1926 Stanford football team


The 1926 Stanford football team represented Stanford University in the 1926 college football season. In head coach Pop Warner's third season, Stanford went undefeated in the regular season. Stanford faced undefeated Alabama in the 1927 Rose Bowl for the national championship, but the two teams would tie 7–7. The 1927 Stanford-Alabama match was the final Rose Bowl to end in a tie. Stanford was named the national champion under the Dickinson System and as a co-national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation, National Championship Foundation, and Jeff Sagarin.
The team played their home games at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California, and competed in the Pacific Coast Conference.

Schedule

Game summaries

Rose Bowl

The 1927 Rose Bowl was held on January 1, 1927, in Pasadena, California. Stanford faced off against the Southern Conference Champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide. The game would end in a 7–7, and was the last Rose Bowl game to end in a tie.
United Press called the 1927 Rose Bowl "the football championship of America", and the game was considered the most exciting in the series up to that time. The crowd of 68,000 set an attendance record. Stanford's George Bogue missed an 18-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, then threw a touchdown pass to Ed Walker and kicked the point after to put Stanford up, 7-0. Stanford held that lead through most of the rest of the game, but in the final minutes, they were forced to punt on fourth down. Frankie Wilton's kick was blocked, and Alabama took over 14 yards from goal. Four plays later, and with a minute left, Jimmy Johnson carried the ball for a touchdown, making it 7-6. The two-point conversion, and overtime, were decades in the future. Stanford's only hope was to block the point after, but Alabama ran the play quickly and Herschel Caldwell's kick tied Stanford, and took away a Stanford victory in the final minute.