Oregon State's entire 1941 regular season schedule was played within the Pacific Coast Conference. (Incidentally, OSC was the only PCC team to do so that year.) Duke was mired in the cumbersome 16-team Southern Conference, resulting in a rather haphazard scheduling format from year to year. Duke's conference opponents in 1941 were Wake Forest, Maryland, Davidson, North Carolina, and North Carolina State. (The other schools in the Southern Conference at that time were Citadel, Clemson, Furman, George Washington, Richmond, South Carolina, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, Washington & Lee, and William & Mary.)

Neither team's schedule, as it turned out, was particularly formidable. Without doubt, the best competition Oregon State and Duke faced would be each other in the Rose Bowl. OSC's toughest regular season opponent, if any credence can be given to the final AP poll, was Washington State (#19), especially considering the game was played in Pullman. The fact that WSC finished second in the PCC standings and was one of the two teams to defeat the Beavers seems to bear this out. Stanford and Washington were worthy opponents, as well, though they were not nationally ranked at season's end. Of course, the game against Oregon was a good test simply owing to the intense rivalry between the schools and because it took place in Eugene. Once the Beavers got through their first four contests, the remaining schedule became considerably easier.

As for Duke, its most notable regular season win came against Tennessee (#18). Quite simply, no other team on its schedule was highly regarded. What about the several schools within the Southern Conference which Duke did not play—did the Blue Devils dodge a bullet via scheduling? Not one of the other ten conference teams would have posed a serious potential threat to Duke's perfect mark that season.

Not surprisingly, OSC and Duke had no common opponent in 1941 for comparison purpose, as both schools limited play to within their respective geographical regions. Looking at the scores for both teams, it's easy to notice the stingy defenses; Duke appeared to have the more potent offense. Whereas the Blue Devils scored big from the very outset, Oregon State's offense didn't start hitting on all cylinders until its fifth game. (Over their first four games, the OSC and Duke defenses allowed 26 and 28 points, respectively, but Duke's offense put up 139 total points while the Beavers managed only 26. Hence, Duke started 4-0 while Oregon State went 2-2.) The fact that the Beavers scored three touchdowns against Duke while holding the Blue Devils to just 16 points—on familiar Durham turf and supported by a highly partisan East Coast crowd—makes Oregon State's victory in the 1942 "transplanted" Rose Bowl a reasonably impressive achievement.

1941 OSC Results (8-2-0) OSC --   7  at Southern Cal -- 13 OSC --   9  Washington -- 6 (at Portland) OSC -- 10  Stanford -- 0 OSC --   0  at Washington State -- 7 OSC -- 33  Idaho -- 0 OSC -- 19  UCLA -- 0 OSC --   6  at California -- 0 OSC -- 27  Montana -- 0 (at Portland) OSC -- 12  at Oregon -- 7 OSC -- 20  at Duke -- 16

1941 Duke Results (9-1-0) Duke -- 43  Wake Forest -- 14 Duke -- 19  Tennessee -- 0 Duke -- 50  Maryland -- 0 (at Baltimore) Duke -- 27  Colgate -- 14 Duke -- 27  at Pittsburgh -- 7 Duke -- 14  at Georgia Tech -- 0 Duke -- 56  at Davidson -- 0 Duke -- 20  North Carolina -- 0 Duke -- 55  at North Carolina State -- 6 Duke -- 16  Oregon State -- 20

Unlike today, no revised national rankings were issued following post-season play. Clearly, the Rose Bowl triumph was rich enough to elevate the Beavers a few notches above their #12 spot, but just how generous the pollsters would have been is forever left to speculation. Even with the win over Duke, to figure the Beavers would vault ten spots ahead of the Blue Devils is unrealistic. Due to the limited number of bowl games at that time, not many teams ahead of OSC in the AP poll played (and lost) post-season games. One of the teams ranked ahead of OSC that did play and lose was Missouri, but it was by a narrow two points to higher-ranked Fordham—not strong reason for adjustment there. #9 Texas A&M, owing to its loss to #20 Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, is the one and only team certain to have dropped below Oregon State had there been a post-bowl AP poll. That's it—there were no other bowl results that could possibly have affected one final poll by the AP sports writers. (According to Western Conference rules, #1 Minnesota, #5 Michigan, and #11 Northwestern were barred from bowl games. Four additional teams ranked ahead of OSC—Notre Dame, Texas, Duquesne, and Navy—also did not play beyond their regular schedules.) Keep in mind, too, that one of Oregon State's losses was to Southern Cal, an absolutely dismal team that year, though it was the opening game of the season for the Beavers, and played in Los Angeles, as well. All things considered, there just isn't much solid evidence to justify a big jump in the AP rankings by Oregon State even with its great Rose Bowl triumph.

During recent years, a host of formulas have been created to determine mythical national champions. One such mechanism, the Chi Square Linear Win-Difference Ratio, places the Beavers at #12, the exact spot they held in the AP poll prior to their 1942 Rose Bowl victory. Duke, however, plummets all the way to #14. Another measurement index, known as the Power Ratings, which factors home field advantage and point spreads, ranks Oregon State the #5 team of the 1941 season. Strangely, Duke is one of the teams ahead of OSC! (Likewise, Alabama trails Texas A&M, despite defeating A&M in the Sugar Bowl.) To be certain, the wide discrepancy among the three systems is puzzling—notice especially Mississippi State, (16th in the AP poll, but a lofty 5th according to Chi Square Linear), Mizzou (drop from 7th AP to 22nd Chi Square Linear), Alabama (skyrockets from 20th AP to 4th Power Ratings), and Northwestern (dives from 11th AP all the way down to 35th Power Ratings). Who knows?

1941 Final AP Poll    1  Minnesota  (8-0-0)    2  Duke  (9-0-0)    3  Notre Dame  (8-0-1)    4  Texas  (7-1-1)    5  Michigan  (6-1-1)    6  Fordham  (7-1-0)    7  Missouri  (8-1-0)    8  Duquesne  (8-0-0)    9  Texas A&M  (8-1-0)  10  Navy  (7-1-1)  11  Northwestern  (5-3-0)  12  Oregon State  (7-2-0)  13  Ohio State  (6-1-1)  14  Georgia  (8-1-1)  15  Pennsylvania  (7-1-0)  16  Mississippi State  (7-1-1)  17  Mississippi  (6-2-1)  18  Tennessee  (8-2-0)  19  Washington State  (6-3-0)  20  Alabama  (8-2-0) NR  Texas Tech  (9-1-0) NR  Vanderbilt  (8-2-0) NR  Tulsa  (7-2-0) NR  Texas Christian  (7-2-1) NR  Stanford  (6-3-0) NR  Oregon  (5-4-0) NR  Washington  (5-4-0) NR  California  (4-5-0) NR  UCLA  (4-5-0) NR  Southern California  (2-6-0)       (released 12/2/41)

1941 Chi Square Linear      1  Minnesota  (8-0-0)      2  Duquesne  (8-0-0)      3  Notre Dame  (8-0-1)      4  Texas  (8-1-1)      5  Mississippi State  (8-1-1)      6  Navy  (7-1-1)      7  Alabama  (9-2-0)      8  Michigan  (6-1-1)      9  Georgia  (9-1-1)    10  Texas A&M  (9-2-0)    11  Pennsylvania  (7-1-0)    12  Oregon State  (8-2-0)    13  Ohio State  (6-1-1)    14  Duke  (9-1-0)    15  Northwestern  (5-3-0)    16  Tennessee  (8-2-0)    17  Fordham  (8-1-0)    18  Mississippi  (6-2-1)    19  Stanford  (6-3-0)    20  Texas Christian  (7-3-1)    21  Vanderbilt  (8-2-0)    22  Missouri  (8-2-0)    23  Washington  (5-4-0)    27  Washington State  (6-4-0)    34  Oregon  (5-5-0)    36  California  (4-5-0)    43  Tulsa  (8-2-0)    45  UCLA  (5-5-1)    49  Southern California  (2-6-1)    50  Texas Tech  (9-2-0)          (updated 8/22/01)

1941 Power Ratings    1  Texas  (8-1-1)    2  Texas A&M  (9-2-0)    3  Duke  (9-1-0)    4  Alabama  (9-2-0)    5  Oregon State  (8-2-0)    6  Minnesota  (8-0-0)    7  Georgia  (9-1-1)    8  Notre Dame  (8-0-1)    9  Mississippi State  (8-1-1)  10  Navy  (7-1-1)  11  Duquesne  (8-0-0)  12  Fordham  (8-1-0)  13  Missouri  (8-2-0)  14  Texas Christian  (7-3-1)  15  Texas Tech  (9-2-0)  16  Tennessee  (8-2-0)  17  Mississippi  (6-2-1)  18  Michigan  (6-1-1)  19  Tulsa  (8-2-0)  20  Vanderbilt  (8-2-0)  21  Washington State  (6-4-0)  22  Stanford  (6-3-0)  23  Pennsylvania  (7-1-0)  27  Washington  (5-4-0)  32  Ohio State  (6-1-1)  35  Northwestern  (5-3-0)  42  California  (4-5-0)  43  Oregon  (5-5-0)  52  UCLA  (5-5-1)  68  Southern California  (2-6-1)        (computed 1/7/02)

1941 Season  Bowl Games

Cotton Bowl:  Alabama -- 29  Texas A&M -- 21 Orange Bowl:  Georgia -- 40  Texas Christian -- 26 Rose Bowl:  Oregon State -- 20  Duke -- 16 Sugar Bowl:  Fordham -- 2  Missouri -- 0 Sun Bowl:  Tulsa -- 6  Texas Tech -- 0

The 1967 and 2000 seasons produced Oregon State's best two finishes in the AP poll. The 1967 team, dubbed the "Giant Killers," defeated #2-ranked Purdue, tied the later #2 UCLA, and then blanked #1 USC (the only loss inflicted on the eventual national champs). Unfortunately, the 1967 Beavers did not play in a bowl game because Pac-8 Conference policy did not allow post-season participation aside from the Rose Bowl. Still, the final AP poll honored OSU (7-2-1) with the #7 spot. In 2000, Oregon State cruised to a near-perfect 11-1 record capped by a 41-9 rout of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. The only blemish came on the road at Washington by a narrow 3-point margin. OSU was rewarded with the #4 place in the final AP poll. Interestingly, the 1967 and 2000 Beavers garnered enough attention that the next years' OSU teams were tabbed pre-season #1 by national magazines—Playboy in 1968 and Sports Illustrated in 2001. Neither team won the national championship, but whereas the 1968 squad performed well (7-3, just nine total points shy of a perfect record), the 2001 crew fell flat on its face (losing its first game en route to a disappointing 5-6 record, completely out of the national picture).

Pacific Coast Conference 1941 Final Standings

Oregon State Bowl Game Appearances

Team Oregon State Washington Wash State Stanford Oregon UCLA California Southern Cal Montana Idaho

Conf.   7-2-0   5-3-0   5-3-0   4-3-0   4-4-0   3-4-1   3-4-0   2-4-1   1-3-0   0-4-0

Season    8-2-0    5-4-0    6-4-0    6-3-0    5-5-0    5-5-1    4-5-0    2-6-1    6-3-0    4-5-0

Year/Bowl/Site 1940 PINEAPPLE BOWL at Honolulu, Hawaii 1942 ROSE BOWL at Durham, No. Carolina 1948 PINEAPPLE BOWL at Honolulu, Hawaii 1957 ROSE BOWL at Pasadena, California 1960 GOTHAM BOWL at New York, New York 1962 LIBERTY BOWL at Philadelphia, Penn. 1965 ROSE BOWL at Pasadena, California 1999 OAHU CLASSIC at Honolulu, Hawaii 2001 FIESTA BOWL at Tempe, Arizona 2002 INSIGHT BOWL at Phoenix, Arizona 2003 LAS VEGAS BOWL at Las Vegas, Nev. 2004 INSIGHT BOWL at Pheonix, Arizona 2006 SUN BOWL at El Paso, Texas 2007 EMERALD BOWL at San Fran, California 2008 SUN BOWL at El Paso, Texas 2009 LAS VEGAS BOWL at Las Vegas, Nev.

Result OSC -- 29   Hawaii -- 6 OSC -- 20   Duke -- 16 OSC -- 47   Hawaii -- 27 Iowa -- 35   OSC -- 19 (no opponent / game cancelled) OSU -- 6   Villanova -- 0 Michigan -- 34   OSU -- 7 Hawaii -- 23   OSU -- 17 OSU -- 41   Notre Dame -- 9 Pittsburgh -- 38   OSU -- 13 OSU -- 55   New Mexico -- 14 OSU -- 38   Notre Dame -- 21 OSU -- 39   Missouri -- 38 OSU -- 21   Maryland -- 14 OSU -- 3   Pittsburgh -- 0 BYU -- 44   OSU -- 20

The roots of the Pacific-10 Conference date back more than a century. On December 9, 1915, representatives from four colleges met at the Oregon Hotel in Portland to officially form the Pacific Coast Conference. The four charter schools were California, Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington. Two years later, the conference accepted its first additional member, Washington State. More schools were added during subsequent years and by 1928, with the enlistment of UCLA, the PCC had grown to a ten-member league. For the next two decades, the conference functioned relatively intact (some schools did not compete during the World War II years of 1943-45). After the war, the PCC underwent a major face-lift beginning with Montana's voluntary withdrawal in 1950. In 1959, the PCC dissolved altogether following a "pay-for-play" scandal involving four conference members (Cal, UCLA, USC, and Washington).

Five of the former PCC schools—the four California institutions plus Washington—soon formed the Athletic Association of Western Universities. Interestingly, during the lull between disbandment of the PCC and formation of the AAWU, retired Admiral Thomas J. Hamilton (who would become commissioner of the AAWU) proposed creation of a geographically daunting "super conference" involving 13 institutions. According to Hamilton's plan, the five PCC schools would have joined with Army, Navy, and Air Force as well as Duke, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Penn, and Penn State. The so-called "Airplane Conference" never got off the ground, however, because Pentagon officials scuttled the idea, thus blocking the service academies.

Within five years, eight of the old PCC teams were again aligned (Idaho and Montana remained unattached), and in 1968 the AAWU became known as the Pacific-8 Conference. Arizona and Arizona State were admitted in 1978, bringing the conference to its long time status of ten members. (Essentially, then, exactly 50 years after the conference first reached ten members, 1928, the league bid farewell to Idaho and Montana in favor of the two Arizona schools.)

With expansion of several major conferences around the nation during the 1980s and 1990s, speculation arose about the Pac-10 following suit. Some of the most commonly mentioned additions were Boise State, BYU, Colorado, Fresno State, Hawaii, UNLV, and Utah, but Pac-10 spokesmen steadfastly denied any interest in changing the existing alignment. Suddenly, in 2010, the Pac-10 attempted a six-team raid of the Big XII Conference. Invitations were extended to Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech. Colorado jumped conferences right away, and numerous sports news sources reported that the conference shift of the other five universities was imminent. However, the Pac-10's expansion blitz did not materialize, and faced with the odd configuration of 11 members, the Pac-10 courted Utah from the Mountain West Conference. The Pacific-12 Conference became official in July of 2011.

The self-avowed "Conference of Champions," the Pac-8/10/12 has won more NCAA Team Championships than any other athletic conference in history. As of July 2011, UCLA and Stanford are neck-and-neck, each with just over 100 team trophies (tops among all universities throughout the nation).

The first Rose Bowl game was played in 1902. Michigan walloped Stanford 49-0. It was actually worse than what the score indicates—Stanford quit during the third quarter! Rose Bowl Pageant officials were so discouraged that the football game was discontinued until 1916. Traditionally, the Rose Bowl has matched the conference champion against a formidable national foe; in 1947, the PCC and Big Ten Conference contracted to have season champs square off in the Rose Bowl. That relationship continued uninterrupted until 2001, when the Rose Bowl became one of four (now five) games in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The conference has been represented in the Rose Bowl at least once by all Pac-12 affiliates, past and present, except Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Utah.

Sources: Tom Bennett, OSU Alumni Association; Chuck Boice, OSU Alumni Association; Hal Cowen, OSU Sports Information Office; Mike Dodd & Jill Lieber, USA Today; George Edmonston, Jr., OSU Alumni Association; Pete Fiutak, College Football News, Inc.; Ron Green, Jr., The Charlotte Observer; James Howell, 1941 NCAA Division IA Football Power Ratings; William E. King, Duke University Archives; Soren Sorensen, College Football 1941 Division I-A Chi Square Linear Win-Difference Ratio; Jeff Welsch, Corvallis Gazette-Times.

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