🏈 The 1931 college football season
The champion and its path, the poll race week by week, the honours, the best games and every conference table.
Jump to any season1869–2026
1931 national champion
Named by the selectors, with the road it took.
The path, USC10-1
- Sep 26vsSt. Mary'sL7-13
- Oct 3vsOregon StateW30-0
- Oct 10vsWashington StateW38-6
- Oct 17vsOregonW53-0
- Oct 24atCaliforniaW6-0
- Nov 7vsStanfordW19-0
- Nov 14vsMontanaW69-0
- Nov 21atNotre DameW16-14
- Dec 5vsWashingtonW44-7
- Dec 12vsGeorgiaW60-0
- Jan 1vsTulaneW21-12Rose Bowl
The 1931 major bowls
No title game this year. The big bowls of the season, by date.
The 1931 Elo race
Elo by week, higher is better. There was no AP poll this year, so the ratings tell the story.
How this is measured
- Regular season ends
- Bowl season
Tap or drag on the chart to read a team's Elo in any week.
1931 Elo at season end
There is no AP poll before 1936, so the ratings stand in: the ten highest-rated major teams when the season ended.
1931 Elo at season endElo
Elo top 22
rating, z
The 1931 honours
The Heisman vote and the major awards side by side, then the All-Americans.
The 1931 honours
Consensus All-Americans
A star marks a unanimous selection.
- Tommy YarrNotre Dame
- Barry WoodHarvard
- Pug RentnerNorthwestern
- Marchy SchwartzNotre Dame
- Gus ShaverUSC
Show all 5 positions
- Dallas MarvilNorthwestern
- Jack RileyNorthwestern
- Jesse QuatsePittsburgh
- Tommy YarrNotre Dame
- Barry WoodHarvard
- Pug RentnerNorthwestern
- Marchy SchwartzNotre Dame
- Gus ShaverUSC
- Dallas MarvilNorthwestern
- Jack RileyNorthwestern
- Jesse QuatsePittsburgh
The best games of 1931
The ten best games of the season by Game Score. Switch to the Elo score for a second opinion.
How this is measured
The best games of 193110 games
Upsets of 1931
The results the ratings gave the winner the least chance of, lowest first.
How this is measured
Upsets of 193110 upsets
1931 standings by conference
Every conference at once: conference and overall record, and the final AP rank. A star marks the conference champion.
1931 standings by conference9 groups
Big Six
6 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nebraska★ conference champion | 5-0 | 8-2 | |
| 2 | Iowa State | 3-1 | 5-3 | |
| 3 | Kansas State | 3-2 | 8-2 | |
| 4 | Kansas | 1-3 | 5-5 | |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 1-4 | 4-7-1 | |
| 6 | Missouri | 1-4 | 2-8 |
Big Ten
10 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue★ conference champion | 5-1 | 9-1 | |
| 2 | Michigan★ conference champion | 5-1 | 8-1-1 | |
| 3 | Northwestern★ conference champion | 5-1 | 7-1-1 | |
| 4 | Ohio State | 4-2 | 6-3 | |
| 5 | Minnesota | 3-2 | 7-3 | |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 3-3 | 5-4-1 | |
| 7 | Indiana | 1-4-1 | 2-5-1 | |
| 8 | Chicago | 1-4 | 2-6-1 | |
| 9 | Iowa | 0-3-1 | 1-6-1 | |
| 10 | Illinois | 0-6 | 2-6 |
Border
5 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State★ conference champion | 3-1 | 6-2 | |
| 2 | New Mexico | 1-1-1 | 3-3-1 | |
| 3 | Arizona | 1-1-1 | 3-5-1 | |
| 4 | Northern Arizona | 2-3 | 3-5 | |
| 5 | New Mexico State | 1-2 | 6-4 |
Missouri Valley
5 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma A&M | 1-0 | 8-2-1 | |
| 2 | Drake★ conference champion | 3-0 | 5-6 | |
| 3 | Creighton | 2-2 | 4-5 | |
| 4 | Grinnell | 1-2 | 5-3 | |
| 5 | Washington University | 0-3 | 2-7 |
Pacific Coast
10 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USC★ conference champion | 7-0 | 10-1 | |
| 2 | California | 4-1 | 8-2 | |
| 3 | Oregon | 3-1-1 | 6-2-2 | |
| 4 | Washington State | 4-3 | 6-4 | |
| 5 | Stanford | 2-2-1 | 7-2-2 | |
| 6 | Washington | 3-3-1 | 5-3-1 | |
| 7 | Oregon State | 1-3-1 | 6-3-1 | |
| 8 | Idaho | 1-4 | 3-4 | |
| 9 | UCLA | 0-3 | 3-4-1 | |
| 10 | Montana | 0-5 | 1-6 |
Rocky Mountain
12 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah★ conference champion | 6-0 | 7-2 | |
| 2 | Utah State | 5-2 | 6-2 | |
| 3 | Colorado A&M | 5-2 | 5-4 | |
| 4 | Colorado | 3-2 | 5-3 | |
| 5 | Wyoming | 3-2 | 6-4 | |
| 6 | Colorado College | 4-3 | 4-4 | |
| 7 | BYU | 2-3 | 4-4 | |
| 8 | Denver | 3-5 | 4-6 | |
| 9 | Colorado State College | 2-4-1 | 2-4-1 | |
| 10 | Western State | 1-5 | 1-6 | |
| 11 | Colorado Mines | 0-4-1 | 1-5-1 | |
| 12 | Montana State | 0-2 | 1-5-1 |
Southern
23 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tulane★ conference champion | 8-0 | 11-1 | |
| 2 | Tennessee | 6-0-1 | 9-0-1 | |
| 3 | Alabama | 7-1 | 9-1 | |
| 4 | Georgia | 6-1 | 8-2 | |
| 5 | Maryland | 4-1-1 | 8-1-1 | |
| 6 | Kentucky | 4-2-2 | 5-2-2 | |
| 7 | LSU | 3-2 | 5-4 | |
| 8 | Sewanee | 3-3 | 6-3-1 | |
| 9 | Auburn | 3-3 | 5-3-1 | |
| 10 | Duke | 3-3-1 | 5-3-2 | |
| 11 | South Carolina | 3-3-1 | 5-4-1 | |
| 12 | North Carolina | 2-3-3 | 4-3-3 | |
| 13 | Vanderbilt | 3-4 | 5-4 | |
| 14 | Washington & Lee | 2-3 | 4-5-1 | |
| 15 | Florida | 2-4-2 | 2-6-2 | |
| 16 | Georgia Tech | 2-4-1 | 2-7-1 | |
| 17 | VMI | 2-4 | 3-6-1 | |
| 18 | North Carolina State | 2-4 | 3-6 | |
| 19 | Virginia Tech | 1-4-1 | 3-4-2 | |
| 20 | Clemson | 1-4 | 1-6-2 | |
| 21 | Mississippi | 1-5 | 2-6-1 | |
| 22 | Virginia | 0-5-1 | 1-7-2 | |
| 23 | Mississippi State | 0-5 | 2-6 |
Southwest
7 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMU★ conference champion | 5-0-1 | 9-1-1 | |
| 2 | TCU | 4-1-1 | 9-2-1 | |
| 3 | Texas A&M | 3-2 | 7-3 | |
| 4 | Rice | 3-3 | 6-4 | |
| 5 | Texas | 2-3 | 6-4 | |
| 6 | Baylor | 1-5 | 3-6 | |
| 7 | Arkansas | 0-4 | 3-5-1 |
Independent
32 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colgate | - | 8-1 | |
| 2 | Marquette | - | 8-1 | |
| 3 | Pittsburgh | - | 8-1 | |
| 4 | Cornell | - | 7-1 | |
| 5 | Harvard | - | 7-1 | |
| 6 | Temple | - | 8-1-1 | |
| 7 | Bucknell | - | 6-0-3 | |
| 8 | Columbia | - | 7-1-1 | |
| 9 | Syracuse | - | 7-1-1 | |
| 10 | St. Mary's | - | 8-2 | |
| 11 | Fordham | - | 6-1-2 | |
| 12 | Army | - | 8-2-1 | |
| 13 | Detroit | - | 7-2-1 | |
| 14 | Yale | - | 5-1-2 | |
| 15 | Notre Dame | - | 6-2-1 | |
| 16 | Brown | - | 7-3 | |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | - | 6-3 | |
| 18 | NYU | - | 6-3-1 | |
| 19 | Dartmouth | - | 5-3-1 | |
| 20 | Michigan State | - | 5-3-1 | |
| 21 | Washington & Jefferson | - | 6-4 | |
| 22 | Villanova | - | 4-3-2 | |
| 23 | Centenary | - | 5-5 | |
| 24 | Davidson | - | 4-4-2 | |
| 25 | Navy | - | 5-5-1 | |
| 26 | Wake Forest | - | 4-4 | |
| 27 | Georgetown | - | 4-5-1 | |
| 28 | Gonzaga | - | 3-4 | |
| 29 | West Virginia | - | 4-6 | |
| 30 | Carnegie Tech | - | 3-5-1 | |
| 31 | Penn State | - | 2-8 | |
| 32 | Princeton | - | 1-7 |
1931 bowls
One line per game, latest first. A tag marks the playoff and the other major bowls.
Where these numbers come from
Enough to disbelieve this page on purpose rather than by accident.
Champions, polls, standings, bowls, honours and games are read from the Citizen of Nowhere college football database, built from its own workbook one season at a time. Team colours and crests are the current programs’, so a school is drawn the way it looks today even where it played under another name.
The AP poll begins in 1936, so earlier seasons have no poll race and no final poll, but they do have an Elo race, and their champions are those the selectors named. Before 1992 there was no title game, so those seasons list the major bowls instead; from 1992 the title game is shown with the other major bowls, and from 2014 the playoff bracket. Where the database has no entry for a section, the section is left out rather than shown empty.
Elo ratings, the upsets and the best games come from the site’s college football Elo, which rates every game since 1869 and counts games against lower-level opponents. Each season’s ratings are shown on a scale where the average major team ends the season at 1500; z is the distance from that average in standard deviations.