The 1922 college football season had a number of unbeaten and untied teams, and no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing California, Cornell, Iowa, Princeton, and Vanderbilt as national champions. California, Cornell, and Princeton were all picked by multiple selectors.
Andy Smith's Pacific Coast Conference champion "Wonder Team" at California continued on its streak since 1920. Eastern power Cornell was coached by Gil Dobie and led by one of the sport's great backfields with George Pfann, Eddie Kaw, Floyd Ramsey, and Charles E. Cassidy. Bill Roper's Princeton team was dubbed the "team of destiny" by Grantland Rice after defeating Chicago 21âÂÂ18 in the first game nationally broadcast on radio. Today, college football on radio is common for nearly every game in every division. On the same day, Cal defeated USC at the dedication of Rose Bowl Stadium.
The Southern Conference would begin its first season of football in 1922. Vanderbilt tied with North Carolina and Georgia Tech for the conference championship. The Commodores tied Michigan 0–0 on October 14 at the dedication of Dudley Field, the South's first permanent college football stadium. On the same day, Big Ten champion Iowa upset Yale.
The 1923 Rose Bowl at season's end was the first called the "Rose Bowl" and was held in the newly constructed stadium. In the first bowl appearance for either team, USC beat Penn State 14–3.
The West Virginia Mountaineers played the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the only other bowl game this season, the San Diego East-West Christmas Classic. WVU won 21âÂÂ13.
The 1922 season included the new "try for a point" rule. One was allowed to either kick an extra point after a touchdown as usual, or to place the ball anywhere beyond the five yard line and try to score either by touchdown or by a kick, and receive the one point if successful. On the "try for a point," any foul by the defense awarded the offense the point, and any foul by the offense made the try no good
September 30 Harvard beat Middlebury 20âÂÂ0, Princeton beat Johns Hopkins 30âÂÂ0, and Cornell beat St. Bonaventure 55âÂÂ6. Vanderbilt opened its season with a 38âÂÂ0 win over Middle Tennessee Normal (now MTSU). Baylor beat North Texas 55âÂÂ0 California beat Santa Clara 45âÂÂ14.
October 7 Princeton defeated Virginia 5âÂÂ0, Harvard beat Holy Cross 20âÂÂ0, and Cornell beat Niagara 66âÂÂ0 Vanderbilt beat Henderson-Brown College 33âÂÂ0 North Carolina lost to Yale at New Haven, 18âÂÂ0. Iowa beat Knox College 61âÂÂ0, and Michigan defeated Case 48âÂÂ0. Chicago beat Georgia 20–0 Drake opened its season with a win over Cornell College of Iowa, 16âÂÂ0 Baylor beat Hardin-Simmons 42âÂÂ0 In a meeting with the visiting Mare Island Marines service team, California routed them 80âÂÂ0.
October 14 Princeton beat Colgate 10âÂÂ0, Harvard defeated Bowdoin 15âÂÂ0, and Cornell beat New Hampshire 68âÂÂ7 At New Haven, Iowa defeated Yale 6âÂÂ0. In the first game between Eastern and Western teams of the college football season, Iowa dominated Yale. Yale lost to a Western team for the first time ever.
In Nashville, Michigan and Vanderbilt played to a 0âÂÂ0 tie at the inaugural game for Dudley Field, the first dedicated football-only stadium in the South in the style of the Eastern schools. After beating Duke 20âÂÂ0 in a Thursday game, North Carolina beat South Carolina, 10âÂÂ7. Centre gave VPI its only loss of the season. Drake defeated Kansas 6âÂÂ0. California beat St. Mary's 41âÂÂ0.
October 21 Harvard had been shocked the year before in a 6âÂÂ0 upset by the "Prayin' Colonels" of Centre College of Danville, Kentucky. In the rematch, the Crimson beat Centre 24âÂÂ10. Princeton recorded another shutout, blanking Maryland 26âÂÂ0. Cornell defeated Colgate 14âÂÂ0.
In Dallas, Vanderbilt and Texas, both unbeaten, met at the State Fair, with the Commodores winning 20âÂÂ10. In Houston, Baylor defeated Rice 31âÂÂ0. North Carolina won at NC State, 14âÂÂ9. Georgia beat Tennessee 7–3.
Iowa won at Illinois 8âÂÂ7, and Michigan won at Ohio State 19âÂÂ0; In St. Louis, Drake beat Washington University, 31âÂÂ7 Baylor beat Arkansas 60âÂÂ13 California shut out the Olympic Club team, 25âÂÂ0.
October 28 In the first football game ever broadcast nationally on the radio Princeton (4âÂÂ0âÂÂ0) traveled to the University of Chicago (3âÂÂ0âÂÂ0) for a rematch of Chicago's 1921 win. The game was witnessed by 32,000 fans, and listened to on New York's WEAF radio station. John Thomas ran for three touchdowns and Chicago's Maroons led 18âÂÂ7 as the fourth quarter began, but a 40âÂÂyard fumble return closed the gap. In the closing minutes, Princeton back Harry Crum was buried under a pile of players as he plunged toward the goal line, and when the mass was untangled, it was a touchdown. With the help of a superior kicking game, Princeton won 21âÂÂ18.
Harvard defeated Dartmouth 12âÂÂ3. Iowa beat Purdue 56âÂÂ0, and Michigan beat Illinois 24âÂÂ0 Baylor beat Mississippi College 40âÂÂ7
Vanderbilt beat Mercer 25âÂÂ0 North Carolina defeated Maryland 27âÂÂ3
California was 4âÂÂ0âÂÂ0, and USC was 5âÂÂ0âÂÂ0, when the teams met in Pasadena. Cal had a 2âÂÂ0 lead at halftime, and held off USC on two goal line stands, before scoring a touchdown and a field goal to win 12âÂÂ0.
November 4 Princeton beat Swarthmore, 22âÂÂ13. Cornell (5âÂÂ0âÂÂ0) trounced Columbia, which had been 4âÂÂ1âÂÂ0, by a score of 56âÂÂ0. Harvard beat the visiting Florida Gators 24âÂÂ0. In the Gators' first ever game against a traditional northeastern college football power, the Gators stopped in Washington, D. C. and were greeted by President Warren Harding. The 1922 Spalding's Football Guide ranked Florida as the best forward passing team in the country. The 1922 Florida freshmen won the southern crown for freshmen squads.
The Alabama Crimson Tide had its first intersectional victory, 9–6 over John Heisman's Penn. Alabama coach Xen C. Scott resigned due to cancer at year's end. Vanderbilt won at Tennessee, 14âÂÂ6. In New Orleans, North Carolina defeated Tulane 19âÂÂ12.
Michigan beat Michigan State 63âÂÂ0, having outscored its opponents 154âÂÂ0 in its first five games. Drake defeated Iowa State 14âÂÂ7
Baylor beat Texas A&M 13âÂÂ7. California defeated Washington State, 61âÂÂ0.
November 11 Princeton and Harvard were both unbeaten(6âÂÂ0âÂÂ0) when the Tigers travelled to Cambridge to face the Crimson. Princeton had not won on Harvard's home field since 1896, and 54,000 turned out to watch. Although both teams were unbeaten, Harvard was heavily favored to overcome the young Tiger team, and led 3âÂÂ0 early in the game. On the 18 yard line, though, the Tigers outsmarted Harvard with a triple pass that set up Harry Crum's touchdown run, and went on to win 10âÂÂ3. Grantland Rice wrote the next day, "Crimson shadows around Cambridge way were thicker tonight than the Chinese wall and as deep as the darkness of Stygia itself..."
At the Polo Grounds, Cornell beat Dartmouth, with the Big Red overcoming the Big Green, 23âÂÂ0. In Boston, Baylor lost to Boston College, 33âÂÂ0.
In Seattle, California (7âÂÂ0âÂÂ0) faced Washington (5âÂÂ0âÂÂ0) in a battle of unbeatens, and handed the Huskies their first defeat, 45âÂÂ7.
Iowa beat Minnesota 28âÂÂ14, and Michigan beat Wisconsin 13âÂÂ6; Drake beat Colorado State, 19âÂÂ6 Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 9âÂÂ0 North Carolina beat VMI 9âÂÂ7 at Richmond.
November 18 Princeton beat Yale, 3âÂÂ0, to close a perfect season. Cornell beat Albright, 48âÂÂ14 Harvard lost its second straight game, falling 3âÂÂ0 to Brown Iowa won at Ohio State 12âÂÂ9 to stay unbeaten. Drake defeated Grinnell College. 21âÂÂ0 Baylor beat Oklahoma State, 10âÂÂ0 Vanderbilt won at Georgia 12âÂÂ0. Auburn upset Centre 6–0. The 1922 Tigers are considered one of Auburn's greatest football teams. At Charlotte, NC, North Carolina defeated Davidson 20âÂÂ6. California defeated Nevada, 61âÂÂ13.
November 25 Harvard won at Yale, 10âÂÂ3. California closed its season with a 28âÂÂ0 win at Stanford. Iowa closed its season at 7âÂÂ0âÂÂ0 with a win over Northwestern 37âÂÂ3, Michigan won at Minnesota 16âÂÂ7; Drake won at Mississippi State in Starkville, 48âÂÂ6
November 30 was Thanksgiving Day in 1922. In Philadelphia, Cornell defeated Penn 6âÂÂ3. In Dallas, Baylor defeated SMU, 24âÂÂ0, to win the Southwest Conference title. The following week, Baylor lost to the Haskell Indians team, 21âÂÂ20. North Carolina closed its season with a 10âÂÂ7 win at Virginia, to finish at 9âÂÂ1âÂÂ0. Vanderbilt beat Sewanee, 26âÂÂ0, to close at 8âÂÂ0âÂÂ1.
In the 1923 Rose Bowl, USC defeated Penn State, 14âÂÂ3. Though USC had an overall record of 9âÂÂ1 coming into the game, the Trojans finished fourth place in Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) play, behind California, Oregon, and Washington, having been defeated by PCC champion California. Penn State won its first five games, then only one of the next five, and had a 6âÂÂ4âÂÂ1 record at season's end.
The 1922 San Diego East-West Christmas Classic was played on December 25 at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, California. The West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs, 21 to 13, to finish the season undefeated with a 10âÂÂ0âÂÂ1 record.
Three different "retro polls", taken years later and based on opinions drawn from historical research, reached different conclusions. The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, declared retroactively that Cornell (8âÂÂ0) was the best, while the College Football Researchers Association (CFRA) recognized Princeton (8âÂÂ0), and the National Championship Foundation (NCF) cited California (9âÂÂ0) and Princeton as best. The Princeton team was dubbed the "team of destiny" by Grantland Rice after defeating Chicago in the first game nationally broadcast on radio. Today, college football on radio is common for nearly every game in every division.
The other unbeaten and untied team was Iowa (7âÂÂ0), which canceled its game with unbeaten Drake that year. Other teams that had no defeats in 1922 were West Virginia (10âÂÂ0âÂÂ1), Vanderbilt (8âÂÂ0âÂÂ1), Michigan (6âÂÂ0âÂÂ1), and Army (8âÂÂ0âÂÂ2). Clyde Berryman retroactively selected Vanderbilt, which tied Michigan, as a national champion.
The consensus All-America team included: