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1975 College Football National Championship

Arizona State wide receiver John Jefferson

Alas, I've only written one National Championship article in the last 6 years. Just been too busy! I would still like to write full articles about each season like I have for 1901-1969, but for now, what I am going to do instead is write partial articles that do nothing more than explain my reasoning for my Mythical National Championship selections. Full profiles of the teams and their seasons will have to wait until I have time to write those up.

Here is how all of the organizations listed in the NCAA Records Book see the 1975 mythical national championship (omitting selections made by a single magazine or by math/computer ratings, which are not generally accepted as MNCs):

11-1 Oklahoma: AP Poll, UPI Poll (coaches), Football Writers Association of America, National Football Foundation, CFB Researchers, National Championship Foundation (tie), Helms (tie)
12-0 Arizona State: National Championship Foundation (tie)
11-1 Ohio State: Helms (tie).

11-1 Oklahoma played an incredible schedule (8 opponents ranked in the fixed AP poll), which is why they were the consensus choice for 1975 MNC. 12-0 Arizona State played in the Western Athletic Conference, a precursor to today's Mountain West, and so their schedule wasn't nearly as tough, but they did play 3 ranked opponents, including a victory over #3 Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl, and unlike Oklahoma they did not take a loss, so they are a legitimate contender to share the crown with Oklahoma. I'll compare these 2 teams in a bit more detail below.

11-1 Ohio State, on the other hand, is a bizarre choice by the Helms Foundation to share the 1975 MNC with Oklahoma because the Buckeyes took their loss 23-10 to #6 UCLA in the Rose Bowl. That alone renders OSU a non-contender for the crown, but they also played a far weaker schedule than Oklahoma did (4 games against rated opponents), and their schedule wasn't enough tougher than unbeaten Arizona State's to forgive their loss. And again, that loss came in their bowl game. By more than a touchdown. I really can't fathom what the Helms Foundation was thinking here.

A better choice to share the 1975 crown might have been 11-1 Alabama, simply because the Tide took their upset loss in their first game (20-7 to #17 Missouri) rather than in their bowl game. But Alabama is not a contender for the 1975 MNC either, as they only played 3 rated opponents, and none of those ended up in the top 10. That left the Tide without an MNC-type accomplishment. Oklahoma played 4 top 10 opponents, and more than twice as many top 25 opponents as Alabama did. Arizona State played the same number of rated opponents Alabama did, but one of those ended up #3, and unlike Alabama, ASU did not take a loss.

So let's get to the main event, comparing Oklahoma and Arizona State. Listed below are the significant results for these 2 teams in 1975 (results not listed are all routs of unranked teams). Needless to say, all rankings in this article come from my fixed AP poll for 1975.
Oklahoma 11-1 Arizona State 12-0
Pittsburgh (8-4)
 46-10
 #20
at Miami-Florida (2-8)
 20-17
 Unranked
Colorado (9-3)
 21-20
 #9
(Dallas) Texas (10-2)
 24-17
 #7
at Oklahoma State (7-4)
 27-7
 #18
Kansas (7-5)
 3-23
 #21
at Missouri (6-5)
 28-27
 #17
Nebraska (10-2) 35-10 #3
Orange Bowl
Michigan (8-2-2)
14-6
#10
Washington (6-5) 35-12 #13
at New Mexico (6-5)
 16-10
 Unranked
Wyoming (2-9) 21-20 Unranked
Arizona (9-2)
 24-21
 #25
Fiesta Bowl
Nebraska (10-2)
17-14
#3

Just look at that crazy schedule Oklahoma played! Eight ranked opponents to just 3 for ASU, and on top of that, ASU played all 3 at home! If I were rating these teams, I'd have to go with the Sooners at #1 just based on the gargantuan difference in schedules faced here. OU's conference, the Big 8, was the top conference this season, posting a very impressive 29-7 record against nonconference opponents, and an unusually high 12 of those opponents finished rated in the AP poll. OU and ASU performed pretty similarly for the most part, but one big difference is how each performed against #3 Nebraska: Oklahoma routed the Huskers by 25 points in their regular season finale, and Arizona State edged them by 3 in the Fiesta Bowl (essentially a home game for ASU).

However, while my pick would be Oklahoma, I do think there is just enough merit to ASU's case that they are also a valid choice for #1, and should be considered co-MNC with Oklahoma. And it's all because Oklahoma's one loss is just too ugly in too many ways to ignore. They didn't just lose, they were completely drubbed 23-3. By a team ranked way down at #21. And it was a home game. And it happened late in the season (game 9). ASU may have played a weaker schedule, but they went unbeaten, and they defeated #3 Nebraska, which is an MNC-level season.

So ASU is the only team from the WAC conference, in my opinion, that ever merited an MNC. Brigham Young may have been the consensus choice as MNC of 1984, but I do not recognize that team as a champion myself, and this much there can be no debating: BYU '84 didn't come close to accomplishing as much as ASU '75 did. Start with the fact that BYU '84 didn't play a single ranked opponent.

Anyway, it may be a few decades too late, but congrats to ASU! And congrats to the National Championship Foundation, which got this MNC selection right.

National Champions
1975 Fixed AP Poll
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