1944 McMNC: Ohio State University

AP Top 15: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results

1. Army: 9-0-0 -- None
2. Ohio State: 9-0-0 -- None
3. Randolph Field: 12-0-0 -- W, Treasury Bowl, 13-6
4. Navy: 6-3-0 -- None
5. Bainbridge NTS: 10-0-0 -- None
6. Iowa Pre-Flight: 10-1-0 -- None
7. USC: 8-0-2 -- W, Rose, 25-0
8. Michigan: 8-2-0 -- None
9. Notre Dame: 8-2-0 -- None
10. March Field: 7-1-2 -- None
11. Duke: 6-4-0 -- W, Sugar, 29-26
12. Tennessee: 7-1-1 -- L, Rose, 0-25
13. Georgia Tech: 8-3-0 -- L, Orange, 12-26
14. Norman Pre-Flight: 6-0-0 -- None
15. Illinois: 5-4-1 -- None

Same problem as 1943, clearly, and if someone can explain how a team barely above .500 makes the Top 15, I would appreciate that. Anyway, on to the debate at hand!

As noted in the 1943 analysis, I am not considering war-time military academies or bases in my analysis. Those teams were not true college teams, and I mean no disrespect from that statement as explained previously. Ohio State went unbeaten and untied, and USC didn't lose a game. No one else really deserves consideration. So let's break down those two teams.

Ohio State: Opponents won 55% of their games, and the Buckeyes beat three ranked teams in 1994 (#17 Great Lakes NTS, #15 Illinois and #8 Michigan). Minnesota and Indiana also had winning records amongst Ohio State's victims, so the schedule strength was solid. The only problem I have with the schedule is that EIGHT games were played at home. EIGHT. The only road trip was to Madison to face the 3-6 Badgers. War-time travel restrictions or not, that's pathetic. And, of course, they didn't play a bowl game.

USC: For the record, the Trojans' schedule was messed up, too, due to war-time travel restrictions. They played UCLA and Cal twice, actually; both were home-and-home affairs, where the Trojans hosted first before traveling (across town for the UCLA game, of course, giving USC only one true road game on the year, too) for the second match-ups at the end of the season. UCLA was 4-5-1 and Cal was 3-6-1 in 1944, which makes the home ties particularly bad for the Trojans, although in the road rematches, USC rolled by a combined score of 72-13. The Trojans also beat #19 St. Mary's Pre-Flight and 5-3 Washington during the season, but overall, the SOS was mediocre (.450 win percentage for opponents). The only reason the Trojans are in this discussion is because of their 25-point, shutout win over previously unbeaten Tennessee in the Rose Bowl.

Let's look at the Vols to determine the "power" of that USC win: first, Georgia Tech won the SEC in 1944, with a perfect 4-0 league mark, while the Vols only went 5-0-1 in SEC play. Tennessee tied Alabama, 0-0, at home, and the Tide went 5-2-2 in 1944. Not a bad tie, per se, but the Vols didn't win the SEC as a result. Tennessee's SOS was only slightly better than USC's (opponents won 47% of their games), and the only winning team the Vols beat all year was 4-3 Florida. So the Vols' unbeaten record really wasn't all that impressive in 1944, making USC's bowl win less impressive than it might have been. But it was still a bowl win, and Ohio State doesn't have one of those.

In the end, however, just like it did in 1939, we have an obvious reality: USC's ties to weak teams just cannot be overlooked, so Ohio State gets the nod for 1944. Congrats to the Buckeyes.

McMNC Revisions
1. Ohio State
2. USC
3. Tennessee
4. Michigan
5. Notre Dame

RUNNING SCORECARD:
Tennessee: +1938, +1942
Purdue: +1943
Stanford: +1940
California: +1937
Texas A&M: =1939
Ohio State: -1942, +1944
Pittsburgh: +1936, -1937
TCU: -1938
Notre Dame: -1943
Army: -1944
Minnesota: -1936, -1940, =1941