1901 college football season
The 1901 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Michigan, Yale, and Harvard as having been selected retrospectively as national champions. Harvard beat Yale 22-0 the last game of the year.
Conference and program changes
Rose Bowl
The very first collegiate football bowl game was played following the 1901 season. Originally titled the "Tournament East-West football game" what is now known as the Rose Bowl Game was first played on January 1, 1902, in Pasadena, California. Michigan defeated Stanford 49–0.Conference standings
Major conference standings
Independents
Minor conferences
Awards and honors
All-Americans
The consensus All-America team included:| Position | Name | Height | Weight | Class | Hometown | Team |
| QB | Charles Dudley Daly | 5'7" | 152 | Jr. | Boston, Massachusetts | Army |
| HB | Robert Kernan | Jr. | Brooklyn, New York | Harvard | ||
| HB | Harold Weekes | 5'10" | 178 | Jr. | Oyster Bay, New York | Columbia |
| HB | Bill Morley | 5'10" | 166 | Sr. | Cimarron, New Mexico | Columbia |
| FB | Blondy Graydon | Jr. | Cincinnati, Ohio | Harvard | ||
| E | Dave Campbell | 6'0" | 171 | Sr. | Waltham, Massachusetts | Harvard |
| E | Ralph Tipton Davis | 5'7" | 168 | So. | Blossburg, Pennsylvania | Princeton |
| T | Oliver Cutts | Sr. | North Anson, Maine | Harvard | ||
| T | Paul Bunker | 5'11" | 186 | Jr. | Alpena, Michigan | Army |
| G | Bill Warner | 6'4" | 210 | Jr. | Springville, New York | Cornell |
| G | William George Lee | Sr. | Leavenworth, Kansas | Harvard | ||
| C | Henry Holt | Jr. | Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx, New York | Yale | ||
| C | Walter E. Bachman | Sr. | Phillipsburg, New Jersey | Lafayette | ||
| G | Charles A. Barnard | Sr. | Washington, D. C. | Harvard | ||
| G | Sanford Hunt | So. | Irvington, New Jersey | Cornell | ||
| T | Crawford Blagden | Sr. | New York, New York | Harvard | ||
| E | Edward Bowditch | So. | Albany, New York | Harvard | ||
| E | Neil Snow | 5'8" | 190 | Sr. | Detroit, Michigan | Michigan |
Statistical leaders
- Player scoring most points: Bruce Shorts, Michigan, 123
- Rushing leader: Willie Heston, Michigan, 684
- Rushing avg. leader: Willie Heston, 10.2
- Rushing touchdowns leader: Willie Heston, 20