The 1911 college football season was the last one before major reforms were made to the American game in 1912. In 1911, touchdowns were worth five points, the field was 110 yards in length, and a team had three downs within which to advance the ball ten yards. The United States Naval Academy (Navy) finished with a record of 6 wins and 3 ties (6–0–3). Two of the ties were 0–0 games with the other major unbeaten teams, Penn State (8–0–1) and Princeton (8–0–2). Other teams that finished the season unbeaten were Minnesota (6–0–1) and Florida (5–0–1). The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, declared retroactively that Princeton had been the best team of 1911 [1]
Rules
The rules for American football in 1911 included:[2]
Field 110 yards in length
Kickoff made from midfield
Three downs to gain ten yards
Touchdown worth 5 points
Field goal worth 3 points
Forward pass legal, but subject to penalties:
A pass could not be caught beyond the goal line, nor more than 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.[2]
Kansas travels to Missouri for a 3–3 tie in what is widely considered the first homecoming game. More than 1,000 people gathered in downtown Lawrence, Kansas, to watch a mechanical reproduction of the game while it was being played with the information reported by telegraph.[3]
November 29
On Wednesday, November 29, in Savannah, Georgia and Auburn played to a 0–0 tie.
November 30 (Thanksgiving)
Penn State won at Pittsburgh 3–0, to finish the season 8–0–1.
Carlisle closed its season with a 12–6 win at Brown.
The last five-point American football touchdown was scored on January 1, 1912, in a game played in Havana, Cuba. Mississippi A&M College (now Mississippi State University) defeated the Club Atletico de Cuba, 12–0.[4]