The 1948 college football season finished with SMU halfback Doak Walker as the Heisman Trophy winner and six teams in contention for the national championship: Eight other teams finished the season undefeated and untied: Southern (12–0, black college national champion); Clemson (11–0, SoCon and Gator Bowl champion, AP No.
[2] The NCAA began permitting the use of small 1-inch rubber "tees" (not the same tee used for kickoffs) for extra point and field goal attempts beginning this year; they were outlawed in 1989.
[3] The Associated Press did not poll the writers until the fourth week of the season.
Among the five teams that had been ranked highest in 1947 (Notre Dame, Michigan, SMU, Penn State, and Texas), all but Penn State began play on September 25.
Northwestern beat UCLA, in Los Angeles, 19–0.
October 2: In Pittsburgh, Notre Dame shut out Pitt, 40–0, while in Dallas, SMU defeated Texas Tech 41–6.
When the first poll was issued, Notre Dame had fewer first place votes than North Carolina (50 vs. 55), but ten more points overall (1,200 to 1,190) Northwestern was third, followed by SMU and Army.
Though unbeaten, Michigan was ranked 7th, after Georgia Tech.
2 North Carolina won at Wake Forest, 28–6, and was ranked first in the next poll.
1 North Carolina beat N.C. State 14–0, but dropped to third in the next poll.
6 California (which beat Oregon State 42–0) moved to No.
In the next poll, Notre Dame was ranked at the new number one, followed by Michigan, North Carolina, Army, and California.
4 Army defeated Stanford at Yankee Stadium in New York, 43–0, while No.
5 Penn State beat Temple 47–0, but still dropped in the next poll.
1 Michigan, which had completed its season, had 105 of 190 first place votes.
The annual Army–Navy Game in Philadelphia pitted unbeaten (8–0–0) and No.
3 Army against winless (0–8–0) Navy, and 102,000 fans turned out to watch the mismatch, including President Truman.
It was a surprise when the Midshipmen scored first, but Army went ahead 21–14 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Navy pushed the Cadets back to their own goal line, and took the punt at midfield.
In six plays, Navy drove down to the four yard line, and Bill Hawkins crashed into the end zone to make it 21–20.
Roger Drew added the point after to ruin Army's perfect record, 21–21.
The final poll was released on November 29, although some colleges had not completed their schedules.
Michigan, Notre Dame, North Carolina, and California were the top four, with Oklahoma (which had won its last nine games in a row after a narrow season-opening loss to Santa Clara) at No.
2 Notre Dame's perfect record was compromised in Los Angeles with a 14–14 tie against unranked USC.
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player Source: [8][9]