# 1910 college football season

The 1910 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Harvard and Pittsburgh as having been retrospectively selected national champions, by four "major selectors" in about 1927, 1947, 1970 and 1980. Harvard claims a national championship for the 1910 season.

## Rules

Rule changes were made prior to the 1910 season to permit more use of the forward pass, with complicated limitations:
* The only eligible receivers were the two ends, who could catch a pass no more than 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and could not be interfered with until the ball was caught.
* A legal pass could not be thrown unless the quarterback was at least 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage and the rest of the players, except the two ends, were at least 1 yard behind the scrimmage line.
* On kickoffs and punts, the kicking team's players could not be touched until they had advanced 20 yards
* Flying tackles were outlawed, and "the man making a tackle must have at least one foot on the ground".
* The ballcarrier could no longer be aided in any way by his teammates.
* Games were now played as four quarters, each 15 minutes long, rather than two halves of 35 minutes each
Other rules in 1910 were:
* Field 110 yards in length
* Kickoff made from midfield
* Three downs to gain ten yards
* Touchdown worth 5 points
* Field goal worth 3 points
The season ran from September 24 until Thanksgiving Day (November 24). Prior to Thanksgiving, the season's death toll was 22; the previous season's was 30.

## Conference and program changes

* The Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference (CFAC) changed its name to the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference (RMFAC, now just the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) in 1910 after expanding into Utah.

### Conference changes

| School | 1909 Conference | 1910 Conference |
| The Citadel Bulldogs | Independent | SIAA |
| Denver Pioneers | Independent | Rocky Mountain |
| Howard Bulldogs | Independent | SIAA |
| Indiana State Normal Fightin' Teachers | Independent | Dropped Program |
| Louisville Cardinals | Program Established | Independent |
| Utah Utes | Independent | Rocky Mountain |

### Program changes

* Arkansas changed its nickname from the Cardinals to the current Razorbacks.

## Conference standings
### Major conference standings

1910 Missouri Valley Conference football standings :
| 1910 Missouri Valley Conference football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Nebraska $ 2 –0 –07 –1 –0 Iowa 3 –1 –05 –2 –0 Missouri 2 –1 –14 –2 –2 Iowa State 2 –2 –04 –4 –0 Kansas 1 –1 –16 –1 –1 Washington University 0 –2 –03 –4 –0 Drake 0 –3 –03 –5 –0 $ – Conference champion | 1910 Northwest Conference football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Washington $ 4 –0 –06 –0 –0 Oregon 2 –0 –04 –1 –0 Oregon Agricultural 2 –2 –03 –2 –1 Idaho 2 –2 –04 –2 –0 Washington State 1 –3 –02 –3 –0 Whitman 0 –4 –00 –4 –0 $ – Conference champion | 1910 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Colorado College + 4 –0 –07 –0 –0 Colorado + 3 –0 –06 –0 –0 Utah 2 –2 –04 –2 –0 Denver 2 –2 –04 –3 –1 Colorado Mines 1 –4 –02 –4 –0 Colorado Agricultural 0 –4 –00 –5 –0 + – Conference co-champions |
| 1910 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Vanderbilt + 5 –0 –08 –0 –1 Auburn + 5 –0 –06 –1 –0 Sewanee 3 –1 –08 –2 –0 Georgia 4 –2 –16 –2 –1 Ole Miss 2 –1 –07 –1 –0 Mississippi A&M 3 –2 –07 –2 –0 Mercer 3 –2 –06 –3 –0 Georgia Tech 3 –3 –05 –3 –0 Clemson 2 –3 –14 –3 –1 LSU 1 –3 –01 –5 –0 Tennessee 1 –4 –03 –5 –1 The Citadel 0 –2 –03 –4 –0 Alabama 0 –4 –04 –4 –0 Howard (AL) 0 –5 –01 –8 –0 + – Conference co-champions | 1910 Western Conference football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Illinois + 4 –0 –07 –0 –0 Minnesota + 2 –0 –06 –1 –0 Indiana 3 –1 –05 –1 –0 Iowa 1 –1 –05 –2 –0 Wisconsin 1 –2 –11 –2 –2 Northwestern 1 –2 –11 –3 –1 Chicago 2 –4 –02 –5 –0 Purdue 0 –4 –01 –5 –0 + – Conference co-champions |

### Independents

1910 Eastern college football independents records :
| 1910 Eastern college football independents records vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Pittsburgh   –  9 –0 –0 Harvard   –  9 –0 –1 Penn   –  9 –1 –1 Princeton   –  7 –1 –0 Trinity (CT)   –  7 –1 –0 Ursinus   –  6 –1 –0 Rhode Island State   –  5 –1 –1 Lafayette   –  7 –2 –0 Army   –  6 –2 –0 Brown   –  7 –2 –1 Yale   –  6 –2 –2 Dartmouth   –  5 –2 –0 Cornell   –  5 –2 –1 Penn State   –  5 –2 –1 Colgate   –  4 –2 –1 Swarthmore   –  5 –3 –0 Franklin & Marshall   –  4 –3 –2 Syracuse   –  5 –4 –1 Rutgers   –  3 –2 –3 Carlisle   –  8 –6 –0 Holy Cross   –  3 –3 –2 Temple   –  3 –3 –0 Washington & Jefferson   –  3 –3 –1 Wesleyan   –  4 –4 –1 New Hampshire   –  2 –3 –1 NYU   –  2 –4 –1 Geneva   –  2 –5 –2 Dickinson   –  3 –7 –0 Lehigh   –  2 –6 –1 Bucknell   –  2 –6 –0 Vermont   –  1 –5 –1 Carnegie Tech   –  1 –6 –1 Tufts   –  1 –7 –1 Boston College   –  0 –4 –2 Villanova   –  0 –4 –2 | 1910 Midwestern college football independents records vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Wabash   –  4 –0 –0 Michigan Agricultural   –  6 –1 –0 St. Mary's (OH)   –  5 –1 –0 Central Michigan   –  5 –1 –1 Marquette   –  6 –1 –2 Notre Dame   –  4 –1 –1 Buchtel   –  7 –2 –0 Saint Louis   –  7 –2 –0 Michigan   –  3 –0 –3 Fairmount   –  6 –2 –1 Lake Forest   –  5 –2 –0 Western State Normal (MI)   –  4 –2 –0 Northern Illinois State   –  4 –2 –1 Mount Union   –  4 –2 –2 South Dakota State   –  4 –2 –2 Detroit College   –  3 –2 –0 Doane   –  3 –2 –1 Butler   –  4 –3 –1 Rose Poly   –  4 –4 –0 North Dakota Agricultural   –  2 –3 –0 Miami (OH)   –  2 –4 –1 Carthage   –  2 –4 –0 Ohio Northern   –  2 –5 –0 Iowa State Teachers   –  1 –4 –1 Haskell   –  2 –7 –0 Heidelberg   –  1 –7 –0 Michigan State Normal   –  0 –5 –1 Ohio   –  0 –6 –1 | 1910 Southern college football independents records vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Central University   –  9 –0 –0 Louisiana Industrial   –  7 –0 –0 Navy   –  8 –0 –1 North Carolina A&M   –  4 –0 –2 Spring Hill   –  3 –0 –1 Texas A&M   –  8 –1 –0 Arkansas   –  7 –1 –0 Florida   –  6 –1 –0 Baylor   –  6 –1 –1 Georgetown   –  6 –1 –1 Marshall   –  5 –1 –1 Kentucky State   –  7 –2 –0 Texas   –  6 –2 –0 Virginia   –  6 –2 –0 Southwestern Louisiana Industrial   –  6 –2 –1 Chattanooga   –  5 –2 –1 Kendall   –  2 –1 –1 Maryland   –  4 –3 –1 Oklahoma   –  4 –2 –1 Washington and Lee   –  4 –3 –0 South Carolina   –  4 –4 –0 VMI   –  3 –3 –1 Davidson   –  3 –4 –2 Oklahoma A&M   –  3 –4 –0 West Virginia   –  2 –4 –1 Catholic University   –  2 –4 –0 North Carolina   –  3 –6 –0 George Washington   –  2 –2 –2 Wake Forest   –  2 –7 –0 Delaware   –  1 –2 –2 Mississippi College   –  0 –4 –0 Southwest Texas State   –  0 –4 –0 Tulane   –  0 –7 –0 |
| 1910 Western college football independents records vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Washington   –  6 –0 –0 USC   –  7 –0 –1 Oregon   –  4 –1 –0 Utah Agricultural   –  5 –2 –0 Hawaii   –  4 –2 –0 Idaho   –  4 –2 –0 Montana   –  3 –2 –1 Oregon Agricultural   –  3 –2 –1 New Mexico A&M   –  3 –2 –0 Wyoming   –  4 –4 –0 Washington State   –  2 –3 –0 New Mexico   –  0 –3 –0 |

### Minor conferences

| Conference | Champion(s) | Record |
| Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | Kansas State Agricultural | 4–0 |
| Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Alma | 1–0 |
| Ohio Athletic Conference | Oberlin | 3–0–1 |

### Minor conference standings

1910 Eastern Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings :
| 1910 Eastern Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Randolph–Macon $ 3 –0 –04 –4 –0 Hampden–Sydney 2 –1 –04 –3 –0 William & Mary 1 –2 –01 –7 –1 Richmond 0 –3 –01 –6 –1 $ – Conference champion | 1910 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Southern Illinois   –  – 7 –1 –0 | 1910 Missouri Valley Conference for Black Schools football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Lincoln (MO) $ 1 –0 –02 –0 –0 Western University 0 –1 –01 –1 –0 George R. Smith   –  0 –0 –0 $ – Conference champion |
| 1910 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Oberlin $ 3 –0 –15 –1 –2 Case 5 –1 –06 –1 –1 Ohio State 5 –1 –25 –1 –3 Cincinnati 3 –1 –05 –3 –0 Western Reserve 4 –3 –05 –4 –0 Ohio Wesleyan 3 –3 –06 –3 –0 Miami (OH) 1 –1 –02 –4 –1 Denison 3 –4 –23 –4 –2 Wooster 1 –4 –11 –6 –1 Kenyon 1 –5 –01 –6 –1 Wittenberg 0 –5 –02 –7 –0 Ohio 0 –1 –00 –6 –1 $ – Conference champion |

## Awards and honors
### All-Americans

The consensus All-America team included Walter Camp's selections:
| Position | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Class | Hometown | Team |
| QB | Earl Sprackling | 5'9" | 150 | Jr. | Cleveland, Ohio | Brown |
| HB | Percy Wendell | | | So. | Roxbury, Massachusetts | Harvard |
| HB | Talbot Pendleton | | | | | Princeton |
| FB | Leroy Mercer | | | So. | | Penn |
| E | Stanfield Wells | | | Jr. | Massillon, Ohio | Michigan |
| T | Robert McKay | | | Sr. | | Harvard |
| G | Albert Benbrook | | 240 | Sr. | Chicago, Illinois | Michigan |
| C | Ernest Cozens | | | Sr. | | Penn |
| G | Bob Fisher | | | Jr. | Boston, Massachusetts | Harvard |
| T | James Walker | | | | | Minnesota |
| E | John Kilpatrick | | | | | Yale |