1905 college football season
Encyclopedia
The 1905 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Chicago
and Yale Bulldogs football
as national champions
.
an experimental game
was played 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."
Chicago Maroons football
The Chicago Maroons are the college football team representing the University of Chicago. The Maroons play in NCAA Division III as a member of the University Athletic Association. From 1892 to 1939, the Maroons were a major college football power...
and Yale Bulldogs football
Yale Bulldogs football
The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Yale's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1872...
as national champions
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
.
Rule experiment
On December 25 in Wichita, KansasWichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
an experimental game
1905 Fairmount vs. Washburn football game
The 1905 Washburn vs. Fairmount football game was a college football game between Fairmount College and the Washburn Ichabods played on December 25, 1905. The game was played in Wichita, Kansas...
was played between Fairmount College
Wichita State Shockers
The Shockers are the athletic teams at Wichita State University, who compete in the NCAA Division I Missouri Valley Conference. Wichita State is well known for its fan support and its baseball program, which has the highest winning percentange of any college baseball team over the past 31 years...
and Washburn University
Washburn Ichabods
Washburn University men's athletic teams are known as the Ichabods and the women's teams are called the Lady Blues...
. 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
John H. Outland
-External links:...
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
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
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."