The 1934 college football season rankings included a poll of leading newspapers conducted by the Associated Press (AP), a poll of 250 sports writers conducted by the committee responsible for awarding the Toledo Cup to the nation's top college football team, and the Boand and Dickinson Systems, mathematical systems operated by William F. Boand and Frank G. Dickinson.
The four ranking systems were unanimous in selecting the undefeated Minnesota Golden Gophers as the national champion.
Professor Dickinson gave the nod to Minnesota even though one-loss Pittsburgh received a higher mathematical score.
In mid-November 1934, the Associated Press published the results of its poll of the country's leading newspapers.
[1] The results of the poll were as follows: The Toledo Cup was based on ballots submitted by a national committee of 250 sports writers.
The process was overseen by a committee including Westbrook Pegler, Avery Brundage, Gustavus Kirby, Lynn St. John, Wilbur C. Smith, Stewart Edward White, and Theodore Roosevelt Jr..
(tie) Princeton (7–1), Washington (6–1–1) - 1 point each [2] In final polling in January 1935, the results were as follows: 1.
Washington - 117 points [4] The Dickinson System was a mathematical rating system devised by University of Illinois economics professor Frank G. Dickinson.
For the first time, Professor Dickinson declared a team as national champion even though it did not receive the highest point total in his mathematical calculations.
Professor Dickinson justified the departure based on a provision in his "code" providing that an undefeated team should be rated higher than a defeated team, regardless of the point standing.