Editing College football (section)

====South====
[[File:1895_Auburn_-_Georgia_football_game_at_Piedmont_Park_in_Atlanta_Georgia.jpg|thumb|alt=An 1895 football game between Auburn and Georgia|300x300px|An 1895 football game between [[Auburn University|Auburn]] and [[University of Georgia|Georgia]]]]
[[File:Vmi v hokies football game 1894.jpg|thumb|An 1894 football game in [[Staunton, Virginia]] between [[VMI Keydets football|VMI]] and [[Virginia Tech Hokies football|Virginia Tech]]]]
[[File:Sewanee 1899 Football Team.jpg|thumb|[[Sewanee Tigers football|Sewanee]]'s 1899 "Iron Men"]]
[[File:Vanderbilt football 1904.jpg|thumb|The 1904 [[Vanderbilt Commodores football|Vanderbilt]] team in action; note the grid pattern on the field]]
Organized collegiate football was first played in the state of [[Virginia]] and the south on November 2, 1873, in [[Lexington, Virginia|Lexington]] between [[Washington and Lee Generals football|Washington and Lee]] and [[1873 VMI Keydets football team|VMI]]. Washington and Lee won 4–2.<ref name="generalssports.com">{{Cite web|url = http://www.generalssports.com/information/athletics_history/index|title = A History of Washington and Lee Athletics|access-date = February 9, 2015}}</ref> Some industrious students of the two schools organized a game for October 23, 1869, but it was rained out.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kxuEYG6WmOsC&pg=PA53|page=53|title=Evolvements of Early American Foot Ball: Through the 1890/91 Season|author=Melvin I. Smith|isbn=978-1-4343-6247-6|year=2008|publisher=AuthorHouse }}</ref> Students of the [[University of Virginia]] were playing pickup games of the kicking-style of football as early as 1870, and some accounts even claim it organized a game against Washington and Lee College in 1871; but no record has been found of the score of this contest. Due to scantiness of records of the prior matches some will claim [[Virginia Cavaliers football|Virginia]] v. Pantops Academy November 13, 1887, as the first game in Virginia.

On April 9, 1880, at [[Stoll Field/McLean Stadium|Stoll Field]], [[Transylvania University]] (then called Kentucky University) beat [[Centre Colonels football|Centre College]] by the score of {{frac|13|3|4}}&ndash;0 in what is often considered the first recorded game played in the [[American South|South]].<ref>Becky Riddle, "Stoll Field", ExploreKYHistory, accessed February 4, 2015, http://explorekyhistory.ky.gov/items/show/153.</ref> The first game of "scientific football" in the South was the first instance of the [[Victory Bell (Duke–North Carolina)|Victory Bell]] rivalry between [[North Carolina Tar Heels football|North Carolina]] and [[Duke Blue Devils football|Duke]] (then known as Trinity College) held on [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving Day]], 1888, at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1990/JSH1701/jsh1701b.pdf|journal=Journal of Sport History|volume=17|number=1|year=1990|title=John Franklin Crowell, Methodism, and the Football Controversy at Trinity College, 1887–1894|author=Jim L. Sumner|access-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080840/http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1990/JSH1701/jsh1701b.pdf|archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref>

On November 13, 1887, the [[Virginia Cavaliers football|Virginia Cavaliers]] and Pantops Academy fought to a scoreless tie in the first organized football game in the state of [[Virginia]].<ref>{{cite book |title= University of Virginia Football Vault |last= Ratcliffe |first= Jerry |year=2008 |publisher= Whitman Publishing, LLC|location= Atlanta, Ga.|isbn= 978-0-7948-2647-5|page= 8 |url= http://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/u4812190}}</ref> Students at UVA were playing pickup games of the kicking-style of football as early as 1870, and some accounts even claim that some industrious ones organized a game against [[Washington and Lee Generals football|Washington and Lee College]] in 1871, just two years after Rutgers and Princeton's historic first game in 1869. But no record has been found of the score of this contest. Washington and Lee also claims a 4 to 2 win over [[VMI Keydets football|VMI]] in 1873.<ref name="generalssports.com"/>

On October 18, 1888, the [[Wake Forest Demon Deacons football|Wake Forest Demon Deacons]] defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 6 to 4 in the first intercollegiate game in the state of [[North Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wfu.edu/history/HST_WFU/pub_wfu.html|title=Wake Forest: A Look Back}}</ref>

On December 14, 1889, [[Wofford Terriers football|Wofford]] defeated [[Furman Paladins football|Furman]] 5 to 1 in the first intercollegiate game in the state of [[South Carolina]]. The game featured no uniforms, no positions, and the rules were formulated before the game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/336821/106|title=Furman University – 2014 FB Record Book|access-date=December 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219105420/http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/336821/106|archive-date=December 19, 2014}}</ref>

January 30, 1892, saw the first football game played in the [[Deep South]] when the [[1892 Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia Bulldogs]] defeated [[Mercer Bears football|Mercer]] 50–0 at [[Herty Field]].

The beginnings of the contemporary [[Southeastern Conference]] and [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] start in 1894. The [[Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association]] (SIAA) was founded on December 21, 1894, by [[William Lofland Dudley|William Dudley]], a chemistry professor at [[Vanderbilt University|Vanderbilt]].<ref>Greg Roza, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ul4vwD8hmUIC ''Football in the SEC (Southeastern Conference)''], p. 1, 2007, {{ISBN|1-4042-1919-6}}.</ref> The original members were [[University of Alabama|Alabama]], [[Auburn University|Auburn]], [[University of Georgia|Georgia]], [[Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech]], [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|North Carolina]], [[Sewanee: The University of the South|Sewanee]], and [[Vanderbilt University|Vanderbilt]]. [[Clemson University|Clemson]], [[Cumberland University|Cumberland]], [[University of Kentucky|Kentucky]], [[LSU Tigers football|LSU]], [[Mercer University|Mercer]], [[University of Mississippi|Mississippi]], [[Mississippi State University|Mississippi A&M]] (Mississippi State), [[Rhodes College|Southwestern Presbyterian University]], [[University of Tennessee|Tennessee]], [[University of Texas at Austin|Texas]], [[Tulane University|Tulane]], and the [[University of Nashville]] joined the following year in 1895 as invited charter members.<ref name="handbook">{{cite book |title=Handbook of Southern Intercollegiate Track and Field Athletics |last=Bailey |first=John Wendell |year=1924 |publisher=Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College |page=14}}</ref> The conference was originally formed for "the development and purification of college athletics throughout the South".<ref name="SIAA-1895">{{cite book |title=Southern Inter-Collegiate Athletic Association |year=1895 |publisher=E. D. Stone |location=Athens, Georgia |access-date=October 13, 2011 |url=http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/speccol/exhibits/Athletics/SIAA_handbook1895.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404041408/http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/speccol/exhibits/Athletics/SIAA_handbook1895.pdf |archive-date=April 4, 2012 }}</ref>

The first [[forward pass]] in football likely occurred on October 26, 1895, in a game between Georgia and [[North Carolina Tar Heels football|North Carolina]] when, out of desperation, the ball was thrown by the North Carolina back Joel Whitaker instead of punted and [[George Stephens (American football)|George Stephens]] caught the ball.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tarheeltimes.com/football/first-forward-pass.aspx |title=Tarheels Credited With Throwing First Forward Pass|work=Tar Heel Times |access-date=January 14, 2013}}</ref> On November 9, 1895, [[John Heisman]] executed a hidden ball trick using quarterback [[Reynolds Tichenor]] to get [[1895 Auburn Tigers football team|Auburn]]'s only touchdown in a 6 to 9 loss to [[1895 Vanderbilt Commodores football team|Vanderbilt]]. It was the first game in the south decided by a field goal.<ref name=slants>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=897&dat=19310124&id=-aNaAAAAIBAJ&pg=4042,1045626|author=Alan Gould|title=Sport Slants|work=Prescott Evening Courier|date=January 24, 1931}}</ref> Heisman later used the trick against [[Glenn Warner|Pop Warner]]'s Georgia team. Warner picked up the trick and later used it at Cornell against Penn State in 1897.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1978030//|title=Ball Under The Jersey|work=Lincoln Evening Journal|page=21|date=December 18, 1930|access-date=March 13, 2015|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> He then used it in 1903 at Carlisle against Harvard and garnered national attention.

The [[1899 Sewanee Tigers football team|1899 Sewanee Tigers]] are one of the all-time great teams of the early sport. The team went 12–0, outscoring opponents 322 to 10. Known as the "Iron Men", with just 13 men they had a six-day road trip with five shutout wins over [[1899 Texas A&M Aggies football team|Texas A&M]]; [[Texas Longhorns football|Texas]]; [[1899 Tulane Green Wave football team|Tulane]]; [[1899 LSU Tigers football team|LSU]]; and [[Ole Miss Rebels football|Ole Miss]]. It is recalled memorably with the phrase "...&nbsp;and on the seventh day they rested."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story/_/id/7001627/sec-expansion-conference-consider-sewanee-long-lost-founding-member|title=Sewanee, long-lost member of the SEC|author=Patrick Dorsey|date=September 23, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://larrydagenhart.writersresidence.com/system/attachments/files/28681/original/On_the_7th_Day_They_Rested_p1.pdf?1362597610|title=On the 7th Day They Rested|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023114629/http://larrydagenhart.writersresidence.com/system/attachments/files/28681/original/On_the_7th_Day_They_Rested_p1.pdf?1362597610|archive-date=October 23, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Grantland Rice]] called them "the most durable football team I ever saw."<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19411127&id=SaQhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3862,5618014|title = Grantland Rice|date = November 27, 1941|work = Reading Eagle}}</ref>

Organized intercollegiate football was first played in the state of Florida in 1901.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.stetson.edu/alumni/homecoming/history.php%7ctitle=History|title=Homecoming 2015|access-date=December 23, 2015}}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> A 7-game series between intramural teams from Stetson and Forbes occurred in 1894. The first intercollegiate game between official varsity teams was played on November 22, 1901. Stetson beat Florida Agricultural College at Lake City, one of the four forerunners of the University of Florida, 6–0, in a game played as part of the Jacksonville Fair.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1999/08/27/florida-power-the-earl-years/|title=Florida Power:The Early Years|date=August 17, 1999|access-date=October 16, 2015|archive-date=February 4, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204064255/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1999-08-27/features/9908270221_1_stetson-rollins-university-of-florida}}</ref>

On September 27, 1902, [[Georgetown Hoyas football|Georgetown]] beat Navy 4 to 0. It is claimed by Georgetown authorities as the game with the first ever "roving center" or [[linebacker]] when [[Percy Given]] stood up, in contrast to the usual tale of [[Germany Schulz]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ck3AAAAIAAJ&q=percy+given|page=128|year=1962|title=Football Immortals|author=Alexander M. Weyand}}</ref> The first linebacker in the South is often considered to be [[Frank Juhan]].

On [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving Day]] 1903, a game was scheduled in [[Montgomery, Alabama]] between the best teams from each region of the [[Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association]] for an "SIAA championship game", pitting [[1903 Cumberland Bulldogs football team|Cumberland]] against Heisman's [[1903 Clemson Tigers football team|Clemson]]. The game ended in an 11–11 tie causing many teams to claim the title. Heisman pressed hardest for Cumberland to get the claim of champion. It was his last game as Clemson head coach.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8McdQD3SY00C&q=%22m%20l%20bridges%22%20cumberland%20football&pg=PA95|title=From Maverick to Mainstream: Cumberland School of Law, 1847–1997|author=Langum, David J|page=95|isbn=978-0-8203-3618-3|date=January 1, 2010|publisher=University of Georgia Press }}</ref>

1904 saw big coaching hires in the south: [[Mike Donahue]] at Auburn, [[John Heisman]] at Georgia Tech, and [[Dan McGugin]] at Vanderbilt were all hired that year. Both Donahue and McGugin just came from the north that year, Donahue from Yale and McGugin from Michigan, and were among the initial inductees of the [[College Football Hall of Fame]]. The undefeated [[1904 Vanderbilt Commodores football team|1904 Vanderbilt team]] scored an average of 52.7 points per game, the most in college football that season, and allowed just four points.