The 1935 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

in the

1935 college football season The 1935 college football season was the last one before the Associated Press writers' poll was used in selecting the national champion. There were seven contemporary math system selectors that year who are informally recognized by the NCAA as "n ...

. In their fourth year under head coach

Bernie Bierman Bernard W. Bierman (March 11, 1894 – March 7, 1977) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He coached from 1919 to 1950 except for a span during World War II when he served in the U.S. armed forces. Bierman was t ...

, the Golden Gophers compiled an undefeated 8–0 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 194 to 36. The team was named national champion by seven NCAA-designated major selectors in Billingsley,

Boand Boann or Boand (modern Irish spelling: Bónn) is the Irish goddess of the River Boyne (the river-name now always in the nominalised dative/prepositional case, Bóinn), a river in Ireland's historical fifth province, Meath (from Middle Irish '' ...

College Football Researchers Association The College Football Researchers Association (CFRA) was founded in 1982 by Anthony Cusher of Reeder, North Dakota, and Robert Kirlin of Spokane, Washington. The CFRA took a vote of its members from 1982 to 1992 to select an annual college football ...

, Helms,

Litkenhous A national championship in the highest level of college football in the United States, currently the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various organizations to their selection of the best co ...

National Championship Foundation The National Championship Foundation (NCF) was established by Mike Riter of Hudson, New York. The NCF retroactively selected college football national champions for each year from 1869 to 1979, and its selections are among the historic national ch ...

, and Poling.

Before the season

Coach Bierman had led Minnesota to an undefeated season in 1934.

Schedule

Game summaries

North Dakota Agricultural

On September 28, 1935, Minnesota opened its season with a 26–6 victory over North Dakota Agricultural before a crowd of more than 34,000 at Memorial Stadium in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

. Minnesota scored four touchdowns, two by African-American left end

Dwight T. Reed Dwight Thornton Reed (May 13, 1915 – May 31, 2000) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, and track, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Louisville Municipal College—now known as ...

(one of them on a 40-yard pass from halfback George Roscoe) and one each by George Roscoe (on a four-yard run) and right end Ray King (on a 17-yard pass from Roscoe). Despite the victory, the

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, in its account of the game, opined that the Golden Gophers "lacked the flaming spirit to win" that marked the undefeated 1934 Minnesota team.

at Nebraska

On October 12, 1935, Minnesota defeated

Dana X. Bible Dana Xenophon Bible (October 8, 1891 – January 19, 1980) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi College (1913–1 ...

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

, 12 to 7, at Memorial Stadium in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United ...

. George Roscoe returned the opening kickoff 74 yards and then scored on a lateral from Glenn Seidel. Early in the second quarter, Nebraska took the lead on a long touchdown run by quarterback

Jerry LaNoue Gerald LaNoue (1912–1983) was a three-year starting quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and earned All Big Six Conference recognition in 1935, while playing for coach Dana X. Bible. A native of Wisner, Nebraska, LaNoue wore jersey #11 th ...

and an extra point. Roscoe ran for the winning touchdown later in the second quarter. Neither team scored in the second half. On defense, the Gophers kept Nebraska's highly touted halfback

Lloyd Cardwell Lloyd Raymond Cardwell (April 19, 1913 – November 10, 1997) was an American football player and coach. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the Detroit Lions for se ...

in check.

Tulane

On October 19, 1935, Minnesota defeated

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

, 20–0, before a crowd of 38,000 at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. The Gophers scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and another early in the second quarter, then spent the remainder of the game "in the roles of guinea pigs as their football professors made observations for future scientific operation when the going is tougher." Tulane totaled only two net rushing yards for the game. Minnesota captain Glenn Seidel suffered a broken collarbone in the game. Minnesota's touchdowns were scored by Sheldon Beise (on a four-yard run),

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...

(on a 43-yard return of a blocked punt), and Clarence Thompson (on a short run).

Northwestern

On October 26, 1935, Minnesota defeated Northwestern, 21 to 13, before a homecoming crowd of 52,000, one of the largest in Minnesota football history. Northwestern took a 13-7 lead at halftime, but sophomore right halfback Clarence Thompson led Minnesota's comeback in the second half. He scored a touchdown in the third quarter and then ran 36 yards for the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Purdue

On November 2, 1935, Minnesota defeated Purdue, 29–7, in Minneapolis. Right halfback George Roscoe scored Minnesota's first touchdown in the first quarter. Left halfback Clarence Thompson also scored for Minnesota.

at Iowa

On November 9, 1935, Minnesota defeated Iowa, 13-6, in Iowa City.

at Michigan

On November 16, 1935, Minnesota defeated

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, 40–0, at Michigan Stadium. It was Minnesota's 23rd consecutive game without a loss and the worst defeat in the history of the Michigan football program since 1892. Minnesota gained 432 rushing yards to 99 for Michigan and also held Michigan to 35 passing yards. Clarence Thompson returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. Andrew Uram scored two touchdowns on runs of 60 and 73 yards. Sheldon Beise also scored two touchdowns. Vernal LeVoir scored on a 30-yard touchdown reception and kicked four extra points.

Wisconsin

On November 23, 1935, Minnesota defeated Wisconsin, 33-7, before a crowd of 45,000 spectators in Minneapolis. The victory was the 17th in a row for Minnesota and the 24th consecutive game without a defeat. Minnesota out-gained Wisconsin, 209 yards to 13 yards.

Postseason

Total attendance for the season was 217,785, which averaged to 43,557. The season high for attendance was against Northwestern.

Awards and honors

Guard

was named All-American by

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...

and the

(AP). Tackle

Ed Widseth Edwin Clarence Widseth (January 5, 1910 – December 3, 1998) was an American professional football player who was a tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played college football for the Minn ...

was named an All-American by the

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of fo ...

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 2 ...

(UPI), ''Liberty'', Hearst and ''New York World Telegram''. Tackle Dick Smith was named an All-American by the AP, UPI, New York World Telegram and Look Magazine. Halfback Sheldon Beise was named an All-American by the American Sports Service and ''

New York Daily Mirror The ''New York Daily Mirror'' was an American morning tabloid newspaper first published on June 24, 1924, in New York City by the William Randolph Hearst organization as a contrast to their mainstream broadsheets, the ''Evening Journal'' and ''N ...

''. Beise, quarterback Babe LeVoir, Smith, Widseth and Wilkinson were named All-Big Ten. Quarterback Babe LeVoir was awarded the team most valuable player award.

References

{{Big Ten Conference football champions

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

Minnesota Golden Gophers football seasons College football national champions Big Ten Conference football champion seasons College football undefeated seasons

Minnesota Golden Gophers football The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its ince ...