AFCA Blue Ribbon Commission Champion 1934

Teams named national champions by NCAA-designated selectors
(Underline: claimed title season; +: co-champion/split selection)

	Alabama	Minnesota	Pittsburgh
Overall Record	10-0	8-0	8-1
Opponent Win %	0.531	0.522	0.595
+.500 Opponent	5	3	5
Average PF-PA	31.6-4.5	33.8-4.8	22.8-4.9
FBS Record	9-0	7-0	7-1
FBS Opponent Win %	0.540	0.509	0.628
Average FBS PF-PA	32.4-5.0	30.6-3.7	21.9-5.5
Conference Record	7-0	5-0	Independent
Non-Home games	3	3	3
SOS (S-R/BR)	39/32	25/28	17/20

This is arguably the easiest pool of teams so far, as these are the only 3 teams that claim a title for the season. Alabama and Minnesota were the only teams that received selections from either NCAA or CFBDW-designated selectors. Pittsburgh claims this season on the basis of a Sports Illustrated article in the 1960s that stated they were a co-champion selection by Parke Davis’ successor (Davis had passed away prior to the 1934 season: his successor at Spalding’s Official Football Guide wasn’t recognized as an official NCAA selector afterward). The Panthers had arguably the best schedule of the group, with wins over Top 25-caliber Navy and Notre Dame along with a win over top 50 Nebraska (the Navy game was the Midshipmen’s only loss on the year). However, Pitt lost at home to Minnesota in what would be the nation’s marquee game on the year. Had they managed to beat or tie Minnesota to secure an unbeaten record, they very well could’ve been considered for the best team in the country. However, with the loss to the Gophers, the choice is narrowed down to 2 teams: Alabama and Minnesota.

Alabama completed their first undefeated season under Wallace Wade’s successor, Frank Thomas. The Crimson Tide won a share of the SEC title for the 2nd straight year and captured their 3rd Rose Bowl title. They had the 2nd-best opponent win percentage of the contender group; despite being considered having the worst SOS ratings of the group. Alabama had 2 wins over Top 10-caliber teams (Stanford, Tennessee) along with wins over 2 teams pushing Top 25 consideration (Georgia, Vanderbilt). The Rose Bowl victory over the Cardinal was the only intersectional game played the Tide played this year in what was the marquee postseason game of the year: long the only postseason game, the “Granddaddy of Them All” were joined by the Orange, Sugar, and Sun bowls this season. They had an average MOV of 27.1 points (27.4 for FBS-only games) on the year. The Crimson Tide were named #1 by 3 of the contemporary NCAA-designated selectors.

Minnesota, under legendary coach Bernie Bierman, would win the Big 10 outright this year and were entering their golden era of the sport. The Golden Gophers, as mentioned, won at consensus Top 3-caliber Pitt in the nation’s marquee game on the year. While they’re considered to have the 2nd-best SOS ratings among the contenders, the Pitt contest was their only game over Top 25-caliber competition and 1 of only 3 games against teams with a winning record. Minnesota’s best wins beyond that (Chicago, Indiana, Nebraska, Wisconsin) were top 50 caliber. The Wisconsin win helped give transitive chains over the Big 10’s 2nd- and 3rd-place teams (Illinois and Ohio State teams with identical 7-1 records), which help offset the favorable league schedule. Their non-FBS opponent, North Dakota State, was better than Alabama and Pitt’s non-FBS foes. They had the best average MOV overall among the contenders with a 29-point average (but dropped just behind Alabama in FBS-only games). The Gophers were named #1 by the other 3 contemporary NCAA-designated selectors on the year, as well as in the very 1st AP sportswriter poll ever done (although it didn’t become a regular thing until 1936, and was done in mid-November with games still left to play).

Both teams are virtually dead-even in their bodies of work and split the contemporary selectors. Judging off the AP poll mentioned, sportswriters favored Minnesota, and they also got the edge in retroactive selectors as well. Because of the sportswriter favor and the edge of selectors after the fact, I think the Gophers would have the edge for Tier 1 of having the best case for a retroactive Coaches Trophy from the Blue Ribbon Commission. However, Alabama has a great case, playing more winning teams, playing 2 more games, and winning the crown jewel of the postseason. I could very easily see this being a season where the Blue Ribbon Commission might elect to crown co-champions between the Gophers and Crimson Tide.

Tier 1 (Best Case to be awarded AFCA Trophy): Minnesota
Tier 2 (Legitimate case for champion/co-champion): Alabama
Tier 3 (Minor Contender, could make a case): None
Tier 4 (Not Serious Contenders): Pittsburgh