Andy Smith's Pacific Coast Conference champion "Wonder Team" at California continued on its streak since 1920. Eastern power Cornell was coached by Gil Dobie and led by one of the sport's great backfields with George Pfann, Eddie Kaw, Floyd Ramsey, and Charles E. Cassidy. Jock Sutherland's Lafayette Maroons were led on the line by Frank Schwab.
Big Ten champion Iowa upset Notre Dame 10–7. Grantland Rice noted that the 1921 Notre Dame team "was the first team we know of to build its attack around a forward passing game, rather than use a forward passing game as a mere aid to the running game."[2]
1921 was the last season for the old Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Vanderbilt tied co-champion Georgia on an onside kick. On October 29, Centre upset Harvard 6–0 in what is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history. Overjoyed students painted the "impossible formula" C6H0 (Centre 6, Harvard 0) on everything in sight. Georgia Tech also claimed a conference title.
The 1922 Rose Bowl was fought to a scoreless tie, between California and Washington & Jefferson, in the last Rose Bowl to be played at Tournament Park. Washington & Jefferson is the smallest school to ever play in a Rose Bowl.
On October 29, Centre College beat Harvard 6 to 0 in what is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history. Overjoyed students painted the "impossible formula" C6H0 (Centre 6, Harvard 0) on everything in sight.
Bowl games
In the 1922 Rose Bowl, heavily favored California played Washington & Jefferson to a scoreless tie. The game holds several distinctions including being the only scoreless contest and the first tie in a Rose Bowl. Charles Fremont West of Washington & Jefferson was the first African-Americanquarterback to play in the Rose Bowl, and Herb Kopf, also of Washington and Jefferson, was the first freshman to play in a Rose Bowl. The 1922 Rose Bowl was the last played at Tournament Park and featured the smallest school—Washington & Jefferson College had only 450 students at the time—to ever play in a Rose Bowl.[4][5]
^Official 2013 Football Bowl Subdivision Records Book(PDF). The National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 76–77. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
^Grantland Rice (December 3, 1921). "Where The West Got The Jump: In Addition To Developing Strong Defense and Good Running Game, Has Built Up Forward Pass" (PDF). American Golfer. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
^Sciullo, Sam Jr., ed. (1991). 1991 Pitt Football: University of Pittsburgh Football Media Guide. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Sports Information Office. p. 116.
^Campbell, Jim (August 2006). "The 1922 Rose Bowl: David v. Goliath" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter. LA84 Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2009. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
^"Washington and Jefferson College". Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved February 28, 2010.