Editing College football (section)

===Modernization and innovation (1906–1930)===
[[File:RobinsonThrowing.jpg|thumb|A 1906 ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' photograph of [[Bradbury Robinson|Brad Robinson]], who threw the first legal forward pass and was the sport's first [[Triple threat man|triple threat]]]]
As a result of the 1905–1906 reforms, mass formation plays became illegal and [[forward pass]]es legal. [[Bradbury Robinson]], playing for visionary coach [[Eddie Cochems]] at [[Saint Louis University]], threw the first legal pass in a September 5, 1906, game against [[Carroll University|Carroll College]] at [[Waukesha, Wisconsin|Waukesha]]. Other important changes, formally adopted in 1910, were the requirements that at least seven offensive players be on the line of scrimmage at the time of the snap, that there be no pushing or pulling, and that interlocking interference (arms linked or hands on belts and uniforms) was not allowed. These changes greatly reduced the potential for collision injuries.<ref>John S. Watterson, [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/6/1988_6_102.shtml "Inventing Modern Football"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119234333/http://americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/6/1988_6_102.shtml |date=November 19, 2008 }}, ''American Heritage'' magazine, June 1988</ref> Several coaches emerged who took advantage of these sweeping changes. [[Amos Alonzo Stagg]] introduced such innovations as the [[huddle]], the tackling dummy, and the pre-snap shift.{{sfn|Vancil|2000|p=17}} Other coaches, such as [[Pop Warner]] and [[Knute Rockne]], introduced new strategies that still remain part of the game.

Besides these coaching innovations, several rules changes during the first third of the 20th century had a profound impact on the game, mostly in opening up the passing game. In 1914, the first roughing-the-passer penalty was implemented. In 1918, the rules on eligible receivers were loosened to allow eligible players to catch the ball anywhere on the field—previously strict rules were in place allowing passes to only certain areas of the field.{{sfn|Vancil|2000|p=22}} Scoring rules also changed during this time: field goals were lowered to three points in 1909<ref name="NFL1869"/> and touchdowns raised to six points in 1912.<ref name=NFL1911>{{cite web | title = NFL History 1911–1920 | work = NFL.com | year = 2007 | url = http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1911-1920 | access-date = May 15, 2007 | archive-date = January 15, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080115043331/http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1911-1920 }}</ref>

Star players that emerged in the early 20th century include [[Jim Thorpe]], [[Red Grange]], and [[Bronko Nagurski]]; these three made the transition to the fledgling NFL and helped turn it into a successful league. Sportswriter [[Grantland Rice]] helped popularize the sport with his poetic descriptions of games and colorful nicknames for the game's biggest players, including Notre Dame's "[[Four Horsemen (American football)|Four Horsemen]]" backfield and [[Fordham Rams football|Fordham University]]'s linemen, known as the "[[Seven Blocks of Granite]]".{{sfn|Vancil|2000|p=24}}

In 1907 at [[Champaign, Illinois]] Chicago and [[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Illinois]] played in the first game to have a halftime show featuring a [[marching band]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bands.illinois.edu/history |access-date=April 6, 2011 |publisher=[[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign|University of Illinois]] |title=Marching Band History |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512015409/http://bands.illinois.edu/history |archive-date=May 12, 2011}}</ref> Chicago won 42–6. On [[1911 Kansas vs. Missouri football game|November 25, 1911]] [[Kansas Jayhawks football|Kansas]] played at [[Missouri Tigers football|Missouri]] in the first [[homecoming]] football game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.active.com/football/Articles/The_History_of_Homecoming.htm|title=The History of Homecoming|work=ACTIVE.com|access-date=December 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019180352/http://www.active.com/football/Articles/The_History_of_Homecoming.htm|archive-date=October 19, 2012|date=October 4, 2007}}</ref> The game was "broadcast" play-by-play over telegraph to at least 1,000 fans in [[Lawrence, Kansas]].<ref name="mech">{{cite news|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/nov/27/100-years-ago-football-fans-enjoy-mechanized-repro/?print|newspaper=[[Lawrence Journal-World]]|access-date=December 27, 2011|title=100 years ago: Football fans enjoy mechanized reproduction of KU-MU game|date=November 27, 2011}}</ref> It ended in a 3–3 tie. The game between [[West Virginia Mountaineers football|West Virginia]] and [[Pittsburgh Panthers football|Pittsburgh]] on October 8, 1921, saw the first live radio broadcast of a college football game when Harold W. Arlin announced that year's [[Backyard Brawl]] played at [[Forbes Field]] on [[KDKA (AM)|KDKA]]. Pitt won 21–13.<ref>{{Cite book| editor1-last=Sciullo| editor1-first=Sam Jr.| title = 1991 Pitt Football: University of Pittsburgh Football Media Guide | publisher = University of Pittsburgh Sports Information Office | year = 1991 | location = Pittsburgh| page = 116}}</ref> On October 28, 1922, Princeton and Chicago played the first game to be nationally broadcast on radio. Princeton won 21–18 in a hotly contested game which had Princeton dubbed the "Team of Destiny".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/princeton-chicago-football-game-is-broadcast-across-the-country|title=Princeton-Chicago football game is broadcast across the country|access-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924120642/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/princeton-chicago-football-game-is-broadcast-across-the-country|archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref>

====Rise of the South====
One publication claims "The first scouting done in the South was in 1905, when [[Dan McGugin]] and Captain [[Innis Brown]], of Vanderbilt went to [[Atlanta]] to see [[Sewanee Tigers football|Sewanee]] play [[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football|Georgia Tech]]."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zz-SvKTN15IC&pg=PR2-IA1|title=How to Scout Football|author=George Allen|page=3|isbn=978-1-57898-729-0|date=February 2009|publisher=Martino }}</ref> [[Fuzzy Woodruff]] claims [[Davidson Wildcats football|Davidson]] was the first in the south to throw a legal forward pass in 1906. The following season saw [[1907 Vanderbilt Commodores football team|Vanderbilt]] execute a [[Trick play#double pass|double pass play]] to set up the touchdown that beat [[Sewanee Tigers football|Sewanee]] in a meeting of the unbeaten for the SIAA championship. [[Grantland Rice]] cited this event as the greatest thrill he ever witnessed in his years of watching sports.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Boston Daily Globe|title=Grantland Rice Tells Of Greatest Thrill In Years Of Watching Sport|date=April 27, 1924|id = {{ProQuest|497709192}}}}</ref> Vanderbilt coach [[Dan McGugin]] in ''Spalding's Football Guide''{{'s}} summation of the season in the SIAA wrote "The standing. First, Vanderbilt; second, Sewanee, a might good second;" and that [[Aubrey Lanier]] "came near winning the Vanderbilt game by his brilliant dashes after receiving punts."<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vws7AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA73|pages=71–75|title=Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Foot Ball|author=Dan McGugin|journal=The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide|date=1907|author-link=Dan McGugin}}</ref> [[Bob Blake (American football)|Bob Blake]] threw the final pass to center [[Stein Stone]], catching it near the goal among defenders. [[Honus Craig]] then ran in the winning touchdown.

=====Heisman shift=====
Using the "[[jump shift]]" offense, [[John Heisman]]'s [[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football|Georgia Tech Golden Tornado]] won [[1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech football game|222 to 0]] over [[Cumberland University|Cumberland]] on October 7, 1916, at [[Grant Field]] in the most lopsided victory in college football history.<ref name="pbp">{{cite news| title=Yellow Jackets-Cumberland Score Was Record One; Tops the List According to Statistics Compiled Showing All Scores Past the Century Mark| last=Davis| first=Parke H.| newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution| date=October 15, 1916| page=A3}}</ref> Tech went on a 33-game winning streak during this period. The [[1917 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team|1917 team]] was the first [[mythical national championship|national champion]] from the [[American South|South]], led by a powerful backfield. It also had the first two players from the [[Deep South]] selected first-team All-American in [[Walker Carpenter]] and [[Everett Strupper]]. [[Glenn Warner|Pop Warner]]'s [[1917 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh Panthers]] were also undefeated, but declined a challenge by Heisman to a game. When Heisman left Tech after 1919, his shift was still employed by protégé [[William Alexander (coach)|William Alexander]].

=====Notable intersectional games=====
[[File:DaviesPittGT1918.jpg|thumb|[[Tom Davies (American football)|Tom Davies]] runs against undefeated and unscored upon [[1918 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team|Georgia Tech]] in the 1918 game at [[Forbes Field]]]]
In 1906, Vanderbilt defeated [[Carlisle Indians football|Carlisle]] 4 to 0, the result of a Bob Blake field goal.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2054516/the_atlanta_constitution/|work=Atlanta Constitution|access-date=March 24, 2015|date=November 25, 1906|page=5|title=Vandy's Great Victory Will Live In History|author=Alex Lynn|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name="Best Eleven">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1944523//|work=Atlanta Constitution|title=Brown Calls Vanderbilt '06 Best Eleven South Ever Had|date=February 19, 1911|access-date=March 8, 2015|page=52|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In 1907 Vanderbilt fought Navy to a 6 to 6 tie. In 1910 Vanderbilt held defending national champion Yale to a scoreless tie.<ref name="Best Eleven"/>

Helping Georgia Tech's claim to a title in 1917, the [[1917 Auburn Tigers football team|Auburn Tigers]] held undefeated, [[Chic Harley]]-led Big Ten champion [[1917 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State]] to a scoreless tie the week before Georgia Tech beat the Tigers 68 to 7. The next season, with many players gone due to World War I, a game was finally scheduled at [[Forbes Field]] with [[1918 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]]. The Panthers, led by freshman [[Tom Davies (American football)|Tom Davies]], defeated [[1918 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team|Georgia Tech]] 32 to 0. Tech center [[Bum Day]] was the first player on a Southern team ever selected first-team All-American by [[Walter Camp]].

1917 saw the rise of another Southern team in [[Centre Colonels football|Centre]] of [[Danville, Kentucky]]. In 1921 [[Bo McMillin]]-led [[1921 Centre Praying Colonels football team|Centre]] upset defending national champion Harvard [[1921 Centre vs. Harvard football game|6 to 0]] in what is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history. The next year Vanderbilt fought Michigan to a [[1922 Michigan vs. Vanderbilt football game|scoreless tie]] at the inaugural game at [[Dudley Field]] (now Vanderbilt Stadium), the first stadium in the South made exclusively for college football. Michigan coach [[Fielding Yost]] and Vanderbilt coach [[Dan McGugin]] were brothers-in-law, and the latter the protégé of the former. The game featured the season's two best defenses and included a goal line stand by Vanderbilt to preserve the tie. Its result was "a great surprise to the sporting world".<ref>{{cite news|title=Football Squads Begin practice|newspaper=The Kingsport Times|date=September 14, 1923}}</ref> Commodore fans celebrated by throwing some 3,000 seat cushions onto the field. The game features prominently in Vanderbilt's history.<ref name="Traughber">cf. {{cite web|url=http://www.vucommodores.com/ot/history-corner-083006.html|title=CHC- Vandy Ties Michigan in 1922|author=Bill Traughber|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201232953/http://www.vucommodores.com/ot/history-corner-083006.html|archive-date=February 1, 2016}}</ref> That same year, Alabama upset [[Penn Quakers football|Penn]] 9 to 7.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bryantmuseum.com/TLGDetails.asp?GameDate=11/4/1922|title=Alabama vs. Pennsylvania|access-date=March 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402212820/http://bryantmuseum.com/TLGDetails.asp?GameDate=11%2F4%2F1922|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>

Vanderbilt's line coach then was [[Wallace Wade]], who coached [[Alabama Crimson Tide football|Alabama]] to the South's first [[1926 Rose Bowl|Rose Bowl]] victory in 1925. This game is commonly referred to as "the game that changed the south".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cptr.ua.edu/news/roses.htm |title=The Football Game That Changed the South |publisher=The University of Alabama |access-date=October 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526010552/http://www.cptr.ua.edu/news/roses.htm |archive-date=May 26, 2008}}</ref> Wade followed up the next season with an undefeated record and [[1927 Rose Bowl|Rose Bowl]] tie. Georgia's 1927 "[[1927 Georgia Bulldogs football team|dream and wonder team]]" [[1927 Georgia vs. Yale football game|defeated]] [[Yale Bulldogs football|Yale]] for the first time. Georgia Tech, led by Heisman protégé [[William Alexander (coach)|William Alexander]], gave the dream and wonder team its only loss, and the next year were national and [[1929 Rose Bowl|Rose Bowl]] champions. The Rose Bowl included [[Roy Riegels]]' wrong-way run. On October 12, 1929, Yale lost to Georgia in [[Sanford Stadium]] in its first trip to the south. Wade's Alabama again won a national championship and [[1931 Rose Bowl|Rose Bowl]] in 1930.

====Coaches of the era====
=====Glenn "Pop" Warner=====
{{Main|Pop Warner}}
Glenn "Pop" Warner coached at several schools throughout his career, including the [[Georgia Bulldogs football|University of Georgia]], [[Cornell Big Red football|Cornell University]], [[Pittsburgh Panthers football|University of Pittsburgh]], [[Stanford Cardinal football|Stanford University]], [[Iowa State Cyclones football|Iowa State University]], and [[Temple Owls football|Temple University]].{{sfn|Bennett|1976|pp=20–21}} One of his most famous stints was at the [[Carlisle Indian Industrial School]], where he coached [[Jim Thorpe]], who went on to become the first president of the [[National Football League]], an [[1912 Summer Olympics|Olympic Gold Medalist]], and is widely considered one of the best overall athletes in history.<ref>{{cite web | title = ESPN.com: Top N. American athletes of the century |work=ESPN | year = 2001 | url = https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/athletes.html | access-date =May 19, 2007}}</ref>{{sfn|Vancil|2000|p=20}} Warner wrote one of the first important books of football strategy, ''Football for Coaches and Players'', published in 1927.<ref>{{cite web | title = WorldCat entry for Football for Coaches and Players | publisher=WorldCat.org | oclc=1741453 | url = http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3mset/1741453 | access-date =August 23, 2007}}</ref> Though the shift was invented by Stagg, Warner's [[single wing]] and double wing [[Formation (American football)|formations]] greatly improved upon it; for almost 40 years, these were among the most important formations in football. As part of his single and double wing formations, Warner was one of the first coaches to effectively use the forward pass. Among his other innovations are modern blocking schemes, the [[three-point stance]], and the [[reverse (American football)|reverse]] play.{{sfn|Bennett|1976|pp=20–21}} The youth football league, [[Pop Warner Little Scholars]], was named in his honor.

=====Knute Rockne=====
{{Main|Knute Rockne}}
[[Knute Rockne]] rose to prominence in 1913 as an [[end (American football)|end]] for the [[University of Notre Dame]], then a largely unknown Midwestern Catholic school. When Army scheduled Notre Dame as a warm-up game, they thought little of the small school. Rockne and quarterback [[Gus Dorais]] made innovative use of the forward pass, still at that point a relatively unused weapon, to defeat Army 35–13 and helped establish the school as a national power. Rockne returned to coach the team in 1918, and devised the powerful [[Notre Dame Box]] offense, based on Warner's single wing. He is credited with being the first major coach to emphasize offense over defense. Rockne is also credited with popularizing and perfecting the forward pass, a seldom used play at the time.<ref name=rockne>{{cite encyclopedia|entry=Knute Rockne |encyclopedia=MSN Encarta |year=2007 |entry-url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576926/Knute_Rockne.html |access-date=April 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821232020/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576926/Knute_Rockne.html |archive-date=August 21, 2009 }}</ref> The [[1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|1924 team]] featured the [[Four Horsemen (American football)|Four Horsemen]] backfield. In 1927, his complex shifts led directly to a rule change whereby all offensive players had to stop for a full second before the ball could be snapped. Rather than simply a regional team, Rockne's "Fighting Irish" became famous for [[Barnstorm (athletics)|barnstorming]] and played any team at any location. It was during Rockne's tenure that the annual [[Jeweled Shillelagh|Notre Dame-University of Southern California rivalry]] began. He led his team to an impressive 105–12–5 record before his premature death in a [[1931 Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F-10 crash|plane crash]] in 1931. He was so famous at that point that his funeral was broadcast nationally on radio.{{sfn|Bennett|1976|pp=20–21}}{{sfn|Vancil|2000|pp=19–22}}