🏈 The 1937 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
1937 national champion
Named by the selectors, with the road it took.
The path, Pittsburgh9-0-1
- Sep 24vsOhio WesleyanW59-0
- Oct 2atWest VirginiaW20-0
- Oct 9vsDuquesneW6-0
- Oct 16atFordhamT0-0
- Oct 23vs#16WisconsinW21-0
- Oct 30vsCarnegie TechW25-14
- Nov 6at#12Notre DameW21-6
- Nov 13vs#11NebraskaW13-7
- Nov 20vsPenn StateW28-7
- Nov 27at#18DukeW10-0
The 1937 major bowls
No title game this year. The big bowls of the season, by date.
- Cotton BowlJan 1#18Rice28#17Colorado14
- Orange BowlJan 1
- Rose BowlJan 1#2California13#4Alabama0
- Sugar BowlJan 1#9Santa Clara6#8LSU0
The 1937 poll race
Rank by poll week, 1 at the top, or Elo by week. A poll line breaks where a team was unranked.
How this is measured
Tap or drag on the chart to read a team's rank in any week.
AP rank, team by week
| Team | Oct18 | 25 | Nov1 | 8 | 15 | 22 | Nov29final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| California | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Fordham | 9 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Alabama | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Minnesota | 4 | 4 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Villanova | 16 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 6 | |
| Dartmouth | 18 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 7 |
| LSU | 6 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| Santa Clara | 14 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 |
| Notre Dame | 12 | 18 | 12 | 9 | 9 | ||
| Nebraska | 8 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Yale | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 12 |
| Ohio State | 12 | 8 | 8 | 19 | 13 | ||
| Arkansas | 20 | 16 | 20 | 14 | |||
| Holy Cross | 20 | 18 | 19 | 14 | 17 | 14 | |
| TCU | 15 | 16 | |||||
| Colorado | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | |||
| Rice | 15 | 15 | 18 | ||||
| North Carolina | 15 | 17 | 18 | 19 | |||
| Duke | 10 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 18 | 20 | |
| Vanderbilt | 20 | 7 | 18 | 12 | |||
| Washington | 13 | ||||||
| Tulsa | 20 | ||||||
| Stanford | 13 | ||||||
| Indiana | 17 | 20 | |||||
| Baylor | 15 | 6 | 4 | 13 | |||
| Auburn | 20 | 12 | 14 | ||||
| Tennessee | 15 | ||||||
| Duquesne | 16 | ||||||
| Northwestern | 7 | 19 | |||||
| Tulane | 19 | ||||||
| Detroit | 18 | ||||||
| USC | 11 | ||||||
| Texas A&M | 13 | ||||||
| Wisconsin | 16 | ||||||
| Syracuse | 17 | ||||||
| Cornell | 19 |
Tap a rank to read it and highlight that team on the chart above.
1937 final polls
The last ranking of the season in each poll.
1937 final pollsAP, Elo
Final AP poll, Nov 29.
Show all 20 teams
Elo top 25
rating, z
The 1937 honours
The Heisman vote and the major awards side by side, then the All-Americans.
The 1937 honoursHeisman: Clint Frank
Heisman Trophy voting
Consensus All-Americans
A star marks a unanimous selection.
- Alex WojciechowiczFordham
- Sam ChapmanCalifornia
- Byron WhiteColorado
- Marshall GoldbergPittsburgh
- Andy BershakNorth Carolina
- Chuck SweeneyNotre Dame
Show all 5 positions
- Ed FrancoFordham
- Tony MatisiPittsburgh
- Alex WojciechowiczFordham
- Sam ChapmanCalifornia
- Byron WhiteColorado
- Marshall GoldbergPittsburgh
- Andy BershakNorth Carolina
- Chuck SweeneyNotre Dame
- Ed FrancoFordham
- Tony MatisiPittsburgh
The best games of 1937
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 193710 games
Upsets of 1937
The results the ratings gave the winner the least chance of, lowest first.
How this is measured
Upsets of 193710 upsets
1937 standings by conference
Every conference at once: conference and overall record, and the final AP rank. A star marks the conference champion.
1937 standings by conference10 groups
Big Six
6 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nebraska★ conference champion | 3-0-2 | 6-1-2 | #11 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 3-1-1 | 5-2-2 | |
| 3 | Kansas | 2-1-2 | 3-4-2 | |
| 4 | Missouri | 2-2-1 | 3-6-1 | |
| 5 | Kansas State | 1-4 | 4-5 | |
| 6 | Iowa State | 1-4 | 3-6 |
Big Ten
10 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota★ conference champion | 5-0 | 6-2 | #5 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 5-1 | 6-2 | #13 |
| 3 | Indiana | 3-2 | 5-3 | |
| 4 | Purdue | 2-2-1 | 4-3-1 | |
| 5 | Wisconsin | 2-2-1 | 4-3-1 | |
| 6 | Michigan | 3-3 | 4-4 | |
| 7 | Northwestern | 3-3 | 4-4 | |
| 8 | Illinois | 2-3 | 3-3-2 | |
| 9 | Chicago | 0-4 | 1-6 | |
| 10 | Iowa | 0-5 | 1-7 |
Border
7 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas Tech★ conference champion | 3-0 | 8-4 | |
| 2 | New Mexico State | 4-1 | 7-2 | |
| 3 | Arizona | 3-1 | 8-2 | |
| 4 | Texas Western | 2-1-1 | 7-1-2 | |
| 5 | New Mexico | 2-3-1 | 4-4-1 | |
| 6 | Northern Arizona | 1-4 | 5-5 | |
| 7 | Arizona State | 0-5 | 0-8-1 |
Missouri Valley
7 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tulsa★ conference champion | 3-0 | 6-2-2 | |
| 2 | Drake | 3-1 | 8-2 | |
| 3 | Saint Louis | 1-1 | 7-2-1 | |
| 4 | Oklahoma A&M | 2-2 | 4-6 | |
| 5 | Washington University | 2-2 | 4-6 | |
| 6 | Creighton | 0-3 | 2-7 | |
| 7 | Washburn | 0-2 | 0-10 |
Pacific Coast
10 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California★ conference champion | 6-0-1 | 10-0-1 | #2 |
| 2 | Stanford | 4-2-1 | 4-3-2 | |
| 3 | Washington | 4-2-2 | 7-2-2 | |
| 4 | Idaho | 2-2 | 4-3-1 | |
| 5 | Washington State | 3-3-2 | 3-3-3 | |
| 6 | Oregon State | 2-3-3 | 3-3-3 | |
| 7 | USC | 2-3-2 | 4-4-2 | |
| 8 | Oregon | 2-5 | 4-6 | |
| 9 | UCLA | 1-5-1 | 2-6-1 | |
| 10 | Montana | 0-1 | 7-1 |
Rocky Mountain
12 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado★ conference champion | 7-0 | 8-1 | #17 |
| 2 | Western State | 3-1 | 5-3 | |
| 3 | BYU | 5-2 | 6-3 | |
| 4 | Denver | 5-2 | 6-3 | |
| 5 | Utah | 5-2 | 5-3 | |
| 6 | Colorado College | 3-3 | 5-4 | |
| 7 | Utah State | 2-4-1 | 2-4-2 | |
| 8 | Wyoming | 2-4 | 3-5 | |
| 9 | Colorado State College | 2-4 | 2-6 | |
| 10 | Colorado Mines | 1-5 | 2-5 | |
| 11 | Colorado A&M | 1-6 | 1-7 | |
| 12 | Montana State | 0-3-1 | 3-4-1 |
Southeastern
13 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama★ conference champion | 6-0 | 9-1 | #4 |
| 2 | LSU | 5-1 | 9-2 | #8 |
| 3 | Auburn | 4-1-2 | 6-2-3 | |
| 4 | Vanderbilt | 4-2 | 7-2 | |
| 5 | Mississippi State | 3-2 | 5-4-1 | |
| 6 | Georgia Tech | 3-2-1 | 6-3-1 | |
| 7 | Tennessee | 4-3 | 6-3-1 | |
| 8 | Florida | 3-4 | 4-7 | |
| 9 | Tulane | 2-3-1 | 5-4-1 | |
| 10 | Georgia | 1-2-2 | 6-3-2 | |
| 11 | Mississippi | 0-4 | 4-5-1 | |
| 12 | Kentucky | 0-5 | 4-6 | |
| 13 | Sewanee | 0-6 | 2-7 |
Southern
16 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland★ conference champion | 3-0 | 8-2 | |
| 2 | North Carolina | 5-0-1 | 7-1-1 | #19 |
| 3 | Duke | 5-1 | 7-2-1 | #20 |
| 4 | Clemson | 2-0-1 | 4-4-1 | |
| 5 | VMI | 5-2 | 5-5 | |
| 6 | North Carolina State | 4-2-1 | 5-3-1 | |
| 7 | South Carolina | 2-2-1 | 5-6-1 | |
| 8 | Washington & Lee | 3-3 | 4-5 | |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 3-4 | 5-5 | |
| 10 | Citadel | 2-3 | 7-4 | |
| 11 | Furman | 1-2-2 | 4-3-2 | |
| 12 | Richmond | 2-3 | 5-4-1 | |
| 13 | William & Mary | 1-4 | 4-5 | |
| 14 | Wake Forest | 1-4 | 3-6 | |
| 15 | Virginia | 1-5 | 2-7 | |
| 16 | Davidson | 1-6 | 2-8 |
Southwest
7 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rice★ conference champion | 4-1-1 | 6-3-2 | #18 |
| 2 | TCU | 3-1-2 | 4-4-2 | #16 |
| 3 | Arkansas | 3-2-1 | 6-2-2 | #14 |
| 4 | Baylor | 3-3 | 7-3 | |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 2-2-2 | 5-2-2 | |
| 6 | SMU | 2-4 | 5-6 | |
| 7 | Texas | 1-5 | 2-6-1 |
Independent
38 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara | - | 9-0 | #9 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | - | 9-0-1 | #1 |
| 3 | Villanova | - | 8-0-1 | #6 |
| 4 | Fordham | - | 7-0-1 | #3 |
| 5 | Holy Cross | - | 8-0-2 | #14 |
| 6 | Dartmouth | - | 7-0-2 | #7 |
| 7 | West Virginia | - | 8-1-1 | |
| 8 | Yale | - | 6-1-1 | #12 |
| 9 | Michigan State | - | 8-2 | |
| 10 | Army | - | 7-2 | |
| 11 | Notre Dame | - | 6-2-1 | #9 |
| 12 | Detroit | - | 7-3 | |
| 13 | Cornell | - | 5-2-1 | |
| 14 | Harvard | - | 5-2-1 | |
| 15 | Syracuse | - | 5-2-1 | |
| 16 | Manhattan | - | 6-3-1 | |
| 17 | Centenary | - | 6-3-3 | |
| 18 | Penn State | - | 5-3 | |
| 19 | Duquesne | - | 6-4 | |
| 20 | Brown | - | 5-4 | |
| 21 | NYU | - | 5-4 | |
| 22 | St. Mary's | - | 4-3-2 | |
| 23 | Temple | - | 3-2-4 | |
| 24 | Boston College | - | 4-4-1 | |
| 25 | Bucknell | - | 3-3-2 | |
| 26 | Miami (FL) | - | 4-4-1 | |
| 27 | Navy | - | 4-4-1 | |
| 28 | Princeton | - | 4-4 | |
| 29 | San Francisco | - | 4-5-1 | |
| 30 | George Washington | - | 3-4-1 | |
| 31 | Colgate | - | 3-5 | |
| 32 | Georgetown | - | 2-4-2 | |
| 33 | Loyola Marymount | - | 4-7 | |
| 34 | Columbia | - | 2-5-2 | |
| 35 | Marquette | - | 3-6 | |
| 36 | Carnegie Tech | - | 2-5-1 | |
| 37 | Pennsylvania | - | 2-5-1 | |
| 38 | Gonzaga | - | 2-6-2 |
1937 bowls
One line per game, latest first. A tag marks the playoff and the other major bowls.
1937 bowls6 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.