Old King Football lumbered into the locker room, stowed his gear, had him a rubdown, called it a season. Thanksgiving Day and the subsequent Saturday left nothing ahead but late holiday games in California and the annual bickerfests over "ranking."
This "ranking" stood somewhat as follows:
Roughshod, omnivincible, indisputable national champions—Notre Dame.
Southern Conference champions (Pickens Cup)—Alabama.
Best Eastern teams—Penn, Yale, Army, Dartmouth.
Western Conference champions—Chicago.
Missouri Valley Conference champions—Missouri.
Mid-West Conference — Knox tied with Lombard.
Southwestern Conference champions—Baylor.
Rocky Mountain Conference champions—Colorado.
Northwest Conference — Idaho tied with Gonzaga.
Pacific Coast Conference champions—Leland Stanford;
Southern California Conference champions—Pomona.
High Mention—West Virginia, Rutgers.
Thanksgiving Day in the Missouri Valley was punctuated by a loud, solid thump administered by Missouri to Kansas. The Missouri backfield selected the third period for two plunging touchdowns. In the fourth period, Kansas passes soared menacingly but were cut down with precision. The score, Missouri 14, Kansas 0, left Nebraska no room for argument with Missouri over the Valley title.
Cornell treated Penn's unbeaten team to a bleak first period. Long punts and off-tackle thrusts kept the Big Red team on an offensive that wilted only before its own fumbles. Then Penn uncorked her air game and three touchdowns whistled over. The final whistle ended Penn's first unbeaten season since 1908. Score: Penn 20, Cornell 0.
Big John McBride of Syracuse bided his time at the Polo Grounds, Manhattan. When his time came, at three different moments, he applied his toe to the ball with great care and propelled three spinning field goals over Columbia's goal. Backs Koppisch and Pease of Columbia played smart, shifty football but the Syracuse line was too cool and collected for them. Only once did Koppisch slither by. Score: Syracuse 9, Columbia 6.
Also on Thanksgiving Day: Alabama rounded off a bounteous season with 33 points to Georgia's none; Baylor pounded Rice, 17 to 9; Texas edged by the Texas Aggies, 7 to 0; Kentucky subdued her mountaineering neighbors from Tennessee, 27 to 6.
Little Sewanee, which had appeared to Vanderbilt to be all picked, stuffed and ready for the oven, sprang from the platter and carved up the conquerors of Minnesota, 16 to 0.
On Saturday, President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge accompanied other football enthusiasts to Baltimore, but their presence was almost out of mind when Cadet Garbisch of the Army started kicking field goals at the Navy's cross-spar. Once, twice, thrice, four times, eight times he lifted the ball, at various angles and altitudes, and four times the ball passed over. Score: Army 12, Navy 0.
Pittsburgh would take no nonsense about field goals from Penn State. While the latter potted away ineffectually, Pitt laid open large apertures in the Penn State line, roared through to win 24 to 3.
Notre Dame spent that closing day of the regular season romping through Carnegie Tech, 40 to 19. Carnegie was disconcerting for the first half, keeping an even pace with two touchdowns. Then Notre Dame passes flurried like falling snow.