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I agree mostly, especially with 1904. It's debatable, but that's just how the era was. I think the claim is legit, but having it be shared makes total sense.

The 1960 season I disagree a bit. Head-to-head wins are always important to me, so I think beating Iowa automatically puts them ahead. I also think that within the system of that era, Minnesota's claim is legitimate.

The polls naming national champions before the post season made quite a few teams, on top of the Gophers have titles under their belt, even though they lost their bowl games. I don't think the loss in the Rose Bowl lessens that.

The video creator can claim that the Rose Bowl that year was the de facto national championship game, but during that era, that's simply not the case.

If a game has everything riding on it, the whole season is on the line for a national championship, I have to imagine there's more fire on that Gophers team to win that Rose Bowl. That wasn't the case, they had already won the national championship by that Rose Bowl.

I don't think that means they didn't show up against Washington or phoned it in, but one has to think that if that game was actually for the championship, hypothetically, Minnesota may have been more intense in their effort to win.

Overall, they won the national championship in the system of that day, and because college football went most of its history without an NCAA Tournament or BCS/CFP, the claims are always going to be up for debate regardless.
 


IceBoxGopher said:
I agree mostly, especially with 1904. It's debatable, but that's just how the era was. I think the claim is legit, but having it be shared makes total sense.

The 1960 season I disagree a bit. Head-to-head wins are always important to me, so I think beating Iowa automatically puts them ahead. I also think that within the system of that era, Minnesota's claim is legitimate.

The polls naming national champions before the post season made quite a few teams, on top of the Gophers have titles under their belt, even though they lost their bowl games. I don't think the loss in the Rose Bowl lessens that.

The video creator can claim that the Rose Bowl that year was the de facto national championship game, but during that era, that's simply not the case.

If a game has everything riding on it, the whole season is on the line for a national championship, I have to imagine there's more fire on that Gophers team to win that Rose Bowl. That wasn't the case, they had already won the national championship by that Rose Bowl.

I don't think that means they didn't show up against Washington or phoned it in, but one has to think that if that game was actually for the championship, hypothetically, Minnesota may have been more intense in their effort to win.

Overall, they won the national championship in the system of that day, and because college football went most of its history without an NCAA Tournament or BCS/CFP, the claims are always going to be up for debate regardless.
Click to expand...
Washington didn’t even claim the 1960 championship until 2007, that’s 47 years in which they believed they didn’t win it.

It’s also fairly well documented that the Gophers went to California like 2 weeks early and were wined and dined as National Champions. They truly treated the Rose Bowl game as an exhibition.

Near the end of the year Minnesota beat number 1 Iowa and moved back into first place. That should have been enough to solidify the Championship.

The author’s huge flaw was to consider any bowl game that was played after the final rankings were released.
 

IceBoxGopher said:
I agree mostly, especially with 1904. It's debatable, but that's just how the era was. I think the claim is legit, but having it be shared makes total sense.

The 1960 season I disagree a bit. Head-to-head wins are always important to me, so I think beating Iowa automatically puts them ahead. I also think that within the system of that era, Minnesota's claim is legitimate.

The polls naming national champions before the post season made quite a few teams, on top of the Gophers have titles under their belt, even though they lost their bowl games. I don't think the loss in the Rose Bowl lessens that.

The video creator can claim that the Rose Bowl that year was the de facto national championship game, but during that era, that's simply not the case.

If a game has everything riding on it, the whole season is on the line for a national championship, I have to imagine there's more fire on that Gophers team to win that Rose Bowl. That wasn't the case, they had already won the national championship by that Rose Bowl.

I don't think that means they didn't show up against Washington or phoned it in, but one has to think that if that game was actually for the championship, hypothetically, Minnesota may have been more intense in their effort to win.

Overall, they won the national championship in the system of that day, and because college football went most of its history without an NCAA Tournament or BCS/CFP, the claims are always going to be up for debate regardless.
Click to expand...
Spot on
 


Some guy said:
Spot on
Click to expand...
I have spoken with a few members of the ‘60 team about the ‘61 Rose Bowl. As much as they loved Coach Warmath they were critical of his approach to the game. He worked the team very hard—full pad, live-hitting scrimmages on a hard practice field. They were tired and had no legs by game day. The preparation was different for the ‘62 Rose Bowl: a much lighter practice schedule practicing with a more wide-open offense to create a more relaxed atmosphere. The team was fresh for the game and they dominated UCLA. (The Gophers power running was effective against the Bruins and the plays installed for the game were not used.). All that said, as you noted, the voting was based on the scheduled season. Claiming Washington won
the National Title is pure revisionism.





Ll
 


I agree with what the rest of you have said. I’m OK with Washington claiming that title, but that shouldn’t detract from ours. Great video overall
 





Married@SiebertField said:
I have spoken with a few members of the ‘60 team about the ‘61 Rose Bowl. As much as they loved Coach Warmath they were critical of his approach to the game. He worked the team very hard—full pad, live-hitting scrimmages on a hard practice field. They were tired and had no legs by game day. The preparation was different for the ‘62 Rose Bowl: a much lighter practice schedule practicing with a more wide-open offense to create a more relaxed atmosphere. The team was fresh for the game and they dominated UCLA. (The Gophers power running was effective against the Bruins and the plays installed for the game were not used.). All that said, as you noted, the voting was based on the scheduled season. Claiming Washington won
the National Title is pure revisionism.





Ll
Click to expand...
Really good info. In my previous post, I may have mixed up the preparation for the 2 Rose Bowls.
 

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