1918 college football season

The 1918 college football season was a season of college football in the United States. There was no consensus champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Michigan and Pittsburgh as national champions.

1918 college football season
Pitt's Tom Davies running on Georgia Tech.
Number of bowls	1
Champion(s)	Michigan Pittsburgh
football seasons

World War I's impact on colleges in the country, and the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 eliminated most of that year's scheduled college football games. However, to boost morale of the troops, many military organizations fielded teams to play against collegiate programs. This is exemplified no more strongly than in a letter published in the Spalding Guide from US president Woodrow Wilson:

"It would be difficult to over-estimate the value of football experience as a part of a soldier's training. The army athletic directors and the officers in charge of special training schools in the cantoments have derived excellent results from the use of elementary football and other personal contact games as an aid in developing the aggressiveness, initiative and determination of recruits, and the ability to carry on in spite of bodily hurts or physical discomforts. These qualities, as you well know, were the outstanding characteristics of the American soldier." -Woodrow Wilson (1919 letter)

A huge military offensive was planned by the Allied countries in the spring of 1919, so all able-bodied men of ages 18 to 20 were scheduled to be drafted in the fall of 1918. As an alternative, the men were offered the option of enlisting in the Student Army Training Corps, known as SATC, which would give them a chance to pursue (or continue pursuing) their educations at the same time as they participated in a 12-week war-training session. This was essentially an alternative to boot camp. The colleges were paid by the government to train the future soldiers, which enabled many of them to avoid closure. The program began on October 1, 1918. Most of the students who were potential football players were under the auspices of the War Department's SATC program.

In an early September meeting between college and War Department officials in Plattsburg, Missouri it became clear that the training regimen envisioned for the soldiers could be incompatible with participation in intercollegiate athletics. On September 13, 1918 newspapers around the country reported that the War Department had asked colleges to reexamine their football schedules. In August and September, athletics backers successfully argued that athletics training was an important part of military training, and the season was back on.

The influenza outbreak was colloquially called Spanish flu. Most flu outbreaks disproportionately kill juvenile, elderly, or already weakened patients, but the 1918 pandemic predominantly killed previously healthy young adults. To maintain morale, wartime censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. Papers were free to report the epidemic's effects in neutral Spain (such as the grave illness of King Alfonso XIII). This created a false impression of Spain as especially hard hit, thereby giving rise to the pandemic's nickname, "Spanish Flu". By the end of the pandemic, between three and five percent of the world population had died as a result, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history.

Conference and program changes

School	1917 Conference	1918 Conference
Carlisle Indians	Independent	School closed
Southern Methodist Mustangs	Independent	Southwest

Season summary

Perhaps the highest profile game was a highly publicized War Charities benefit staged at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh in front of many of the nation's top sports writers, including Walter Camp. The game pitted John Heisman's undefeated, unscored upon, and defending national champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets against "Pop" Warner's Pittsburgh Panthers who were sitting on a 30-game win streak. Pitt defeated Georgia Tech 32–0.

Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl, then the only bowl game, pitted the Mare Island Marines of California and the Great Lakes Navy from Illinois. It was a celebration of victory following the end of fighting in World War I on November 11, 1918. Great Lakes Navy defeat Mare Island, 17–7.

Conference standings

Major conference standings

For this article, major conferences defined as those including multiple state flagship public universities.

1918 Big Ten Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Michigan + 2 – 0 – 0 5 – 0 – 0 Illinois + 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Purdue + 1 – 0 – 0 3 – 3 – 0 Iowa 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Minnesota 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 1 Northwestern 1 – 1 – 0 2 – 2 – 1 Wisconsin 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 3 – 0 Indiana 0 – 0 – 0 2 – 2 – 0 Ohio State 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 3 – 0 Chicago 0 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1918 Missouri Valley Conference football standings Drake   –   3 – 2 – 0 Iowa State   –   0 – 3 – 0 Kansas   –   2 – 2 – 0 Kansas State   –   4 – 1 – 0 Missouri   –   0 – 0 – 0 Nebraska   –   2 – 3 – 1 Washington University   –   6 – 0 – 0 Due to events related to World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic, the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association did not schedule any official conference games, recorded no standings, and awarded no title for 1918. Additionally, Missouri canceled their season.	1918 Pacific Coast Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T California $ 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Oregon 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 2 – 0 Washington 1 – 1 – 0 1 – 1 – 0 Oregon Agricultural 0 – 2 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1918 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Georgia Tech $ 3 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Vanderbilt 2 – 0 – 0 4 – 2 – 0 Mississippi A&M 2 – 0 – 0 3 – 2 – 0 Clemson 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 South Carolina 2 – 1 – 1 2 – 1 – 1 Furman 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Sewanee 0 – 1 – 0 3 – 2 – 0 The Citadel 0 – 1 – 1 0 – 2 – 1 Auburn 0 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Ole Miss 0 – 2 – 0 1 – 3 – 0 Wofford 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 3 – 0 $ – Conference champion There were several SIAA schools that did not field a team due to World War I.	1918 Southwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Texas 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Oklahoma 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 0 – 0 Texas A&M 1 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Rice 1 – 1 – 0 1 – 5 – 1 SMU 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 2 – 0 Arkansas 0 – 1 – 0 3 – 2 – 0 Oklahoma A&M 0 – 2 – 0 4 – 2 – 0 Baylor 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 No champion recognized

Independents

1918 military service football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Camp Greenleaf   –   9 – 0 – 0 Chicago Naval Reserve   –   7 – 0 – 0 Mare Island Marines   –   10 – 1 – 0 Great Lakes Navy   –   7 – 0 – 2 League Island Marines   –   7 – 1 – 0 Cleveland Naval Reserve   –   5 – 1 – 0 Camp Hancock   –   4 – 1 – 2 Camp Upton   –   4 – 1 – 2 Camp Taylor   –   3 – 1 – 1 Camp Lewis   –   7 – 2 – 0 Camp Devens   –   4 – 2 – 0 Mather Field   –   2 – 1 – 0 Camp Dodge   –   2 – 1 – 1 Camp Grant   –   3 – 3 – 0 Camp Dix   –   1 – 2 – 2 Camp Gordon   –   2 – 4 – 0 Camp Perry   –   2 – 4 – 0 Georgia Eleventh Cavalry   –   0 – 1 – 0 Mineola Aviation Station   –   0 – 3 – 0	1918 Eastern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Bucknell   –   6 – 0 – 0 Princeton   –   3 – 0 – 0 Holy Cross   –   2 – 0 – 0 Army   –   1 – 0 – 0 Buffalo   –   6 – 1 – 0 Columbia   –   5 – 1 – 0 Syracuse   –   5 – 1 – 0 Pittsburgh   –   4 – 1 – 0 Boston College   –   5 – 2 – 0 Rutgers   –   5 – 2 – 0 Franklin & Marshall   –   2 – 1 – 0 Geneva   –   4 – 2 – 0 Swarthmore   –   4 – 2 – 0 Harvard   –   2 – 1 – 0 Fordham   –   4 – 2 – 1 Villanova   –   3 – 2 – 0 Penn   –   5 – 3 – 0 Dartmouth   –   3 – 3 – 0 Lehigh   –   4 – 4 – 0 Washington & Jefferson   –   2 – 2 – 0 New Hampshire   –   2 – 2 – 1 Lafayette   –   3 – 4 – 0 Brown   –   2 – 3 – 0 Tufts   –   2 – 3 – 0 Penn State   –   1 – 2 – 1 Vermont   –   0 – 1 – 1 Drexel   –   0 – 1 – 0 NYU   –   0 – 4 – 0	1918 Midwestern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Detroit Junior College   –   4 – 0 – 0 Central Michigan   –   1 – 0 – 0 Marquette   –   2 – 0 – 1 Heidelberg   –   5 – 1 – 0 St. Xavier   –   4 – 1 – 1 Notre Dame   –   3 – 1 – 2 Butler   –   2 – 1 – 1 Western State Normal (MI)   –   3 – 2 – 0 Saint Louis   –   3 – 2 – 1 Michigan Agricultural   –   4 – 3 – 0 Akron   –   2 – 2 – 1 St. Mary's (OH)   –   1 – 1 – 0 Toledo   –   1 – 1 – 0 Nebraska   –   2 – 3 – 1 Michigan State Normal   –   1 – 2 – 0 Iowa State Teachers   –   1 – 3 – 0 Wabash   –   1 – 3 – 0 Fairmount   –   1 – 4 – 0 Haskell   –   1 – 4 – 0 Lake Forest   –   0 – 1 – 0 Detroit   –   0 – 2 – 0
1918 Southern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Centre   –   4 – 0 – 0 Presbyterian   –   2 – 0 – 0 Navy   –   4 – 1 – 0 Southwestern Louisiana Industrial   –   4 – 1 – 0 Kentucky   –   2 – 1 – 0 Southwest Texas State   –   4 – 2 – 1 Tennessee (SATC)   –   3 – 2 – 0 Oglethorpe   –   5 – 3 – 0 Delaware   –   1 – 2 – 2 North Texas State Normal   –   1 – 2 – 1 Wake Forest   –   1 – 2 – 0 West Tennessee State Normal   –   2 – 4 – 0 Florida   –   0 – 1 – 0	1918 Western college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hawaii   –   3 – 1 – 0 USC   –   2 – 2 – 2 Washington State   –   1 – 1 – 0 Gonzaga   –   0 – 2 – 1 Saint Mary's   –   0 – 7 – 0

Minor conferences

Conference	Champion(s)	Record
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association	No champion	—
Inter-Normal Athletic Conference of Wisconsin	No champion	—
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	College of Emporia	—
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	No champion	—
Nebraska Intercollegiate Conference	Unknown	—
Ohio Athletic Conference	Wittenberg	3–0
Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference	No champion	—
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	No champion	—
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Talladega	—

Minor conference standings

1918 Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lincoln (PA) 2 – 0 – 0 5 – 0 – 0 Virginia Union 1 – 0 – 1 1 – 0 – 1 Hampton 1 – 1 – 1 1 – 1 – 1 Howard 0 – 3 – 0 0 – 3 – 0	1918 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Carthage 0 – 1 – 0 1 – 2 – 0	1918 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wittenberg $ 3 – 0 – 0 4 – 0 – 0 Miami (OH) 4 – 0 – 1 5 – 0 – 1 Mount Union 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Wooster 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Western Reserve 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Ohio 1 – 0 – 1 4 – 0 – 1 Cincinnati 0 – 0 – 2 3 – 0 – 2 Ohio Wesleyan 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 2 – 0 Case 2 – 3 – 2 3 – 5 – 2 Akron 1 – 2 – 1 2 – 2 – 1 Oberlin 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 4 – 0 Baldwin–Wallace 0 – 4 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Kenyon 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 4 – 0 Ohio Northern 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 5 – 0 Denison 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Ohio State * 3 – 0 – 0 3 – 3 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – did not complete for championship
1918 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Colorado Mines $ 2 – 0 – 0 4 – 0 – 0 Denver 3 – 1 – 0 3 – 2 – 0 Colorado 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 3 – 0 Colorado College 1 – 2 – 0 1 – 2 – 0 Colorado Agricultural 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 2 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1918 South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T VPI $ 3 – 0 – 0 7 – 0 – 0 Davidson 2 – 0 – 0 2 – 1 – 1 Richmond 1 – 0 – 0 3 – 1 – 1 Maryland State 2 – 0 – 1 4 – 1 – 1 Johns Hopkins 0 – 0 – 1 0 – 0 – 1 NC State 0 – 1 – 0 1 – 3 – 0 St. John's (MD) 0 – 1 – 0 0 – 1 – 0 William & Mary 0 – 1 – 0 0 – 2 – 0 VMI 0 – 2 – 0 1 – 3 – 0 Washington and Lee 0 – 2 – 0 1 – 2 – 0 Georgetown 0 – 0 – 0 3 – 2 – 0 $ – Conference champion

Awards and honors

All-Americans

Main article: 1918 College Football All-America Team

The consensus All-America team included:

Position	Name	Height	Weight (lbs.)	Class	Hometown	Team
QB	Frank Murrey			So.		Princeton
HB	Tom Davies	5'8"	158	Fr.	Gas City, Indiana	Pittsburgh
HB	Wolcott Roberts	5'7"	160	So.	Elmwood, Illinois	Navy
FB	Tank McLaren		185	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh
E	Paul Robeson	6'3"	219	Sr.	Princeton, New Jersey	Rutgers
T	Pete Henry	5'10"	230	Jr.	Mansfield, Ohio	Washington & Jefferson
T	Lou Usher			Jr.	Chicago, Illinois	Syracuse
G	Doc Alexander	5'11"	210	So.	Silver Creek, New York	Syracuse
C	Bum Day	5'10"	190	Fr.	Nashville, Georgia	Georgia Tech
C	Jack Depler	5'10"	220	So.	Lewistown, Illinois	Illinois
G	Lyman Perry			Sr.	Andover, Ohio	Navy
T	Leonard Hilty			Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh
T	Joe Guyon	5'11"	184	Sr.	Magdalena, New Mexico	Georgia Tech
E	Bill Fincher	6'0"	182	So.	Atlanta, Georgia	Georgia Tech

Statistical leaders

• Receptions leader: Bernard Kirk, Notre Dame, 7