 40–6. Army shut out visiting Colorado 47–0. Georgia beat Tulane in New Orleans, 20–0. UCLA lost at Northwestern 27–26. Illinois won at Iowa 35–12. When the first poll came out that Monday, Notre Dame was the favorite of a bare majority (52 of 103) of the voters, followed by No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Georgia Tech and No. 5 Army. Illinois was ranked 6th, Penn 7th, California 8th, Georgia 9th, and Vanderbilt 10th. On October 11 No. 1 Notre Dame won at Purdue, 22–7. No. 2 Michigan beat Pittsburgh, 69–0. In Dallas, No. 3 Texas beat No. 15 Oklahoma 34–14. No. 4 Georgia Tech beat VMI, 20–0, for its third shutout in three starts. No. 5 Army and No. 6 Illinois met at Yankee Stadium in New York, and played to a 0–0 tie. In the next poll, Michigan and Notre Dame switched places at No. 1 and No. 2, while Texas stayed at No. 3. California, which won at Wisconsin 48–7, rose from eighth to fourth, with Georgia Tech falling to No. 5. October 18 No. 1 Michigan won at Northwestern, 49–21. No. 2 Notre Dame shut out visiting Nebraska, 31–0. No. 3 Texas met Arkansas at a neutral location in Memphis, Tennessee, and won 21–6. No. 4 California beat Washington State, 21–6. No. 5 Georgia Tech defeated Auburn 27–7 to stay unbeaten, but was voted out of the Top Five. No. 6 Illinois, which beat No. 13 Minnesota 40–13, rose to fifth. October 25 No. 1 Michigan stayed unbeaten, with a 13–6 win over Minnesota, as did No. 2 Notre Dame, which defeated Iowa, 21–0. No. 3 Texas beat Rice, 12–0. No. 4 California lost to No. 10 USC, 39–14. No. 5 Illinois lost at Purdue, 14–7. No. 8 Penn beat Navy, 21–0. The Irish rose to No. 1 in the next poll, with a 78–69 lead in votes over No. 2 Michigan. They were followed by No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Penn, and No. 5 USC. November November 1 No. 1 Notre Dame and Navy met in Cleveland, with the Fighting Irish registering their third straight shutout, 27–0. No. 2 Michigan won at No. 11 Illinois, 14–7. In Dallas, No. 3 Texas (6–0–0) faced unbeaten (5–0–0) No. 8 Southern Methodist University, and the SMU Mustangs won 14–13. No. 4 Pennsylvania won at Princeton, 26–7, to stay unbeaten. In Seattle, No. 5 USC beat Washington 19–0. SMU and Texas exchanged places at No. 3 and No. 8, with the other top teams remaining the same. November 8 No. 1 Notre Dame hosted No. 9 Army and won 27–7. No. 2 Michigan beat Indiana 35–0. No. 3 SMU won at Texas A&M, 13–0. No. 4 Pennsylvania beat No. 10 Virginia, 19–7, and moved up to No. 3 with SMU down to fourth. No. 5 USC beat Stanford, 14–0. November 15 No. 1 Notre Dame had more points scored against it than at any other time in the season, but won at unranked Northwestern, 26–19. Meanwhile, No. 2 Michigan faced No. 9 Wisconsin in Madison and won 40–6, raising it back up to first place in the next poll. No. 3 Pennsylvania and No. 13 Army played to a 7–7 tie in Philadelphia. No. 4 SMU stayed unbeaten with a 14–6 win over Arkansas. No. 5 USC was idle. The next poll featured No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 SMU, No. 4 USC, and Penn State (which had just beaten Navy 20-7) at No. 5. November 22 No. 1 Michigan closed its season at 9–0–0 with a 21–0 win over Ohio State, and accepted an invitation to meet No. 4 USC (which beat No. 18 UCLA 6–0) in the Rose Bowl. Meanwhile, No. 3 SMU won 10–0 at Baylor, and No. 5 Penn State won at Pitt, 29–0. Both unbeaten, they accepted invitations to the Cotton Bowl Classic. No. 2 Notre Dame thrashed Tulane, 59–6 and yet again switched places with Michigan in the rankings. The Irish were restored to the top spot by the AP voters, with 97 first place votes to Michigan's 81. November 29 No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan, No. 4 USC, and No. 5 Penn State were idle. No. 3 SMU was tied in a game at TCU, 19–19, and fell to fourth with USC moving up to No. 3. December 6 No. 1 Notre Dame (8–0–0) and No. 3 USC (7–0–1) met in Los Angeles, with the Irish cementing their hold on the No. 1 ranking, 38–7. No. 2 Michigan, No. 4 SMU and No. 5 Penn State had completed their regular seasons, with bowls to come. The final AP poll featured No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 SMU, No. 4 Penn State, and No. 5 Texas as the top teams. Conference standings Major conference standings Major independents Minor conferences ConferenceChampion(s)RecordAlabama Intercollegiate Conference Jacksonville State 9–0California Collegiate Athletic Association Pacific (CA) 5–0 Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association Shaw 6–0 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Kansas State Teachers 4–0–1 College Conference of Illinois North Central (IL) 5–1 Dakota-Iowa Athletic Conference Buena VistaWestmar 3–1–1 Far Western Conference Northern Branch College of AgricultureSouthern Oregon College 3–1 Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Butler 4–0–1 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Upper Iowa 5–0 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Ottawa (KS) 6–0 Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference Louisiana Tech 5–0 Lone Star Conference North Texas State Teachers 6–0 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association KalamazooHillsdale 3–0–2 Mid-American Conference Cincinnati 3–1 Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference Lawrence 5–1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference MacalesterSaint Thomas (MN) 4–0 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Missouri School of Mines 4–1 Nebraska College Conference Chadron StateNebraska Wesleyan 5–1–1 New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference Sul Ross 5–0 North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Iowa State Teachers (Northern Iowa)South Dakota 4–0 North Dakota College Athletic Conference Valley City State 6–1 Ohio Athletic Conference Denison 5–0 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference Southeastern State College (OK) 5–0 Pacific Northwest Conference Willamette 6–0 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Lock Haven State TeachersMansfield State Teachers 5–1–14–1–1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Montana State College 1–0 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference Northern State Teachers (SD) 2–0 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Redlands 4–0 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Florida A&M College 5–0 Southwestern Athletic Conference Southern 7–0 State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota Bemidji State TeachersMoorhead State TeachersWinona State Teachers 3–1 Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference Hardin–SimmonsMcMurry (TX) 4–1 Washington Intercollegiate Conference Eastern Washington CollegePacific Lutheran 4–1 Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference North: River Falls State TeachersSouth: Milwaukee State Teachers 4–04–0 Minor conference standings Non-major independents Rankings 1947 college football rankings Bowl games Major bowls Bowl game Winning team Losing team Rose Bowl No. 2 Michigan 49 No. 8 USC 0 Sugar Bowl No. 5 Texas 27 No. 6 Alabama 7 Orange Bowl No. 10 Georgia Tech 20 No. 12 Kansas 14 Cotton Bowl Classic No. 3 SMU 13 No. 4 Penn State 13 Other bowls Bowl game Winning team Losing team Sun Bowl Miami (OH) 13 Texas Tech 12 Gator Bowl Georgia 20 Maryland 20 Tangerine Bowl Catawba 7 Marshall 0 Dixie Bowl Arkansas 21 No. 14 William & Mary 19 Raisin Bowl Pacific (CA) 26 Wichita 14 Harbor Bowl Hardin–Simmons 53 San Diego State 0 Salad Bowl Nevada 13 North Texas State 6 Delta Bowl No. 13 Ole Miss 13 TCU 9 Great Lakes Bowl Kentucky 24 Villanova 14Pineapple BowlHawaii33Redlands32 Heisman Trophy voting The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player Player School Position Total Johnny Lujack Notre Dame QB 742 Bob Chappuis Michigan HB 555 Doak Walker SMU HB 196 Charlie Conerly Ole Miss HB/QB 186 Harry Gilmer Alabama HB 115 Bobby Layne Texas QB 75 Chuck Bednarik Penn C 65 Bill Swiacki Columbia E 61 Source: https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=41wbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GU0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6431%2C502413 Pittsburgh Press United Press Lujack to receive Heisman Trophy December 2, 1947 28https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0XxWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lOUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4518%2C299211 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Lujack awarded Heisman Trophy December 2, 1948 12 See also 1947 College Football All-America Team References