Oct. 29, 2002
Recognition came about a half-century after the fact, but the 1950 Kentuckyteam is finally receiving its just reward – national champion.
The Wildcats under Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant were the best team in the countryfor the 1950 season, according to the Jeff Sagarin computer rankings.
Kentucky posted an 11-1 record in 1950, winning its first SoutheasternConference championship with a league mark of 5-1. The Wildcats topped theseason with the most famous win in school history, the 13-7 Sugar Bowltriumph that snapped No. 1-ranked Oklahoma’s 31-game winning streak.
Why did it take so long for Kentucky to be recognized as the nationalchampion?
In those days, The Associated Press and other polls only recognized theregular season. Therefore, the national champion(s) was chosen after theregular season, but before the bowl games. For example, that’s why Oklahomawas ranked No. 1 in the final AP poll for 1950 and UK was ranked No. 7.
That’s where the Sagarin rankings come into play. Sagarin has been analyzingcollege football by computer since 1973 and currently provides the computerrankings for USA Today.
In 1982, Sagarin began reviewing additional seasons, beginning with 1972 andworking in reverse chronological order. It’s a long, tedious process.Sagarin does extensive research in verifying scores and game locationsbefore loading the data into his computer for analysis. Sagarin didn’tcomplete the 1950 season until 1997.
Because there is no “official” national champ in Division I-A football, theNCAA Football Media Guide lists the champions chosen by variousorganizations, such as The Associated Press, Football Writers Association ofAmerica, Sagarin ratings, etc. When Sagarin completed the 1950 analysis, theNCAA quietly added it to the record book and it went unnoticed in Kentuckyuntil recently.
Of course, Kentucky isn’t the only team with a claim on the 1950 title.Oklahoma, Tennessee and Princeton also share the championship for that year.Let’s take a look at each of their seasons.
Oklahoma is the national champion by six selectors. Why They Should beNational Champions: The Sooners went 10-1 and had a 31-game winning streak.Why They Shouldn’t: They lost their bowl game, which would be a fatal blowin today’s voting environment.
Tennessee is recognized by five selectors. Why They Should be NationalChampions: The Volunteers won their last 10 games en route to an 11-1 mark,topped by a win over Texas in the Cotton Bowl. The Vols also posted a 7-0win over Kentucky in Knoxville. Why They Shouldn’t: The blemish on UT’srecord was an early season loss to a mediocre Mississippi State team.
Princeton was chosen by two selectors. Why They Should be National Champions:The Tigers finished 9-0 and it’s hard to argue against an unbeaten team. WhyThey Shouldn’t: Strength of schedule hurts Princeton. The Sagarin analysis,for example, lists the Tigers as No. 101 in strength of schedule that year.
Kentucky is named by one selector. Why They Should be National Champions: TheWildcats were 11-1 and beat No.1-ranked Oklahoma in the bowl game. Why TheyShouldn’t: In today’s climate, the Sugar Bowl win might not be enough tooffset the late-season loss at Tennessee.
“It (the national championship) is something we’ve always had on our mind,”said John Griggs, who was a sophomore offensive lineman on that team. Griggsorganizes “The Bear’s Boys,” which is the alumni group of Wildcats whoplayed for Coach Bryant from 1946-53. “The Bear’s Boys” have a reunion inLexington every two years.
“We didn’t talk about it much at the time, because that was just how thesystem worked. The bowl games weren’t included as part of picking thenational champion,” Griggs said. “But we’ve talked about it more and moreover the years, especially after the bowl games began being included in thepolls. We believed we had the best team in the country that year, and we’veoften said what a shame it was that we couldn’t be listed as nationalchamps.”
Through the years, the beauty of college football for many people (and forothers, the drawback) is the debate over which team really should be thenational champion. The advent of the Bowl Championship Series has helped tosome degree, as there is a national championship game. The current debatestill rises, however, over which two teams should be included in that game.
But, that’s another story for another time. For now, it’s enough for “TheBear’s Boys” to know that they have a claim on the 1950 national title.
