1884 College Football Summary

The "V" formation was popular this season; but instead of focusing on the hurts and injuries it caused; it's better off just to mention it and continue with the highlights of the season.

After the inaugural scoring values of a year ago, changes were made for this season...as the game continued to progress forward.

  • Goal from the field (pre-Field Goal), 5 points
  • Touchdown, 4 points
  • Goal after touchdown (Point After Touchdown or conversion), 2 points
  • Safeties, 2 points

A season highlight came in the season finale between powerhouses Yale and Princeton. Battling to a scoreless tie, both teams shared the top spot in the final Intercollegiate Football Association standings.

Princeton held a 68-0 margin Lafayette at the break; then exploded for 72 second half points; winning 140-0. The 72 points was the second highest point production in half during the Pre-1937 era.

An interesting point, no pun intended, was this was Princeton's fifth consecutive game holding an opponent scoreless; while Lafayette would go on to lose its next two games by a composite score of 48-0.

College football's longest played rivalry began this as Lafayette and Lehigh would meet twice; with the former winning by a combined score of 88-4.

The teams would meet 60 times before 1937; with Lafayette holding the advantage, 39-27-4...with the 39 wins being the most wins over the same opponent.

While it was more less a part of the Big 3, this season Pennsylvania showed it deserved to be mentioned with the other 3 Eastern powers, finishing with a 6-1-1; tying its alumni and losing only to Princeton 31-0 in the second game of the season.

Behind A.T. Baker's 55-yard punt return, Princeton defeated Harvard, 36-6 before a crowd of 3000 people at Harvard's Jarvis Field.

1884 Leaders (min. of 5 games) Show:

  • Offensive Scoring Leader (Most Scored)
    Yale (8-0-0) 512 Points
  • Defensive Scoring Leader (Least Allowed)
    Yale (8-0-0) 10 Points
  • National Champions (Retroactive)
    Yale (8-0-0) and Princeton (9-0-1)
  • Intercollegiate Football Association Standings
Team IFA Standings Full Season
Yale 1-0-1 9-0-1
Princeton 1-0-1 9-1-0
Harvard 0-2-0 7-4-0

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