# 1905 college football season

The 1905 college football season had the Chicago Maroons retroactively named as national champion by the Billingsley Report, the Helms Athletic Foundation, the National Championship Foundation, and the Houlgate System, while Yale was named champion by Parke H. Davis and Caspar Whitney. Chicago finished the season 11–0, while Yale finished 10–0. The Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listed both Chicago and Yale as having been selected national champions.

## Conference and program changes
### Membership changes

| School | 1904 Conference | 1905 Conference |
| Western State Normal Hilltoppers | Program Established | Independent |

## Notable games
### Chicago vs. Michigan game

In the final game of the season on November 30, 1905, Amos Alonzo Stagg's Chicago team and Fielding Yost's Michigan squad met in a battle of undefeated Western Conference powerhouses. The teams played at Chicago's Marshall Field in front of 27,000 spectators, at that time the largest crowd to view a football game. Michigan was 12–0 and had a 56-game undefeated streak on the line, while Chicago was 10–0. Chicago had allowed only five points all season, Michigan none.
The game was a punting duel between Chicago's All-American Walter Eckersall and Michigan's John Garrels and was scoreless until early in the third quarter when a Michigan punt and Chicago penalty pinned Chicago inside their own ten-yard line. On third down, as Eckersall attempted to punt, he encountered a fearsome rush, but evaded the Michigan tacklers and was able to scramble to the 22-yard line and a first down. After three more first downs, the drive stalled and Chicago was forced to punt again. Eckersall's booming punt carried into the end zone where it was caught by Michigan's William Dennison Clark who attempted to run the ball out. He advanced the ball forward to the one-yard line, but was hit hard by Art Badenoch and then was brought back inside his own end zone by Mark Catlin for a two-point safety. Under the rules of the time, forward progress was not credited, and a ball carrier could be carried backwards or forwards until he was down. The rest of third and fourth quarters continued as a defensive stalemate. Chicago's 2–0 victory snapped Michigan's 56-game unbeaten streak and gave Chicago the consensus national championship for 1905.
As a tragic note to this game, Clark received the blame for the Michigan loss, and in 1932 he shot himself through the heart. In a suicide note to his wife he reportedly expressed the hope that his "final play" would be of some benefit in atoning for his error at Marshall Field.

### Night football

On October 6, 1905, the first night football game west of the Mississippi was played in Wichita, Kansas between Fairmount College (now Wichita State University and Cooper College (now Sterling College). The Coleman Company provided lights for the game.

### Rule experiment

On December 25, 1905, an experimental game was played in Wichita, Kansas between Fairmount College and Washburn University. The game tested a rule change that required the offense to earn a first down in three plays instead of four. Football legend John H. Outland officiated the game and commented, "It seems to me that the distance required in three downs would almost eliminate touchdowns, except through fakes or flukes." The Los Angeles Times reported that there was much kicking and that the game was considered much safer than regular play, but that the new rule was not "conducive to the sport." Some of the rules for this game were based on the Burnside rules which govern the Canadian game.

## Conference standings
### Major conference standings

1905 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings :
| 1905 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Vanderbilt $ 5 –0 –07 –1 –0 Georgia Tech 5 –0 –16 –0 –1 LSU 2 –0 –03 –0 –0 Sewanee 3 –1 –14 –2 –1 Clemson 3 –2 –13 –2 –1 Cumberland (TN) 3 –2 –05 –4 –0 Alabama 4 –4 –06 –4 –0 Nashville 0 –0 –00 –2 –0 Auburn 2 –3 –02 –4 –0 Mississippi A&M 1 –4 –03 –4 –0 Tulane 0 –1 –00 –1 –0 Ole Miss 0 –2 –00 –2 –0 Tennessee 0 –4 –13 –5 –1 Georgia 0 –5 –01 –5 –0 $ – Conference champion | 1905 Southwestern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Oklahoma 3 –0 –07 –2 –0 Texas 4 –1 –05 –4 –1 Texas A&M 5 –1 –07 –2 –0 Oklahoma A&M 1 –1 –01 –3 –2 TCU 3 –4 –04 –4 –0 Arkansas 0 –1 –02 –6 –0 Baylor 1 –6 –01 –6 –0 Trinity   –   – | 1905 Western Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Chicago $ 7 –0 –011 –0 –0 Michigan 2 –1 –012 –1 –0 Minnesota 2 –1 –010 –1 –0 Purdue 1 –1 –16 –1 –1 Wisconsin 1 –2 –08 –2 –0 Indiana 0 –1 –18 –1 –1 Iowa 0 –2 –08 –2 –0 Northwestern 0 –2 –08 –2 –1 Illinois 0 –3 –05 –4 –0 $ – Conference champion |

### Independents

1905 Eastern college football independents records :
| 1905 Eastern college football independents records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Yale   –  10 –0 –0 Penn   –  12 –0 –1 Temple   –  2 –0 –1 Dartmouth   –  7 –1 –2 Swarthmore   –  7 –1 –0 Western U. of Penn.   –  10 –2 –0 Princeton   –  8 –2 –0 Harvard   –  8 –2 –1 Washington & Jefferson   –  10 –3 –0 Lafayette   –  7 –2 –1 Wesleyan   –  7 –2 –1 Carlisle   –  10 –4 –0 Penn State   –  8 –3 –0 Syracuse   –  8 –3 –0 Fordham   –  5 –2 –0 Amherst   –  3 –1 –2 Holy Cross   –  6 –3 –0 Brown   –  7 –4 –0 Tufts   –  5 –3 –0 Vermont   –  6 –4 –1 Cornell   –  6 –4 –0 Colgate   –  5 –4 –0 Columbia   –  4 –3 –2 Army   –  4 –4 –1 Bucknell   –  5 –5 –0 NYU   –  3 –3 –1 Lehigh   –  6 –7 –0 Frankin & Marshall   –  4 –6 –0 Geneva   –  4 –6 –0 New Hampshire   –  2 –4 –2 Springfield Training School   –  3 –5 –0 Rutgers   –  3 –6 –0 Villanova   –  3 –7 –0 Drexel   –  1 –7 –0 | 1905 Midwestern college football independents records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Lincoln (MO)   –  3 –0 –0 Detroit College   –  1 –0 –0 Kansas   –  10 –1 –0 Central Michigan   –  7 –1 –0 Doane   –  5 –1 –0 Nebraska   –  9 –2 –0 Saint Louis   –  7 –2 –0 Butler   –  7 –2 –1 Kansas State   –  6 –2 –0 Northern Illinois State   –  3 –1 –1 Carthage   –  4 –2 –0 Western Illinois   –  4 –2 –0 Iowa State   –  6 –3 –0 Washington University   –  7 –3 –2 Wittenberg   –  7 –4 –0 Heidelberg   –  6 –4 –0 Iowa State Normal   –  5 –3 –2 Cincinnati   –  5 –3 –0 Miami (OH)   –  4 –3 –0 Missouri   –  5 –4 –0 Notre Dame   –  5 –4 –0 Fairmount   –  5 –4 –1 Haskell   –  5 –4 –1 Lake Forest   –  6 –5 –0 Wabash   –  6 –5 –0 Drake   –  4 –4 –0 Michigan State Normal   –  4 –4 –0 Marquette   –  3 –4 –0 South Dakota State   –  2 –3 –0 Ohio   –  2 –5 –2 DePauw   –  3 –6 –0 Mount Union   –  2 –6 –0 North Dakota Agricultural   –  1 –4 –1 Baldwin–Wallace   –  0 –1 –0 Chicago P&S   –  0 –1 –0 St. Mary's (OH)   –  0 –3 –0 | 1905 Southern college football independents records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Tusculum   –  1 –0 –0 Stetson   –  4 –0 –1 VPI   –  9 –1 –0 Navy   –  10 –1 –1 Grant   –  6 –1 –0 Kentucky University   –  7 –0 –3 Oklahoma   –  7 –2 –0 Washington and Lee   –  7 –2 –0 Texas A&M   –  7 –2 –0 Marshall   –  6 –2 –0 North Carolina A&M   –  4 –1 –1 West Virginia   –  6 –3 –0 Kentucky State College   –  6 –3 –1 South Carolina   –  4 –2 –1 Maryland   –  6 –4 –0 Central State Normal   –  4 –3 –1 North Carolina   –  4 –3 –1 Virginia   –  5 –4 –0 Catholic University   –  0 –0 –1 TCU   –  4 –4 –0 Delaware   –  3 –4 –1 The Citadel   –  2 –3 –1 Richmond   –  3 –5 –2 George Washington   –  3 –4 –2 Davidson   –  3 –4 –0 Howard (AL)   –  1 –2 –1 VMI   –  2 –5 –1 Oklahoma A&M   –  1 –4 –2 Arkansas   –  2 –6 –0 Kendall   –  1 –3 –0 Georgetown   –  2 –7 –0 Goldey College   –  1 –4 –0 Baylor   –  1 –6 –0 Louisiana Industrial   –  0 –1 –0 |
| 1905 Far West college football independents records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Stanford   –  8 –0 –0 New Mexico A&M   –  3 –0 –0 Colorado   –  8 –1 –0 New Mexico   –  5 –1 –1 Utah   –  6 –2 –0 California   –  4 –1 –2 Oregon Agricultural   –  6 –3 –0 USC   –  6 –3 –1 Arizona   –  4 –2 –0 Oregon   –  4 –2 –2 Washington   –  4 –2 –2 Washington State   –  4 –4 –0 Utah Agricultural   –  2 –2 –1 Wyoming   –  3 –4 –0 Montana   –  2 –3 –0 Montana Agricultural   –  1 –2 –1 Nevada State   –  0 –3 –1 Tempe Normal   –  0 –3 –0 |

### Minor conferences

| Conference | Champion(s) | Record |
| Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Michigan Agricultural | 5–0 |
| Ohio Athletic Conference | Case | 4–0–1 |

### Minor conference standings

1905 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings :
| 1905 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Michigan Agricultural $ 5 –0 –09 –2 –0 $ – Conference champion | 1905 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Case $ 4 –0 –18 –1 –1 Ohio State 2 –0 –18 –2 –2 Oberlin 2 –3 –03 –6 –0 Western Reserve 1 –2 –06 –3 –0 Kenyon 1 –3 –05 –5 –0 Ohio Wesleyan 1 –3 –04 –6 –0 $ – Conference champion |

## Awards and honors
### All-Americans

The consensus All-America team included:
| Position | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Class | Hometown | Team |
| QB | Walter Eckersall | 5'7" | 141 | Jr. | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago |
| QB | Guy Hutchinson | | | | | Yale |
| HB | Jack Hubbard | | | Sr. | | Amherst |
| HB | Daniel Hurley | | | Sr.. | Charlestown, Massachusetts | Harvard |
| HB | Howard Roome | | | Jr. | | Yale |
| HB | Henry Torney | | | Sr. | | Army |
| FB | James B. McCormick | | | So. | | Princeton |
| E | Mark Catlin Sr. | | | Sr. | | Chicago |
| E | Tom Shevlin | 5'10" | 195 | Sr. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Yale |
| T | Karl Brill | | | So. | | Harvard |
| T | Beaton Squires | | | Sr. | | Harvard |
| G | Francis Burr | | | Jr. | Brookline, Massachusetts | Harvard |
| C | Robert Torrey | | | Sr. | Montclair, New Jersey | Penn |
| G | Roswell Tripp | | | Sr. | | Yale |
| T | Otis Lamson | | | Sr. | | Penn |
| E | Ralph Glaze | 5'8" | 153 | Sr. | | Dartmouth |