The 1933 college football season saw the Michigan Wolverines repeat as winners of the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy as national champion under the Dickinson System.
The unofficial east–west championship game, the Rose Bowl, was between Stanford (8–1–1) who was ranked behind USC and unranked Columbia (7–1). The Columbia Lions won the Rose Bowl game 7–0.
Conference and program changes
Conference changes
Two new conferences began play in 1933:
Chesapeake Conference – active through the 1936 season
Southeastern Conference (SEC) – active NCAA Division I FBS conference; formed after its thirteen members broke away from the Southern Conference in 1932.
Membership changes
School1932 Conference1933 Conference
Auburn TigersSoConSEC
Alabama Crimson TideSoConSEC
Florida GatorsSoConSEC
Georgia BuldogsSoConSEC
Georgia Tech Yellow JacketsSoConSEC
Kentucky WildcatsSoConSEC
LSU TigersSoConSEC
Mississippi RebelsSoConSEC
Mississippi State BulldogsSoConSEC
Northeastern HuskiesNo programNEC
Sewanee TigersSoConSEC
Tennessee VolunteersSoConSEC
Tulane Green WaveSoConSEC
Vanderbilt CommodoresSoConSEC
September
September 23 USC opened its season with a doubleheader against Occidental College, and Whittier College. Using a combination of varsity and reserves, the Trojans won 39–0 and 51–0, respectively.[1] Although future President Richard M. Nixon had been on the freshman football team at Whittier, he was not part of the varsity squad that played against USC. Oregon defeated Linfield College 53–0. Stanford beat San Jose State 27–0
September 30 Stanford narrowly defeated UCLA 3–0, USC beat Loyola Marymount 18–0, and Oregon won at Gonzaga 14–0. Army opened with a 19–6 win over Mercer College. Minnesota beat visiting South Dakota State 19–6. Pittsburgh beat Washington & Jefferson 9–0.
October
October 7 USC defeated Washington State 33–0, Stanford beat Santa Clara 7–0, and Oregon got past Portland College 14–7. Minnesota and Indiana tied 6–6. Michigan (whose team included Gerald Ford as a center) beat Michigan State 20–6, Purdue beat Ohio University 13–6, and Ohio State rolled over Virginia 75–0. Army beat Virginia Military Institute (VMI) 32–0 Pittsburgh beat West Virginia 21–0. Nebraska beat visiting Texas 26–0. Princeton opened its season with a shutout (40–0) over Amherst.
October 14 In Minneapolis, Minnesota and Purdue played to a 7–7 tie. In Chicago, Stanford and Northwestern played to a 0–0 tie. Oregon won at Washington 6–0, and USC beat St. Marys 14–7. Army defeated Delaware 52–0 and Pittsburgh beat Navy 34–6. Ohio State defeated Vanderbilt 20–0. Michigan beat Cornell 40–0. Nebraska won at Iowa State 20–0. Princeton recorded its second shutout, a 45–0 win over Williams. Tennessee suffered its first defeat since 1930, losing 10–2 against Duke.
October 21 Michigan beat visiting Ohio State 13–0. Minnesota (1–0–2) hosted Pittsburgh (3–0–0), with the home team Gophers winning, 7–3. Purdue won at Chicago 14–0. In Portland, USC and Oregon State played to a 0–0 tie. Stanford won at the University of San Francisco, 20–13. In Cleveland Army beat Illinois 6–0. Nebraska won at Kansas State 9–0. Oregon beat Idaho 19–0 in a Friday Night game. Princeton beat Columbia, 20–0, to stay unscored upon.
October 28 USC narrowly won at California, 6–3, Oregon won at UCLA 7–0, and Stanford lost at Washington 6–0. Michigan won at Chicago 28–0, Ohio State beat Northwestern 12–0, Minnesota beat Iowa 19–7, and Purdue won at Wisconsin 14–0. Army won at Yale 21–0. Pittsburgh won at Notre Dame 14–0. Nebraska beat Oklahoma 16–7. Princeton narrowly won, but stayed unscored upon, with a 6–0 win over Washington & Lee.
November
November 4 Oregon beat Utah 26–7. Stanford beat the Olympic Club 21–0 and Army beat Coe College 34–0. Purdue beat Carnegie Tech 17–7. Michigan won at Illinois, 7–6, Ohio State beat Indiana 21–0. Minnesota and Northwestern played to a 0–0 tie. Pittsburgh beat Centre College 37–0. Nebraska stayed unbeaten with a 26–0 win over Missouri. Princeton extended its shutout streak to five with a 33–0 win at Brown.
November 11 In Los Angeles, USC (6–0–1) hosted Stanford (5–1–1). The Trojans suffered their first defeat in 27 games, losing 13–7, in a game that ultimately decided the Pacific Coast championship. Michigan defeated Iowa 5–3. At Portland, Oregon beat Oregon State, 13–3 to extend its record to 8–0–0. Army won at Harvard 27–0. In Phildadelphia, Ohio State beat Penn 20–7 and Purdue won at Notre Dame 19–0. Pittsburgh beat Duquesne 7–0 and Nebraska defeated Kansas 12–0 Princeton beat Dartmouth, 7–0, for its sixth straight shutout.
November 18 USC (6–1–1) handed visiting Oregon (8–0–0) its first defeat, 26–0. Michigan (6–0–0) and Minnesota (3–0–3), both unbeaten, played to a scoreless tie. Pittsburgh (6–1–0) hosted Nebraska (5–0–0) and won 6–0. Princeton beat visiting Navy 13–0. In seven games, it had outscored its opponents 164–0. Stanford beat Montana 33–7. Army defeated Pennsylvania Military Institute, 12–0. Ohio State won at Wisconsin 6–0. Purdue suffered its first loss of the season, falling 14–6 to visiting Iowa.
November 25 Princeton was finally scored upon, after holding its first seven opponents scoreless. The streak was broken by Rutgers, which lost 26–6. USC won at Notre Dame, 19–0 and Stanford beat California 7–3. The annual Army–Navy Game took place in Philadelphia, and Army won 12–7. Ohio State closed its season with a 7–6 win over Illinois and Michigan won at Northwestern 13–0, Minnesota beat Wisconsin 6–3, and Purdue won at Indiana 19–3. Nebraska beat Iowa 7–6
Thanksgiving Day fell on November 30 in 1933. Nebraska defeated Oregon State 22–0 to close its season at 8–1–0. Oregon won at St. Marys, 13–7. Pittsburgh beat Carnegie Tech 16–0.
December
December 2 In Los Angeles, USC (8–1–1) hosted Georgia (8–1–0) and won 31–0 Army (9–0–0) and Notre Dame (2–5–1) met at Yankee Stadium. The Fighting Irish pulled off a 13–12 upset. Princeton, no longer having to maintain a streak of shutouts, won at Yale 27–2 to finish as the nations only unbeaten and untied team.
1934 Rose Bowl
Main article: 1934 Rose Bowl
The Columbia Lions defeated the Stanford Indians (now Cardinal) 7–0.[2] Cliff Montgomery, the Columbia quarterback, was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively.[3]
Other bowls
Dixie Classic
Conference standings
Major conference standings
1933 Big Six Conference football standings
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Nebraska $5–0–08–1–0
Kansas State4–1–06–2–1
Oklahoma3–2–04–4–1
Kansas2–3–05–4–1
Iowa State1–4–03–5–1
Missouri0–5–01–8–0
$ – Conference champion
1933 Big Ten Conference football standings
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No. 1 Michigan +5–0–17–0–1
No. 3 Minnesota +2–0–44–0–4
No. 5 Ohio State4–1–07–1–0
No. 10 Purdue3–1–16–1–1
Illinois3–2–05–3–0
Iowa3–2–05–3–0
Northwestern1–4–11–5–2
Chicago0–3–23–3–2
Indiana0–3–21–5–2
Wisconsin0–5–12–5–1
+ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from Dickinson System
1933 Border Conference football standings
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Texas Tech $1–0–08–1–0
Arizona State–Flagstaff4–1–05–1–0
Arizona3–2–05–3–0
New Mexico2–2–03–4–1
Arizona State2–3–03–5–0
New Mexico A&M0–4–02–6–0
$ – Conference champion
Reference[4]
1933 Middle Three Conference football standings
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Rutgers $2–0–06–3–1
Lafayette1–1–03–5–1
Lehigh0–2–02–6–0
$ – Conference champion
1933 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
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Oklahoma A&M $2–0–06–2–1
Drake5–1–06–3–1
Creighton2–2–03–4–1
Washington University1–2–04–5–0
Butler0–2–02–6–0
Grinnell0–3–00–8–1
$ – Conference champion
1933 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
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Stanford ^ +4–1–08–2–1
Oregon +4–1–09–1–0
USC4–1–110–1–1
Oregon State2–1–16–2–2
Washington State3–3–15–3–1
California2–2–26–3–2
Washington3–4–05–4–0
UCLA1–3–16–4–1
Idaho1–4–04–4–0
Montana0–4–03–4–0
+ – Conference co-champions
^ – Selected as Rose Bowl representative
1933 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings
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Utah +5–1–05–3–0
Colorado Agricultural +5–1–15–1–1
Denver +5–1–15–3–1
Colorado5–2–07–2–0
BYU5–3–05–4–0
Utah State4–3–04–4–0
Colorado Teachers3–3–04–3–0
Colorado College2–4–12–5–1
Montana State1–3–02–5–0
Colorado Mines1–5–01–5–0
Wyoming1–6–12–6–1
Western State (CO)0–5–00–5–0
+ – Conference co-champions
1933 Southeastern Conference football standings
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Alabama $5–0–17–1–1
LSU3–0–27–0–3
Georgia3–1–08–2–0
Tennessee5–2–07–3–0
Tulane4–2–16–3–1
Auburn2–2–05–5–0
Ole Miss2–2–16–3–2
Vanderbilt2–2–24–3–3
Florida2–3–05–3–1
Kentucky2–3–05–5–0
Georgia Tech2–5–05–5–0
Mississippi State1–5–13–6–1
Sewanee0–6–03–6–0
$ – Conference champion
1933 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
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Murray State $7–0–09–0–0
Howard (AL)5–0–07–1–2
Centenary3–0–08–0–4
Furman4–0–16–1–2
Union (KY)3–0–14–1–1
Miami (FL)2–0–15–1–2
Western Kentucky State Teachers5–1–06–2–0
Centre3–1–07–3–0
Loyola (LA)3–1–06–4–1
Rollins2–1–06–2–0
SW Louisiana3–2–06–3–0
Presbyterian3–2–04–2–2
Millsaps3–2–14–4–2
Newberry2–2–16–3–1
Tennessee Tech2–2–04–4–0
The Citadel2–2–13–5–1
Louisiana Normal2–3–06–3–0
Mississippi College2–3–03–4–1
Georgetown (KY)2–3–12–5–1
Mississippi State Teachers2–4–13–5–2
Southwestern (TN)1–2–03–4–2
Louisiana Tech1–3–01–7–0
Louisiana College1–4–03–4–0
Wofford1–4–03–6–0
Transylvania1–4–01–7–1
Erskine1–5–02–7–0
Union (TN)1–5–03–7–0
Louisville1–6–01–7–0
Stetson0–0–14–2–1
Mercer0–0–14–3–2
Eastern Kentucky State Teachers0–2–21–2–3
Middle Tennessee State Teachers0–4–01–7–1
$ – Conference champion
1933 Southern Conference football standings
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Duke $4–0–09–1–0
South Carolina3–0–06–3–1
North Carolina2–1–04–5–0
VMI2–1–12–7–1
Washington and Lee1–1–14–4–2
Clemson1–1–03–6–2
VPI1–1–34–3–3
Virginia1–3–12–6–2
Maryland1–4–03–7–0
NC State0–4–01–5–3
$ – Conference champion
1933 Southwest Conference football standings
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Arkansas4–1–07–3–1
TCU4–2–09–2–1
Baylor4–2–06–4–0
Texas A&M2–2–16–3–1
Texas2–3–14–5–2
SMU2–4–04–7–1
Rice1–5–03–8–0
Because of an ineligible played used by Arkansas, no championship was awarded.
Independents
1933 Eastern college football independents records
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Princeton – 9–0–0
Duquesne – 10–1–0
Army – 9–1–0
Boston College – 8–1–0
Columbia – 8–1–0
Pittsburgh – 8–1–0
Colgate – 6–1–1
Bucknell – 7–2–0
Fordham – 6–2–0
Tufts – 6–2–0
Villanova – 7–2–1
Drexel – 5–3–0
Massachusetts State – 5–3–0
Temple – 5–3–0
Manhattan – 5–3–1
Cornell – 4–3–0
Carnegie Tech – 4–3–2
La Salle – 3–3–2
Syracuse – 4–4–0
Yale – 4–4–0
Penn State – 3–3–1
Brown – 3–5–0
Vermont – 3–5–0
Franklin & Marshall – 4–5–0
NYU – 2–4–1
Penn – 2–4–1
Northeastern – 1–3–1
Boston University – 2–5–0
Washington & Jefferson – 2–7–1
CCNY – 1–5–1
1933 Midwestern college football independents records
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DePaul – 6–0–1
Detroit – 7–1–0
Michigan State Normal – 5–2–0
Saint Louis – 6–3–0
Central State (MI) – 5–2–1
Michigan State – 4–2–2
Missouri Mines – 4–3–0
Western State Teachers (MI) – 3–3–1
Marquette – 3–4–1
Notre Dame – 3–5–1
Haskell – 2–6–3
Detroit City – 2–5–1
1933 Southern college football independents records
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Oklahoma City – 8–1–0
Tulsa – 6–1–0
Troy State – 5–1–0
Texas A&I – 6–2–0
Catholic University – 6–3–0
South Georgia Teachers – 5–3–0
Western Maryland – 5–3–0
William & Mary Norfolk – 5–3–1
George Washington – 5–3–1
Navy – 5–4–0
Delaware State – 4–4–0
Oglethorpe – 4–5–0
Texas Mines – 3–5–1
West Virginia – 3–5–2
Delaware – 2–4–2
Dixie – 2–4–0
Georgetown – 1–6–1
Jacksonville State – 1–4–1
East Carolina – 1–5–0
1933 Western college football independents records
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Cal Poly – 7–0–0
Loyola (CA) – 7–2–1
Santa Clara – 6–2–1
Saint Marys – 6–3–1
Hawaii – 4–3–0
Columbia (OR) – 4–3–1
Humboldt State – 1–1–0
Gonzaga – 2–6–1
San Francisco State – 2–6–0
San Francisco – 1–6–1
Minor conferences
ConferenceChampion(s)Record
Central Intercollegiate Athletics AssociationMorgan College9–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceWichita6–0
Far Western ConferenceNevada3–0
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceSimpson6–0–1
Kansas Collegiate Athletic ConferenceOttawa4–0
Lone Star ConferenceEast Texas State Teachers5–0
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationHillsdale4–0
Michigan-Ontario Collegiate ConferenceAdrian
Lawrence Technological University—
—
Midwest Collegiate Athletic ConferenceCoe4–0
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceGustavus Adolphus4–0–1
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationNortheast Missouri State Teachers4–0
Nebraska College Athletic ConferenceHastings3–0–1
Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationState Normal–Chadron4–0
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceSouth Dakota State College4–0
North Dakota College Athletic ConferenceJamestown College5–0–1
Northern Teachers Athletic ConferenceSt. Cloud State Teachers4–0
Ohio Athletic ConferenceDayton2–0–1
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic ConferenceSouthwestern State Teachers (OK)4–0
Pacific Northwest ConferenceCollege of Puget Sound5–0
South Dakota Intercollegiate ConferenceAugustana (SD)
Northern Normal and Industrial4–0
4–0–1
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceRedlands6–0–1
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceTuskegee—
Southwestern Athletic ConferenceWiley (TX)5–0
Texas ConferenceSt. Edwards (TX)5–1
Tri-Normal LeagueState Normal–Ellensburg2–0
Wisconsin State Teachers College ConferenceStevens Point State Teachers3–0–1
Minor conference standings
1933 Buckeye Athletic Association football standings
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Cincinnati +4–1–07–2–0
Miami (OH) +4–1–07–2–0
Ohio3–1–16–2–1
Ohio Wesleyan2–3–06–4–0
Marshall1–3–13–5–1
Wittenberg0–5–02–6–0
+ – Conference co-champions
1933 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings
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Wichita $6–0–08–2–0
Fort Hays State3–1–26–2–2
Pittsburg State2–2–24–3–2
Washburn2–3–14–6–1
Emporia Teachers2–4–03–5–1
College of Emporia1–3–24–3–2
Southwestern (KS)1–
ANNUAIRE PRÉSIDENT GERALD FORD UNIVERSITÉ MICHIGAN CHAMPIONS le plus cher NATIONAUX DE FOOTBALL
