1949 AFCA Blue Ribbon Commisssion

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

	Army	Notre Dame	Oklahoma
Record	9-0	10-0	11-0
Opponent Win %	0.406	0.495	0.518
+.500 Opponents	3	5	5
Average PF-PA	39.3-7.6	36.0-8.6	36.3-8.0
FBS Record	9-0	10-0	11-0
FBS Opponent Win %	0.406	0.495	0.518
Average FBS PF-PA	39.3-7.6	36.0-8.6	36.3-8.0
Conference Record	Independent	Independent	5-0
Non-Home games	4	6	6
SOS (S-R/BR)	64/48	17/10	33/29

Well, I finally reached the finish line in my analysis for teams that are worthy of or should consider inquiring about a retroactive AFCA Coaches Trophy. As with the other seasons, there were a few teams that would’ve been close to consideration but ultimately didn’t make the cut. The most notable teams that missed the cut were California, Ohio State, and Rice. The Golden Bears won the PCC title and finished #3 in the final AP poll after a perfect regular season but were upended in the Rose Bowl for the 2nd year in a row. Speaking of the Big 9 champ Buckeyes, they were a highly rated team themselves, but suffered a blowout loss and 2 ties, which kept them out of consideration. The Owls were the top team in a solid SWC this year, but an early season loss to an eventual 3-loss LSU put them behind the 8 ball. Another team that didn’t receive consideration was 11-0 Pacific, who finished #10 in the final AP Poll and had what would’ve easily been the nation’s best scoring offense and defense – had the Tigers been considered an FBS-equivalent team. That said, we’re down to 3 contenders: Army, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma.

Let’s start with the Lambert Trophy winning Cadets, who posted their 5th unbeaten season (and 2nd straight) under Hall of Fame coach Earl Blaik (along with future Pro Hall of Famer Vince Lombardi on staff). Army, while not having the stacked rosters of the WWII years, were led to a perfect record by consensus All-American Arnold Galiffa and nonconsensus All-American Dan Foldberg. The Cadets had arguably the best win of the contenders when they took down 2-time defending national champ Michigan on the road, snapping a 25-game win streak for the Wolverines. They also had the nation’s best scoring offense and the 3rd-best scoring defense. The biggest thing working against the Cadets is their schedule: while Michigan was a Top 10-caliber foe, they were the only Top 25-caliber team Army faced this year. They did face 3 more that were top 50 (Navy, Penn, Penn State), but they also had the most home-heavy schedule and worst opponent win percentage. Add in that they narrowly avoided disaster against Penn (which was also the closest result among any of the group), then the case gets hurt further. Army would’ve benefitted by not having their no-bowl policy and playing a postseason game against another Top 25-caliber opponent to boost their resume. That said, Army finished 4th in the final AP Poll (probably would’ve been at least 3rd in a post-bowl rank) and received a championship selection from a CFBDW selector. In addition, Army had successfully defended the CFB Belt (college football’s ‘lineal championship’) the entire season after capturing it during the 1948 season.

Up next is Big 7 champion Oklahoma, under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Bud Wilkinson. The Sooners, under Wilkinson’s guidance, were on their ascent to blue-blood status. They had won 6 conference titles during the decade (starting with Wilkinson’s predecessor Jim Tatum in 1946, the Sooners would win 14 straight conference titles through 1959) and narrowly missed consideration in 1948 due to an early season loss. Oklahoma, led by 5 nonconsensus All-Americans, completed a perfect season that eluded them the previous season. Among those players were future Hall of Fame coaches Jim Owens and Darrell Royal. The Sooners defeated 3 Top 25-caliber opponents (LSU, Santa Clara, Texas), another pushing consideration (Missouri), and an Iowa State team just at the cutoff of being top 50-caliber. The Sooners had best opponent win percentage of the contenders, as well as the 3rd-best scoring offense and 4th-best scoring defense among FBS-equivalent teams. Despite that, Oklahoma topped out at #2 in the final AP Poll and failed to capture any national champion selections from contemporary NCAA-designated selectors. They were named champions retroactively by the CFRA and received 4 additional CFBDW selections. The Sooners’ success in 1949 help jumpstart a decade of success in the 1950s, with 3 claimed national titles and 2 unclaimed selections coupled with an FBS-record winning streak.

Last but not least, we have Notre Dame, who completed a remarkable 4-year unbeaten stretch under Hall of Fame coach Frank Leahy by posting a perfect season (the Irish went 36-0-2 from 1946 through this season). The team featured 4 All-Americans, with 2 being unanimous (Leon Hart, Emil Sitko) and another being a consensus selection (Bob Williams). 3 of those finished in the top 8 of voting for the Heisman Trophy, with Hart receiving the honor. The Irish played what was considered the best schedule of the group by most metrics, defeating 4 Top 25-caliber teams (Michigan St., SMU, Tulane, USC) and 4 more teams that were top 50-caliber (Iowa, Navy, North Carolina, Purdue), which balances out having an opponent win percentage that finished just below .500. Notre Dame posted the 4th-best scoring offense and 7th-best scoring defense against said schedule, with only 1 game being a single-possession decision. The Irish were named national champions by the AP (with final poll taking place before their final game) and swept every contemporary NCAA-selector for the year. Only the CFRA’s selection of Oklahoma prevented them from a unanimous choice among selectors. This season was the peak of Notre Dame football under Frank Leahy. The post-WW2 talent boom for the Irish was gone after this season, causing a drop in results on the field in 1950. While the Irish did rebound after that down year (culminating in an unbeaten season and unclaimed national title in 1953), Leahy would eventually resign and Notre Dame would experience a downturn in their fortunes until hiring Ara Parseghian in the 1960s.

We have 3 teams that in some way can plead their case before the Blue Ribbon Commission. Army is probably the lowest in the pecking order, largely due to their poor schedule. While the Cadets did have the best win among the group against Michigan, it was also their only Top 25-caliber foe faced. Add in the narrow escape against Penn, that was a result Army couldn’t afford – which leads one to question which of those 2 games was the true fluke. However, I’m not opposed if Army were to take a gamble for pleading their case as this would ultimately be the beginning of the end of the Cadets being a national championship contender. An upset loss to Navy in 1950 coupled with a cheating scandal involving football players in 1951 would knock the program from being a regular contender. While they would recover to eventually post an unbeaten record and #3 ranking in the final polls (along with a Heisman Trophy winner) in 1958, Earl Blaik’s retirement would essentially end Army’s time as a national power. With the Cadets appearing to be the odd man out, that leaves us with Notre Dame and Oklahoma battling it out for the best resume.

The Irish had the tougher schedule rating and selector favor, but half of their schedule finished with sub-.500 records. The Sooners played fewer games against sub-.500 teams and defended their undefeated record through postseason play but didn’t play as many teams that were rated as well as Notre Dame’s. Oklahoma also played in a postseason game, which was an important factor with the BRC as evidence by Oklahoma State’s 1945 selection – the Sooners’ dominant win over LSU (who defeated 2 conference champs) would probably go over very well. There’s also a difference in their close games: Notre Dame only had 1 game finish within 1 possession, but their season finale at SMU was a closely contested game where victory was in doubt until late. While Oklahoma did have 2 games decided by 1 possession, those occurred late in contests: Texas with the game’s final seconds and Santa Clara’s in the 4th quarter of a game statistically controlled by the Sooners. I do think this is a coin flip decision: I’ll give Notre Dame edge as Tier 1 for the retroactive Coaches Trophy since they received so much selector favor. That said, the Irish might not feel as motivated for a claim given the had captured the AP title for the year. Oklahoma has not only the most to gain by submitting a claim but has a legitimate case for either being co-champion or a solo claim for the hardware should Notre Dame not chose to do so.

Tier 1 (Best Case to be awarded AFCA Trophy): Notre Dame
Tier 2 (Legitimate case for champion/co-champion): Oklahoma
Tier 3 (Minor Contender, could make a case): Army
Tier 4 (Not Serious Contenders): Everyone else in the country