1920 college football season
The 1920 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing California, Georgia, Harvard, Notre Dame, and Princeton as national champions. Only California and Princeton claim national championships for the 1920 season. Andy Smith's Pacific Coast Conference champion California "Wonder Team" was the first national champion from the Pacific Coast. Princeton and Harvard were undefeated and with one tie to each other. Notre Dame was led by its first Walter Camp All-American, George Gipp, who died before the year was over.
In the south, fans of either side in Georgia were happy. Georgia and Georgia Tech were both undefeated in Southern play. Georgia Tech lost to Pitt, which was undefeated with two ties. No team scored through Georgia's line, and its backfield was known as the "ten second backfield". Jimmy Leech of VMI's "Flying Squadron" led the nation in scoring. One writer claimed "he is one of the greatest broken field runners the country has ever seen."
In the Rose Bowl, Cal defeated Ohio State 28-0. Brick Muller completed a 53-yard touchdown pass to Brodie Stephens after receiving a toss from Pesky Sprott, at the time thought impossible.
Conference and program changes
Conference establishments
- Two new conferences began play in 1920:
- *Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – an active NCAA Division III conference
- *Tri-Normal League – active until 1984; later known as the Washington Intercollegiate Conference and Evergreen Conference''
Membership changes
Bowl games
defeated Ohio State, 28–0, in the 1921 Rose Bowl. The first and only Fort Worth Classic was held on January 1, 1921, with Centre defeating TCU.Conference standings
Major conference standings
Independents
Minor conferences
Minor conference standings
Awards and honors
All-Americans
The consensus All-America team included:| Position | Name | Height | Weight | Class | Hometown | Team |
| QB | Donold Lourie | 5'11" | 164 | Sr. | Peru, Illinois | Princeton |
| HB | Gaylord Stinchcomb | 5'8" | 157 | Sr. | Sycamore, Ohio | Ohio State |
| HB | Charley Way | 5'8" | 144 | Sr. | Embreeville, Pennsylvania | Penn State |
| FB | George Gipp | 6'1" | 180 | Sr. | Laurium, Michigan | Notre Dame |
| E | Chuck Carney | 6'1" | 190 | Jr. | Chicago, Illinois | Illinois |
| E | Bill Fincher | 6'0" | 182 | Sr. | Atlanta, Georgia | Georgia Tech |
| T | Stan Keck | 5'11" | 206 | Jr. | Greensburg, Pennsylvania | Princeton |
| G | Tim Callahan | Sr. | Lawrence, Massachusetts | Yale | ||
| G | Tom Woods | Sr. | Boston, Massachusetts | Harvard | ||
| C | Herb Stein | 6'1" | 186 | Jr. | Warren, Ohio | Pittsburgh |
| G | Iolas Huffman | 5'11" | 228 | Jr. | Chandlersville, Ohio | Ohio State |
| T | Ralph Scott | 6'2" | 235 | Sr. | Dewey, Wisconsin | Wisconsin |
| E | Luke Urban | 5'8" | 165 | Sr. | Fall River, Massachusetts | Boston College |
Statistical leaders
- Player scoring most points: Jimmy Leech, VMI, 210
- Player scoring most touchdowns, Jimmy Leech, 26
- Total offense leader: Jimmy Leech, 1771
- Rushing yards leader: Jimmy Leech, 1723
- Rushing avg leader: Buck Flowers, Georgia Tech, 10.2
- Receptions leader: Eddie Anderson, Notre Dame, 17
- Receiving yards leader: Eddie Anderson, 293