1960 McMNC: Washington Huskies

AP Top 10: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results

1. Minnesota: 8-2-0 -- L, Rose, 7-17
2. Mississippi: 10-0-1 -- W, Sugar, 14-6
3. Iowa: 8-1-0 -- NONE
4. Navy: 9-2-0 -- L, Orange, 14-21
5. Missouri: 10-1-0 -- W, Orange, 21-14
6. Washington: 10-1-0 -- W, Rose, 17-7
7. Arkansas: 8-3-0 -- L, Cotton, 6-7
8. Ohio State: 7-2-0 -- NONE
9. Alabama: 8-1-2 -- T, Bluebonnet, 3-3
10. Duke: 8-3-0 -- W, Cotton, 7-6

On added thought here: New Mexico State went 11-0 in 1960 and finished ranked #17 in the AP poll. Their SOS rating was 47%, and they beat 8-2 Wichita State, 7-3 Arizona State, and 9-2 Utah State in the Sun Bowl. No wins over ranked teams, but ...

This year is a disgrace on par with what happened in 2007: no two-loss team should ever win the McMNC, and I stand by that assertion. The AP poll really should have begun its shift to post-bowl voting after this season, but they still waited for almost a decade to finalize that move. Id0ts!

And the sad thing is that Iowa isn't eligible for the McMNC, because they finished a half-game behind Minnesota in the Big Ten standings. Uneven schedules? Still in 1960. What a f**ked up season ...

This comes down to Mississippi, Missouri and Washington.

The Rebels had a 53% SOS rating and no losses to go with their Sugar Bowl win. They beat 6-4 Houston on the road 42-0, they beat 5-4-1 Kentucky at home by 15 points, they beat 8-2 Memphis by 11 on the road, they beat #7 Arkansas on the road by three points, they tied 5-4-1 LSU at home (6-6), they beat UPI #19 Tennessee (6-2-2) on the road by three touchdowns, and they beat 7-4 Rice in the Sugar Bowl. So they had only one win over an AP-ranked team all season. Mmmm.

Missouri had a 47% SOS rating, and their one loss was to #11 Kansas (7-2-1) at home by 16 points in the last regular season game of the year (choke?). They recovered to beat #4 Navy in the Orange Bowl, of course, and they also beat #16 Penn State (7-3) on the road by 13 points. The Tigers beat 7-3 Iowa State at home, and they beat 6-4 Colorado at home, as well. The problem was that some teams they beat majorly sucked (0-9-1 SMU, and 1-9 Kansas State), and Oklahoma had a down year (3-6-1). They beat more ranked teams than Mississippi did, and their one loss is better than Mississippi's tie. Still too close to call conclusively, so ...

Washington won its second straight Rose Bowl and compiled a 49% SOS rating along the way. Their one loss? To #4 Navy by a point at home. That's the "best" of the blemishes in this group, for sure. Plus, they had the best bowl win, knocking off #1 Minnesota in the Rose Bowl. They beat 7-2-1 UCLA at home by two points, they beat 6-3-1 Oregon State on the road by one point, and they beat 7-3-1 Oregon at home by a point. That's three wins over winning, albeit unranked, teams by four points. Team that just knows how to win? Oddly enough, however, only Navy and Minnesota were ranked on Washington's schedule in 1960. The AAWU was clearly getting no respect! USC had a down year (4-6), while Cal and Stanford were a combined 2-17-1, which hurt Washington's SOS. But why UCLA, Oregon and Oregon State were unranked? Oregon, for one, lost to Michigan (5-4) and #16 Penn State by a combined 50 points. That could have something to do with it? Oregon State only lost by ten on the road to #3 Iowa, although they did have an inexcusable loss to Cal at home. UCLA tied #19 Purdue on the road, and they beat #10 Duke on the road by three touchdowns. Clearly, an early sign of the Pac-10 bias.

So is it Mississippi, Missouri or Washington? Mississippi wins the SOS category, Washington wins the most-impressive bowl win category, and Washington wins the least-painful blemish to the record category as well. But Missouri beat the team that beat Washington ... In reality, the SOS category is a wash, since no team played a particularly good or bad schedule. That really does leave Washington as the team with the best resume, since their loss was to #4 by a mere point -- AND they beat #1 in their bowl game by a larger margin than either of the others beat their lesser opponents.

Congratulations, U-Dub.

McMNC Revisions
1. Washington
2. Mississippi
3. Missouri
4. Iowa
5. Minnesota

RUNNING SCORECARD:
Tennessee: +1938, +1942, +1950, -1951
Washington: +1960
Iowa: +1956
Georgia Tech: +1952
Illinois: +1951
Michigan: +1947, =1948
Georgia: +1946
Alabama: +1945
Purdue: +1943
Stanford: +1940
California: +1937
Pittsburgh: +1936, -1937
Syracuse: =1959
LSU: =1958
Texas A&M: =1939
Michigan State: -1952, +1953
Ohio State: -1942, +1944, =1954
Oklahoma: +1949, -1950, =1955, -1956, +1957
TCU: -1938
Maryland: -1953
Auburn: -1957
Army: -1944, -1945
Minnesota: -1936, -1940, =1941, -1960
Notre Dame: -1943, -1946, -1947, -1949