There was no contemporaneous system in 1923 for determining a national champion.

However, Cornell was retroactively named as the national champion by Jeff Sagarin in 1978.

Illinois, Michigan, and Yale were selected as the 1923 national champion or co-champion by other selectors.

[3] Cornell quarterback George Pfann was a consensus first-team player on the 1923 All-America college football team.

[4] Tackle Frank Sundstrom also received first-team All-America honors from Walter Camp, Lawrence Perry, and Percy Haughton.