University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Crowned National Champions in 1934, 1935 and 1936
1/11/2023 10:26:00 AM | Football
Gophers were the last team to earn three straight national championships, were the first Associated Press national champion as well
The college football season recently ended with Georgia winning its second consecutive national championship. The last team to be crowned national champions in three straight seasons was the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who earned the honor in 1934, 1935 and 1936.
In 1934, Minnesota went 8-0 and outscored its opponents 270-38 as it was named national champions by eight different organizations.
In 1935, the Gophers again went 8-0 and outscored the opposition 194-46. Once again, eight different organizations named the Gophers the best team in the nation.
The Associated Press began ranking teams in 1936 and Minnesota, which went 7-1 during the season and outpaced their opponents 203-32, were the AP's first national champion. An additional seven different organizations honored the Gophers as national champions too.
Below is a detailed look at Minnesota's teams from 1934, 1935 and 1936.
1934
The Golden Gopher football program is one built strongly on tradition. After winning the first-ever Big Nine team title in 1900 and outscoring opponents by an incredible 618-12 margin in 1903, the University of Minnesota football team won a national championship in 1934.
Under the leadership of third-year coach Bernie Bierman, the Golden Gophers averaged 33.7 points during the 1934 campaign, relying heavily on a potent running attack. The running game accounted for nearly 295 of the 325 yards the Maroon and Gold averaged each game. The Golden Gophers were equally productive on the defensive side of the ball, shutting-out four of their eight opponents, while holding them to a meager 4.7 points and 103 yards per game.
Three players led Minnesota while earning All-America honors in Francis "Pug" Lund, Bill Bevan and Butch Larson, who earned the honor for a second straight year. Larson became only the third Golden Gopher to earn All-America status for two straight years, and is among eight players in Minnesota history to earn such a distinction. In addition to Lund, Bevan and Larson, the Golden Gophers featured three more All-Big Ten players. Perhaps the biggest key to Minnesota's success, however, was a running attack which saw eight different players score touchdowns during the season, led by Stan Kostka with nine touchdowns, including a four-touchdown game.
The talented Golden Gopher team cruised through the first two games of the season with a 56-12 defeat of North Dakota State and a 20-0 victory against Nebraska.
After two weeks of rest, Minnesota looked flat against the Pittsburgh Panthers. They trailed 7-0 after three quarters and were beaten in nearly every statistical category. The Golden Gophers' hopes for a perfect season were fading. Minnesota was down, but they were not beaten. In the fourth quarter, Larson took the game over by recovering a fumble which led to a touchdown. On the very next series, he threw the winning pass into the end zone. Minnesota's dream for a title refused to die.
The following weekend, the Golden Gophers rebounded in style by beating the rival Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa, 48-12. Bierman couldn't have been happier with his team's reaction to their sub-par performance against Pittsburgh. The Golden Gophers held the Hawkeyes to 129 total yards. Minnesota, on the other hand, had little problem moving the ball as they racked up an astounding 514 yards on offense, all of them coming from the running game. Minnesota was led by the exceptional performance of Kostka, who had another outstanding game, scoring three touchdowns, as well as Julius Alfonse, who rushed for two scores.
After beating Iowa, Minnesota was still eager to get back on the field. The next opponent was Michigan, and the Golden Gophers sought revenge. They had not brought the Little Brown Jug back to Memorial Stadium since 1927. Michigan came into Minneapolis sporting a 1-3 record and as the game progressed, proved that a vast gap existed between the two teams. Minnesota breezed by the Wolverines 34-0 and the Golden Gopher defense continued to impress crowds as they held Michigan scoreless on a mere 56 total yards for the game. In the meantime, the Maroon and Gold running attack never lost a step as five different players scored touchdowns.
The Golden Gophers continued to roll over opponents in the ensuing weeks, beating Indiana 30-0 and Chicago 35-7. Indiana gained a grand total of zero yards against the smothering Minnesota defense, while Chicago was able to manage 82 yards. With four solid games since the Pittsburgh scare, Bierman and the Golden Gophers had every right to be confident about their chances of winning a conference and national championship heading into Wisconsin.
The Badgers were not a high-scoring team, nor did they allow teams many touchdowns. On this day, however, the Golden Gophers flexed their muscle and scored 34 points against a defense that had only allowed 50 previously. With the victory over Wisconsin, Minnesota wrapped up its perfect season and earned the national championship from eight different organizations.
1935
Bernie Bierman started his fourth season as the head football coach at Minnesota in 1935. After leading the Golden Gophers to a national championship in 1934, expectations ran high for both Bierman and the team.
While the Golden Gophers were hurt by the graduation of three All-Americans from the 1934 season, three other players stepped up their play to earn the same honor in 1935. Tackles Ed Widseth and Dick Smith, along with guard Bud Wilkinson earned All-America honors, while quarterback Babe LeVoir and fullback Sheldon Beise joined the All-America threesome on the All-Big Ten team.
Minnesota opened the 1935 season with a schedule mirroring the previous season with games against North Dakota State and Nebraska to start the year. While the outcome was ultimately the same with the Golden Gophers netting two victories, the offensive production was not quite as stunning. After defeating NDSU 26-6, Minnesota traveled to Lincoln, Neb., to take on the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska showed improvement from the previous season when the Golden Gophers rolled over them 20-0. Minnesota headed into the second quarter trailing 7-6, but was able to put another touchdown on the board before the half to lead 12-7. Nebraska's defense was outstanding the remainder of the game and did not allow the Golden Gophers another touchdown. The Minnesota defense was just as stellar, however, and the Golden Gophers walked away from Lincoln with a 12-7 victory.
While Minnesota's offense was not putting up the same numbers as 1934, the Golden Gopher defense remained just as stifling. Against Nebraska the defense allowed only five first downs and 110 yards, so it was no surprise when Tulane ran into the same brick wall the next weekend in Minneapolis.
The visitors from Louisiana could do nothing right against Minnesota's superior defense, which held them to a mere 60 yards for the game. Minnesota's offense was still sputtering, however, as it managed only 183 total yards, all of them on the ground. The Golden Gophers beat Tulane soundly by a score of 20-0, but there was a bit of concern surrounding offensive production heading into the Northwestern game.
The last time the Golden Gophers played Northwestern was in 1933 when the two teams battled to a 0-0 tie. The result in 1935 was much the same and after three quarters Minnesota held a meager 14-13 lead. Northwestern threatened to move into scoring position late in the fourth quarter, but Wilkinson intercepted a Wildcat pass and returned it to the Northwestern 15-yard line. The Golden Gophers went on to score a touchdown and earn a hard-fought 21-13 win.
If there was any concern over the status of Golden Gopher football after the Northwestern game, Bierman's squad was quick to put it to rest. The Northwestern game was the turning point for Minnesota.
After Northwestern, the Golden Gophers went on to pound opponents by a total score of 115-20 and Beise scored five of his seven touchdowns for the season in those four games. The Minnesota offense seemed to be back on track, but it was tested one last time against rival Iowa.
In an attempt to cool tempers on both sides, Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson bet a prize Minnesota hog against a prize Iowa hog as a friendly gesture. So began the tradition of "Floyd of Rosedale," with the Golden Gophers winning a clean, hard-fought game 13-6 and Olson earning himself a prize Iowa hog.
Minnesota cruised through the remainder of its schedule, beating Michigan, 40-0, and Wisconsin, 33-7. Once again the Golden Gophers had wrapped up an undefeated season and were named national champions by eight different organizations.
1936
Prior to the 1936 football season, the Minnesota football team had gone 24 games without a loss and won back-to-back national titles in both 1934 and 1935. Needless to say, a national championship trend had caught on at the U of M, so the goals for 1936 proved to be no different.
What was going to be different about the 1936 season was the level of competition that the Maroon and Gold would face. Coach Bierman added two tough games to the schedule, and the Golden Gophers would travel to the University of Washington to take on the fifth-ranked Huskies, and then the University of Texas at home. The tough schedule combined with previous struggles the Golden Gophers had experienced against Northwestern and Nebraska, appeared to present a challenge for the two-time national champions.
Minnesota was set to open the 1936 season against Washington in Seattle, but it was a game that almost did not happen.
The Golden Gophers boarded the train in Minneapolis on Tuesday of that week for a four-day trip to the Pacific Northwest. Bierman scheduled two practices along the way, one in Miles City, Mont., and one in Spokane, Wash., but it was a one-night stay in Missoula, Mont., that almost cost Minnesota its chance with the Huskies.
Asleep in the Florence Hotel in Missoula, the Golden Gophers were forced to wake up around 3 a.m. after it was discovered the building was on fire. The fire destroyed most of the hotel, forcing the team to return to the train for the remainder of the evening. Luckily, nobody was hurt in the disaster. Once in Seattle, as expected, the game proved a tough one for Minnesota. The stadium was packed with 40,000 Washington fans cheering for the local team. The Huskies tied the Golden Gophers, 7-7, in the third quarter, but to no avail.
The play of Minnesota's Bud Wilkinson and Julian Alfonse proved too much for Washington. Wilkinson knocked down several Washington passes and kicked two extra points before catching a 60-yard pass to put the Golden Gophers in scoring position in the fourth quarter. Alfonse almost single-handedly shut down the Husky offense as he intercepted three passes at the goal line and led Minnesota's ground attack. As a result, Minnesota's win-streak remained intact as they defeated Washington 14-7.
After narrowly escaping from Seattle with a victory, the Golden Gophers returned home to take on Nebraska the following week. With a grueling trip behind them and an improved Cornhusker team on the field, Minnesota had a difficult time with the second game of the year as well. Nebraska put up a valiant fight, but the Golden Gopher defense foiled the Cornhuskers who could not find the end zone in a 7-0 Minnesota win.
The first two games of the season had threatened Minnesota's win streak, but the next two games left no doubt why the Golden Gophers were the reigning two-time defending national champions. Minnesota romped over Purdue 33-0, and handed Michigan a 26-0 loss to bring home the Little Brown Jug for the third year in a row.
The two solid victories against Michigan and Purdue led into another huge game for the Golden Gophers at Northwestern. Northwestern was highly-ranked in the national polls and it appeared as if this game would determine the Big Ten and possibly the national champion.
Game day conditions were less than ideal as wind and rain persisted throughout the game, hindering ball movement by both teams. Neither team made a serious threat to score in the first half and all statistics were virtually even. The scoreless battle continued until the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats scored at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but failed to convert the extra point attempt. Minnesota put together three furious drives, all ending inside Northwestern's 20-yard line. The Golden Gophers were on the brink of defeat for the first time in 28 games. The Maroon and Gold saw their last chance slip away as a fourth down pass into the end zone was batted away with less than six minutes left. Minnesota's win streak was over. Northwestern dealt the Golden Gophers their first defeat in three years.
Minnesota came out of the Northwestern game with something to prove. They did just that. The Golden Gophers ripped through Iowa, 52-0, to bring home Floyd of Rosedale for the second consecutive time. They also crushed Texas, 47-19, and finished off the season against Wisconsin with a 24-0 victory.
Amazingly enough, even with a loss and no Big Ten Conference title, Minnesota was still voted the 1936 national champion. The Golden Gophers may have lost to Northwestern, but allowed only two other opponents to score. The thorough dominance Minnesota had demonstrated earned them an unprecedented third straight national championship.
The Associated Press began ranking teams in 1936 and the Gophers were the first team to be named national champions by the AP, and they were crowned national champions by seven other organizations as well.
In 1934, Minnesota went 8-0 and outscored its opponents 270-38 as it was named national champions by eight different organizations.
In 1935, the Gophers again went 8-0 and outscored the opposition 194-46. Once again, eight different organizations named the Gophers the best team in the nation.
The Associated Press began ranking teams in 1936 and Minnesota, which went 7-1 during the season and outpaced their opponents 203-32, were the AP's first national champion. An additional seven different organizations honored the Gophers as national champions too.
Below is a detailed look at Minnesota's teams from 1934, 1935 and 1936.
1934
The Golden Gopher football program is one built strongly on tradition. After winning the first-ever Big Nine team title in 1900 and outscoring opponents by an incredible 618-12 margin in 1903, the University of Minnesota football team won a national championship in 1934.
Under the leadership of third-year coach Bernie Bierman, the Golden Gophers averaged 33.7 points during the 1934 campaign, relying heavily on a potent running attack. The running game accounted for nearly 295 of the 325 yards the Maroon and Gold averaged each game. The Golden Gophers were equally productive on the defensive side of the ball, shutting-out four of their eight opponents, while holding them to a meager 4.7 points and 103 yards per game.
Three players led Minnesota while earning All-America honors in Francis "Pug" Lund, Bill Bevan and Butch Larson, who earned the honor for a second straight year. Larson became only the third Golden Gopher to earn All-America status for two straight years, and is among eight players in Minnesota history to earn such a distinction. In addition to Lund, Bevan and Larson, the Golden Gophers featured three more All-Big Ten players. Perhaps the biggest key to Minnesota's success, however, was a running attack which saw eight different players score touchdowns during the season, led by Stan Kostka with nine touchdowns, including a four-touchdown game.
The talented Golden Gopher team cruised through the first two games of the season with a 56-12 defeat of North Dakota State and a 20-0 victory against Nebraska.
After two weeks of rest, Minnesota looked flat against the Pittsburgh Panthers. They trailed 7-0 after three quarters and were beaten in nearly every statistical category. The Golden Gophers' hopes for a perfect season were fading. Minnesota was down, but they were not beaten. In the fourth quarter, Larson took the game over by recovering a fumble which led to a touchdown. On the very next series, he threw the winning pass into the end zone. Minnesota's dream for a title refused to die.
The following weekend, the Golden Gophers rebounded in style by beating the rival Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa, 48-12. Bierman couldn't have been happier with his team's reaction to their sub-par performance against Pittsburgh. The Golden Gophers held the Hawkeyes to 129 total yards. Minnesota, on the other hand, had little problem moving the ball as they racked up an astounding 514 yards on offense, all of them coming from the running game. Minnesota was led by the exceptional performance of Kostka, who had another outstanding game, scoring three touchdowns, as well as Julius Alfonse, who rushed for two scores.
After beating Iowa, Minnesota was still eager to get back on the field. The next opponent was Michigan, and the Golden Gophers sought revenge. They had not brought the Little Brown Jug back to Memorial Stadium since 1927. Michigan came into Minneapolis sporting a 1-3 record and as the game progressed, proved that a vast gap existed between the two teams. Minnesota breezed by the Wolverines 34-0 and the Golden Gopher defense continued to impress crowds as they held Michigan scoreless on a mere 56 total yards for the game. In the meantime, the Maroon and Gold running attack never lost a step as five different players scored touchdowns.
The Golden Gophers continued to roll over opponents in the ensuing weeks, beating Indiana 30-0 and Chicago 35-7. Indiana gained a grand total of zero yards against the smothering Minnesota defense, while Chicago was able to manage 82 yards. With four solid games since the Pittsburgh scare, Bierman and the Golden Gophers had every right to be confident about their chances of winning a conference and national championship heading into Wisconsin.
The Badgers were not a high-scoring team, nor did they allow teams many touchdowns. On this day, however, the Golden Gophers flexed their muscle and scored 34 points against a defense that had only allowed 50 previously. With the victory over Wisconsin, Minnesota wrapped up its perfect season and earned the national championship from eight different organizations.
1935
Bernie Bierman started his fourth season as the head football coach at Minnesota in 1935. After leading the Golden Gophers to a national championship in 1934, expectations ran high for both Bierman and the team.
While the Golden Gophers were hurt by the graduation of three All-Americans from the 1934 season, three other players stepped up their play to earn the same honor in 1935. Tackles Ed Widseth and Dick Smith, along with guard Bud Wilkinson earned All-America honors, while quarterback Babe LeVoir and fullback Sheldon Beise joined the All-America threesome on the All-Big Ten team.
Minnesota opened the 1935 season with a schedule mirroring the previous season with games against North Dakota State and Nebraska to start the year. While the outcome was ultimately the same with the Golden Gophers netting two victories, the offensive production was not quite as stunning. After defeating NDSU 26-6, Minnesota traveled to Lincoln, Neb., to take on the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska showed improvement from the previous season when the Golden Gophers rolled over them 20-0. Minnesota headed into the second quarter trailing 7-6, but was able to put another touchdown on the board before the half to lead 12-7. Nebraska's defense was outstanding the remainder of the game and did not allow the Golden Gophers another touchdown. The Minnesota defense was just as stellar, however, and the Golden Gophers walked away from Lincoln with a 12-7 victory.
While Minnesota's offense was not putting up the same numbers as 1934, the Golden Gopher defense remained just as stifling. Against Nebraska the defense allowed only five first downs and 110 yards, so it was no surprise when Tulane ran into the same brick wall the next weekend in Minneapolis.
The visitors from Louisiana could do nothing right against Minnesota's superior defense, which held them to a mere 60 yards for the game. Minnesota's offense was still sputtering, however, as it managed only 183 total yards, all of them on the ground. The Golden Gophers beat Tulane soundly by a score of 20-0, but there was a bit of concern surrounding offensive production heading into the Northwestern game.
The last time the Golden Gophers played Northwestern was in 1933 when the two teams battled to a 0-0 tie. The result in 1935 was much the same and after three quarters Minnesota held a meager 14-13 lead. Northwestern threatened to move into scoring position late in the fourth quarter, but Wilkinson intercepted a Wildcat pass and returned it to the Northwestern 15-yard line. The Golden Gophers went on to score a touchdown and earn a hard-fought 21-13 win.
If there was any concern over the status of Golden Gopher football after the Northwestern game, Bierman's squad was quick to put it to rest. The Northwestern game was the turning point for Minnesota.
After Northwestern, the Golden Gophers went on to pound opponents by a total score of 115-20 and Beise scored five of his seven touchdowns for the season in those four games. The Minnesota offense seemed to be back on track, but it was tested one last time against rival Iowa.
In an attempt to cool tempers on both sides, Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson bet a prize Minnesota hog against a prize Iowa hog as a friendly gesture. So began the tradition of "Floyd of Rosedale," with the Golden Gophers winning a clean, hard-fought game 13-6 and Olson earning himself a prize Iowa hog.
Minnesota cruised through the remainder of its schedule, beating Michigan, 40-0, and Wisconsin, 33-7. Once again the Golden Gophers had wrapped up an undefeated season and were named national champions by eight different organizations.
1936
Prior to the 1936 football season, the Minnesota football team had gone 24 games without a loss and won back-to-back national titles in both 1934 and 1935. Needless to say, a national championship trend had caught on at the U of M, so the goals for 1936 proved to be no different.
What was going to be different about the 1936 season was the level of competition that the Maroon and Gold would face. Coach Bierman added two tough games to the schedule, and the Golden Gophers would travel to the University of Washington to take on the fifth-ranked Huskies, and then the University of Texas at home. The tough schedule combined with previous struggles the Golden Gophers had experienced against Northwestern and Nebraska, appeared to present a challenge for the two-time national champions.
Minnesota was set to open the 1936 season against Washington in Seattle, but it was a game that almost did not happen.
The Golden Gophers boarded the train in Minneapolis on Tuesday of that week for a four-day trip to the Pacific Northwest. Bierman scheduled two practices along the way, one in Miles City, Mont., and one in Spokane, Wash., but it was a one-night stay in Missoula, Mont., that almost cost Minnesota its chance with the Huskies.
Asleep in the Florence Hotel in Missoula, the Golden Gophers were forced to wake up around 3 a.m. after it was discovered the building was on fire. The fire destroyed most of the hotel, forcing the team to return to the train for the remainder of the evening. Luckily, nobody was hurt in the disaster. Once in Seattle, as expected, the game proved a tough one for Minnesota. The stadium was packed with 40,000 Washington fans cheering for the local team. The Huskies tied the Golden Gophers, 7-7, in the third quarter, but to no avail.
The play of Minnesota's Bud Wilkinson and Julian Alfonse proved too much for Washington. Wilkinson knocked down several Washington passes and kicked two extra points before catching a 60-yard pass to put the Golden Gophers in scoring position in the fourth quarter. Alfonse almost single-handedly shut down the Husky offense as he intercepted three passes at the goal line and led Minnesota's ground attack. As a result, Minnesota's win-streak remained intact as they defeated Washington 14-7.
After narrowly escaping from Seattle with a victory, the Golden Gophers returned home to take on Nebraska the following week. With a grueling trip behind them and an improved Cornhusker team on the field, Minnesota had a difficult time with the second game of the year as well. Nebraska put up a valiant fight, but the Golden Gopher defense foiled the Cornhuskers who could not find the end zone in a 7-0 Minnesota win.
The first two games of the season had threatened Minnesota's win streak, but the next two games left no doubt why the Golden Gophers were the reigning two-time defending national champions. Minnesota romped over Purdue 33-0, and handed Michigan a 26-0 loss to bring home the Little Brown Jug for the third year in a row.
The two solid victories against Michigan and Purdue led into another huge game for the Golden Gophers at Northwestern. Northwestern was highly-ranked in the national polls and it appeared as if this game would determine the Big Ten and possibly the national champion.
Game day conditions were less than ideal as wind and rain persisted throughout the game, hindering ball movement by both teams. Neither team made a serious threat to score in the first half and all statistics were virtually even. The scoreless battle continued until the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats scored at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but failed to convert the extra point attempt. Minnesota put together three furious drives, all ending inside Northwestern's 20-yard line. The Golden Gophers were on the brink of defeat for the first time in 28 games. The Maroon and Gold saw their last chance slip away as a fourth down pass into the end zone was batted away with less than six minutes left. Minnesota's win streak was over. Northwestern dealt the Golden Gophers their first defeat in three years.
Minnesota came out of the Northwestern game with something to prove. They did just that. The Golden Gophers ripped through Iowa, 52-0, to bring home Floyd of Rosedale for the second consecutive time. They also crushed Texas, 47-19, and finished off the season against Wisconsin with a 24-0 victory.
Amazingly enough, even with a loss and no Big Ten Conference title, Minnesota was still voted the 1936 national champion. The Golden Gophers may have lost to Northwestern, but allowed only two other opponents to score. The thorough dominance Minnesota had demonstrated earned them an unprecedented third straight national championship.
The Associated Press began ranking teams in 1936 and the Gophers were the first team to be named national champions by the AP, and they were crowned national champions by seven other organizations as well.