AFCA Blue Ribbon Commission 1944

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

Note: What I have listed above is different from what is listed in the NCAA FBS record books in terms of selectors. Army is credited as a sole champion for Billingsley in the record book. However, on the CFRC’s website (Billingsley’s website, which lists results of his non-MOV version of his ratings), Ohio State is listed as #1. I reached out to CFRC about that, they confirmed that 1944 should be listed as a split title – that was erroneously listed instead on the 1945 season in the NCAA books.

	Army	Ohio State
Record	9-0	9-0
Opponent Win %	0.549	0.546
+.500 Opponents	5	5
Average PF-PA	56.0-3.9	31.9-8.8
FBS Record	9-0	9-0
FBS Opponent Win %	0.549	0.546
Average FBS PF-PA	56.0-3.9	31.9-8.8
Conference Record	Independent	6-0
Non-Home games	4	2
SOS (S-R/BR)	15/19	10/6

Just like 1942, this season is shaping up to be a pretty easy as well. Only 4 teams received selections from CFBDW, with 2 of those being service teams. There were several that didn’t make the cutoff for a deep-dive breakdown. Yale posted its 1st unbeaten season since 1923 but didn’t play a particularly strong schedule. In addition, all of their games were at home, and they played nobody that would’ve been Top 25-caliber. PCC champ USC went unbeaten on the year with a win over Top 25-caliber/SEC champ Tennessee in the Rose Bowl. However, their regular season schedule – which consisted only of West Coast teams, 6 home games, and none outside of California – wasn’t viewed as favorably. Only 2 regular season opponents (St. Mary’s Pre-Flight, Washington) were top 50-caliber, and they suffered ties at home to Cal and UCLA squad that failed to crack top 50 consideration (they did beat both teams as well, as USC in 1943 and 1944 played both of those schools twice in a season). MVC champ Oklahoma State put together a strong year capped by a victory over SWC champ TCU in the Cotton Bowl. The Cowboys defeated 3 Top 25-caliber teams (Big 8 champ Oklahoma, Texas, Orange Bowl champ Tulsa), in addition to the Horned Frogs (pushing Top 25 consideration) and top 50-caliber Arkansas. Unfortunately, a home loss to their best opponent (unbeaten Norman NAS with CFBDW selections) spoiled serious national title hopes from the contemporary selectors. Ultimately, the cases of these teams pale in comparsion to the 2 perfect teams that get the deep dive.

Army, under Hall of Fame coach Earl Blaik, would benefit from an influx of talent from the ongoing war effort and relaxed eligibility requirements, essentially allowing the Cadets to ‘draft’ players and hang on to them longer than schools that had received talent influx from the Navy V-12 program. A change in policies for the academy’s head coach (prior to Blaik, West Point required that the football coach had to be an active servicemember) and removal of restrictive weight requirements (which hampered personnel, especially linemen) also worked to the academy’s benefit. Army put together a record-breaking year in 1944 enroute to their 1st unbeaten season since 1922. They were led by consensus All-Americans (and future Heisman winners) Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis among a group of 7 All-Americans and 6 College Football HOF members. They defeated 4 Top 25-caliber teams (Duke, Navy, Notre Dame, Penn) and 2 more top 50 caliber teams (Coast Guard, Pittsburgh). The schedule was slightly home-heavy, with 5 home games and 2 of the non-home games taking place in New York City (downriver from the West Point campus). The schedule does have the advantage of having national relevance, with the Cadets facing teams from the South (playing North Carolina in addition to the Sugar Bowl champ Blue Devils) and Midwest (Notre Dame). That said, the biggest advantage Army has was their dominance against their schedule. The Cadets posted scoring records that still stand to this day in the NCAA record books: most points per game, highest scoring margin, and most touchdowns per game. Army ran away with the AP Poll crown and swept the other 6 contemporary selectors. Overall, the Cadets were named champions – either outright or as co-champon – by all of the NCAA-designated selectors.

Ohio State – under coach Carroll Widdoes, Heisman Trophy winner Les Horvath, and consensus All-Americans Bill Hackett and Jack Duggar – posted their 1st unbeaten season since 1917 and won the Big 10 for the 2nd time in the decade. The Buckeyes defeated 5 Top 25-caliber teams (Great Lakes NTS, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota) and 3 more top 50 caliber teams (Missouri, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin). Their schedule was much more home-heavy than Army’s, as the Buckeyes played 7 home games and 1 of their non-home games took place in Cleveland. In addition, Pittsburgh was the only team they faced that wasn’t from the Midwest region (although playing Great Lakes NTS helps since they were a military team with players from around the country). Ohio State’s win over rival Michigan was probably the best win nationally, although it was the only game the Buckeyes didn’t win by double digits. While they didn’t receive any contemporary selections for the national title, they split retroactive selections from 3 NCAA-designated selectors. Something to take into consideration is Richard Billingsley’s work and research. As noted, Billingsley’s College Football Encyclopedia was a major source in the BRC’s research. In Billingsley’s rating system that didn’t factor in scoring/MOV, Ohio State actually beat out Army for the #1 spot.

For the Blue Ribbon Commission, there are going to be several factors at stake when determining who has the best case. Ohio State has arguably a stronger schedule than Army based on the numbers, but probably not strong enough to offset Army’s dominance of their schedule. In addition, the Cadets’ schedule wasn’t as home-heavy as the Buckeyes’ was, and the Cadets were more dominant against the only common opponent between the 2 (Pitt). The Buckeyes probably would’ve benefitted from a postseason game, but the Big 10 was still 2 seasons away from allowing any teams from bowl participation when they began their agreement with the Rose Bowl. Another factor to consider is that Army was essentially an all-star team due to the reasons I listed above. While it makes for an uphill battle due to how Army dominated, you could rationalize it to favor Ohio State since they accomplished their feats without a cherry-picked roster. I think ultimately, Army ends up as the Tier 1 team as having a best case for the retroactive Coaches Trophy. Ohio State would definitely be Tier 2, although their case to be co-champion or sole champion would be very tough thanks to Army’s performance. USC and Oklahoma State would be my longshots; Yale I just can’t justify even as a longshot due to everything working against them.

Tier 1 (Best Case to be awarded AFCA Trophy): Army
Tier 2 (Legitimate case for champion/co-champion): Ohio State
Tier 3 (Minor Contender, could make a case): none
Tier 4 (Not Serious Contenders): Oklahoma State, Southern California